VIRGINIAN SADLER DEBUTS McDONALD’S PAINT SCHEME No. 19 Dodge

No. 19 Dodge driver Elliott Sadler carries the familiar McDonald’s paint scheme this weekend in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series race at Martinsville Speedway. Sadler will race the McDonald’s car six times in 2007 joining a small group of Sprint Cup drivers who have carried the Golden Arches paint scheme through the years. The list includes Hut Stricklin, Jimmy Spencer, plus Gillett Evernham Motorsports drivers Bill Elliott and Kasey Kahne.

The Emporia, Va. native always enjoys racing in his home state. At Martinsville, Sadler has led three races for 49 laps, including 10 laps in this race last year. He has completed 96.7% race laps in 18 starts at the .526-mile track. Sadler is 20th in points, one point behind 19th and 87 from 12th place.

One thing Sadler hasn’t had much success with at Martinsville is the concession stand. That’s where their famous pink hot dogs slathered with chili and onions are served by the thousands. As popular as they are, they haven’t made an impression on the driver who still holds the record for most Bologna burgers eaten at one time (16) at nearby South Boston Speedway.

ELLIOTT SADLER QUOTES

McDONALD’S SPONSORSHIP: "First off, it is going to be great having the McDonald’s colors and logo on our car this weekend. When they told me about this last year, it was more of an honor than anything else. Their logo is one of the most recognized in the world and we’re going to represent them in Martinsville; one of the most historic tracks on the NASCAR circuit and in my home state. They told me they serve more than 47 million people a day in 30,000 restaurants in 120 countries around the world. That’s amazing. I grew up in Emporia (Virginia) two hours from Martinsville and I go past a lot of McDonald’s on the way here. I know because I’ve visited a lot of them through the years".

MARTINSVILLE: "To be successful at Martinsville, you need to take care of your brakes all afternoon. Once you get the car to rotate in the center of the corner, you’re off to a good start. And, when you can do that and have plenty of forward bite to come off that corner, you’re really going to have a really good day. Those are the mechanical keys to racing at Martinsville. The other part is to just stay out of everyone else’s mess. Things happen quickly on a short track and you can be done before you know what happened".

MARTINSVILLE HOT DOGS: "Okay, I’m going to get in some trouble here, but I can’t eat anything that turns the bun pink. Clay Campbell, his family and all the great people that run Martinsville do a great job, but I can't eat one of those hot dogs there. Now, the guys on the team are going to be all over that concession stand in the infield, I can guarantee you that much. They like, no they love, to eat and the track is so small they can slide by there on the way back and forth to the truck very easily".

"When I ate 16 bologna burgers at South Boston (Va.) Speedway years ago - which is still a record - that was something totally different. All you need on those is grilled onions and lots of mustard. The hot dogs at Martinsville have onion, chili and a whole bunch of other stuff - that’s not for me".

Behind the Hauler Open Interview Session: Elliott Sadler will be available to all interested media behind the No. 19 McDonald’s hauler on Friday, March 28th at 10:45 a.m.

Making times for Martinsville: Qualifying is set for 3:40 p.m. (ET) Friday on MRN Radio and SPEED-TV. Race time Sunday is 2 p.m. MRN Radio and Fox-TV with 500 laps as the distance.

Sadler on Trackside Live at Martinsville: After the starting grid is set, Sadler will join the "Trackside Live" crew on the Speed-TV stage at Martinsville on Friday evening at 7 p.m.

Sadler gets "Sirius" every week: Elliott Sadler appears every Tuesday on Sirius NASCAR Radio. Ch. 128 at 4:40 p.m. throughout the 2008 NASCAR Season. The No. 19 Dodge driver will talk about whatever comes to mind with host Dave Moody whose show "Sirius Speedway" airs 3 to 7 p.m. each weekday.

CAR NOTES

The No. 19 McDonald’s Dodge will run GEM Chassis No. 221 this weekend; a brand new car never raced and tested last fall in Atlanta. MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY Has made eight starts at the .526-mile track earning one top-five, three top-10s and led three races for a total of 49 laps. Led 10 laps in this race last year after starting 18th and finishing 24th Best start was seventh in the 2006 spring 2006 race and his best finish was fifth in the spring 2003 race. · Has completed 8,708 of 9,006 laps. CAREER STATS First victory came at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2001, second at Texas Motor Speedway and third was fall California Speedway race in 2004. Has won three races while earning 16 top-five and 56 top-10 finishes in 326 starts. Earned seven Pole Awards.

Beckman Wins A Round At Gainesville

NHRA

Mar 18, 2008

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - “Fast” Jack Beckman, driver of the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger R/T, is just six points out of the Funny Car lead in the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing series after three events so far, following his quarterfinal finish today at the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway. No. 1 in the standings, Robert Hight, was eliminated in the opening round.

The Frank Hawley Drag Racing School instructor first defeated his “boss” Frank Hawley in the first stanza, with a very close 4.866-second pass at 320.66 mph to Hawley’s 4.898/321.04, then fell to Tim Wilkerson in the second round after posting a 4.957/307.09 to Wilkerson’s winning 4.848/322.34. Beckman had the edge on take-off, but was passed by his opponent at the 60-ft. mark.

“It wasn’t a great weekend, but it was a good weekend, ” said Beckman, winner at the last event in Phoenix. “We qualified top half and we won a round again, and we just ran into a buzz saw in the second round named Tim Wilkerson.

Really, we did everything we wanted to. The race track was hot, we set it up to run a low 4.90 (-second elapsed time). The only thing is it moved over a little bit and spun the tires.

“But, when Tim Wilkerson is running a 4.84, that’s awful tough. We were third low (elapsed time) of the round. We took a calculated guess of what the track would hold and we got beat. No excuses. We’re ready to go to Houston. Everybody on the Valvoline/MTS Dodge crew is upbeat and enthusiastic right now. ”

As for that race against Hawley, “Well, the interesting thing is I think the perception is that we were staring back and forth at each other and it’s kind of like one of those Hollywood-ish deals, ” said Beckman. “The reality is, when you’re strapped in one of these Dodge Chargers, it’s like being in the back seat of a station wagon and the side windows are blacked out. You really can’t see much next to you. ”

“It was a great race. We were together from start to finish, and the analogy I give is, I’m a little leaguer, I stepped up to the major leagues and Mickey Mantle came out of retirement and let me pitch to him. It’s awesome. I have all the respect in the world for Frank. I thought it was great to go up against him, win, lose or draw. Obviously I’m happy we won, and I think he’s going to be giving the rest of us full-time drivers fits the rest of the year.

“I haven’t seen him yet. I have to make sure I still have a job. ”

Mopar(R) Kicks off the Second Year of Its 'Top Eliminator' Awards for Best-in-Class Enthusiast-built Vehicles

 -- The 2008 "Top Eliminator" vehicles will be chosen at events during the
year and displayed in Mopar Alley at the 2008 SEMA Show from Nov. 4 - 7 in
                                Las Vegas
-- Mopar(R) launched the national recognition program in 2007 to showcase
 some of the most meticulously modified and customized Chrysler, Plymouth
                      and Dodge vehicles in the U.S.

   CENTER LINE, Mich., March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Mopar(R) announced the
return of its popular "Top Eliminator" awards recognition program that
showcases the most skilled Mopar enthusiasts and their restyled or
customized Chrysler, Plymouth and Dodge vehicles. Mopar, Chrysler LLC's
original equipment parts manufacturer and supplier, launched the national
program in 2007.

   Mopar will look for meticulously customized and modified vehicles at
popular enthusiast and car collector events in 2008 including:



     -- Detroit Autorama, March 7 -- 9
     -- Mopars at the Strip in Las Vegas, March 28 -- 30
     -- Carlisle All-Chrysler Nationals in Carlisle, Pa., July 11 -- 13
     -- Mopar Nationals in Columbus, Aug. 8 -- 10

   Mopar will select three vehicles on display at these events and
showcase them in Mopar Alley at the 2008 Specialty Equipment Market
Association (SEMA) Show from Nov. 4 -- 7 in Las Vegas.

   "The exterior, interior customization and mechanical upgrade work done
by the 2007 Mopar 'Top Eliminator' Award winners was outstanding," said Rob
Richard, Director -- Mopar Parts, Sales and Service Marketing, Chrysler
LLC. "For our 2008 'Top Eliminator' program, we're looking for that same
spirit, craftsmanship and attention to detail in this year's
enthusiast-crafted Mopars."

   As part of its first "Top Eliminator" awards, Mopar showcased
enthusiast- built vehicles at the 2007 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The modified
and customized vehicles displayed included: a rare 1964 Dodge Ramcharger, a
rare 1967 Dodge Coronet R/T, a 1969 Dodge Dart Swinger 340, a 1973 Plymouth
Barracuda, a 1970 Plymouth HEMI(R)Cudzter, a rare 1971 Plymouth 'Cuda
440-6BBL and a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T.

   According to SEMA, retail sales of specialty automotive products
reached $36.7 billion in 2006. Retail sales of the industry's niche
categories reached:



     -- $2.1 billion for Street Performance -- products to change the
        vehicle's appearance, performance and handling
     -- $1 billion for Street Rod and Custom -- products to construct,
        modify, maintain and operate street rods and custom vehicles
     -- $1.4 billion for Restoration -- products to restore a vehicle to its
        factory/showroom operational condition
     -- $1 billion for Racing -- products for "off-street" professional and
        amateur racing and motorsports competition vehicles
   70 Years of Mopar

   When Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, the need for a dedicated parts
manufacturer, supplier and distribution system to support the growing
enterprise led to the formation of the Chrysler Motor Parts Corporation
(CMPC) in 1929.

   Originally used in the 1920s, Mopar (a simple contraction of the words
MOtor and PARts) was trademarked for a line of antifreeze products in 1937.
It was also widely used as a moniker for the CMPC. The Mopar brand made its
mark in the 1960s -- the muscle car era. The Chrysler Corporation built
race- ready Dodge and Plymouth "package cars" equipped with special
high-performance parts. Mopar carried a line of "Special Parts" for super
stock drag racers and developed its racing parts division called Mopar
Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing
use.

   Today, Chrysler LLC's Global Service & Parts division is responsible
for the manufacturing and distribution of nearly 250,000 authentic Mopar
replacement parts, components, restoration parts, accessories and
performance parts for Chrysler, Jeep(R) and Dodge vehicles sold around the
world. To assure quality, reliability and durability, all Mopar parts and
accessories are designed in strict adherence to Chrysler engineering
standards.