// Courtesy : Autostock Images //
Nashville, TN (Jan. 7, 2009) – Two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip, three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Darrell Waltrip, Capitol Records recording artist Dierks Bentley and country legends Connie Smith and Charlie Louvin have joined a slew of racing and country music celebrities announced today for Saturday’s (Jan. 10) Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust Fan Festival at downtown Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium.
The two-day celebration of music and motorsports kicks off with a concert Friday night (Jan. 9) at Nashville’s Sommet Center: Montgomery Gentry featuring Rodney Atkins with special guest Julianne Hough beginning at 8 p.m.
At Saturday’s Fan Festival, fans of racing and country music will once again have the opportunity to get up-close-and-personal with drivers, team owners and top-name artists. The blockbuster event will also feature show car and sponsor displays, as well as a charitable auction with memorabilia from the racing and entertainment industries.
Among the NASCAR celebrities already announced for the Fan Festival are Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Kyle Petty, Ray Evernham, Reed Sorensen and David Stremme. New to this year’s NASCAR celebrity lineup are “Driver Legends” Waltrip and Ernie Irvan, as well as current Sprint Cup Series stars Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) and Aric Almirola (No. 8 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet), NASCAR Nationwide Series competitors Bobby Hamilton, Jr. (No. 25 Rensi Hamilton Racing Ford), Brad Keselowski (No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet) and Burney Lamar (No. 32 Braun Racing Toyota). From the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series will be Wayne Taylor, Max Angelelli and Brian Frisselle (No. 10 SunTrust Racing Ford Dallara). From the National Hot Rod Association will be Doug Herbert (Doug Herbert Parts/B.R.A.K.E.S. Top-Fuel Dragster). And Sam Bass, one of the most highly acclaimed artists in the history of American motorsports, also joins the illustrious lineup.
Country music artists already announced for the Saturday Festival are Jason Michael Carroll, Richie McDonald, Josh Turner, members of Diamond Rio, and Rick Huckaby. Joining Bentley (“What Was I Thinkin,” “Every Mile a Memory,” “Come a Little Closer,” “Settle for a Slowdown,” “Free and Easy [Down the Road I Go]”) on the list of new additions are Randy Houser (“Anything Goes,” and writer of many hit songs including “Honky-Tonk Badonkadonk”), Kate and Kacey (winners of CMT’s “Can You Duet” with the new single “You’re Not My Judge” on Big Machine Records), Josh Osborne (“You Only Call Me ... ” “Hard Times”), and “Artist Legends” and members of the Grand Ole Opry Louvin (inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame® best known as one of the Louvin Brothers) and Smith (“Then and Only Then,” “Baby’s Back Again,” and her record-setting chart-topper “Once A Day”).
More NASCAR and country music celebrities are expected to join the lineup before the weekend.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series show car lineup for the Saturday Fan Fest includes the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (driven by Joey Logano), the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing (Kevin Harvick), and the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet for newly formed Stewart-Haas Racing (Tony Stewart).
Tickets for the concert and the Sprint Sound & Speed Festival Presented by SunTrust are available through TicketMaster (www.ticketmaster.com) and through the Web site www.soundandspeed.org. Concert tickets are priced at $35 (Level 1), $25 (Level 2) and $17.50 (Level 3). Festival tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for children 12 and under. Combination tickets, good for the concert and the fan festival, are priced at $50 (Concert Level 1), $40 (Level 2) and $35 (Level 3).
For the fourth consecutive year, charitable beneficiaries of Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust are Victory Junction (a year-round camping environment for children, ages 6-16, with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses) and the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum. The first three Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust events drew an estimated 40,000 fans and raised more than $800,000 for its designated charities.
For more information, visit www.soundandspeed.org.
ABOUT SPRINT NEXTEL
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two wireless networks serving nearly 51 million customers at the end of the third quarter 2008; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.
ABOUT SUNTRUST
SunTrust Banks, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, is one of the nation’s largest banking organizations, serving a broad range of consumer, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. As of September 30, 2008, SunTrust had total assets of $174.8 billion and total deposits of $115.9 billion. The Company operates an extensive branch and ATM network throughout the high-growth Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states and a full array of technology-based, 24-hour delivery channels. The Company also serves customers in selected markets nationally. Its primary businesses include deposit, credit, trust and investment services. Through various subsidiaries the Company provides mortgage banking, insurance, brokerage, investment management, equipment leasing and capital markets services. SunTrust’s Internet address is www.suntrust.com.
ABOUT VICTORY JUNCTION
Victory Junction is a year-round camping environment for children, ages 6 to 16, with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses. Founded by Kyle and Pattie Petty in honor of their son Adam, the camp is located in Randleman, N.C. with a second location opening soon in Kansas City, Kan. Victory Junction offers programs for 24 disease groups and maintains strong relationships with 22 partner hospitals. Victory Junction’s mission is to provide life-changing camping experiences that are exciting, fun and empowering, in a safe and medically-sound environment. As a not-for-profit organization, the camp operates solely through the support of generous donors to provide this experience at no charge to children and their families. For more information, visit www.victoryjunction.org.
ABOUT THE COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME® AND MUSEUM
Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The Foundation also operates CMF Records, the Museum’s First Library and Archive, the CMF Press, Historic RCA Studio B and Hatch Show Print. The educational programs of the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum are funded in part by grants from the Metro Nashville Arts Commission and the Tennessee Arts Commission through an agreement with the National Endowment for the Arts. Preservation of Historic RCA Studio B made possible by the Mike Curb Family Foundation. More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.com or by calling (615) 416-2001.
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