NASCAR Daily News Headlines * November 27, 2007

ESPN Classic To Air Banquet

In addition, ESPN Classic will air highlights from the NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon at 8:30 p.m. Friday prior to the start of the banquet coverage. Held on the day before the banquet, the luncheon highlights NASCAR awards such as rookie of the year and ends with the presentation of the Myers Brothers Award by the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) to the individual or group making the greatest contribution to NASCAR racing in the past year.

Jimmie Johnson and members of the Hendrick Motorsports organization will be toasted as the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship team for the second consecutive year during Friday night’s awards banquet. The rest of the drivers who finished in the top 10 of the series point standings also will receive awards onstage.

Comedian/actor David Spade will be the featured performer at the banquet. Spade is a long-time fan of NASCAR, having served as Grand Marshal in 2006 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and as the Honorary Mayor at Darlington Raceway in 2003.

Spade, who currently stars in the hit CBS comedy "Rules of Engagement," was nominated for an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and an American Comedy Award in 1999 for his role on the series "Just Shoot Me." He also was nominated three times for an Emmy Award as a writer on the long-running series "Saturday Night Live," which he appeared on from 1990-1995. His feature film credits include "Benchwarmers," "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star," "Joe Dirt" and "Tommy Boy."

Multi-platinum, Grammy-winning recording artist Kelly Clarkson also will perform during the banquet. Clarkson, whose collaboration with NASCAR this year included a live performance before the Daytona 500 and a television spot for the “NASCAR, How bad have you got it?” campaign, will perform her songs “One Minute” and “Since U Been Gone.”

Clarkson’s album “Breakaway” earned two Grammys, spawned five No. 1 singles and sold more than 10 million records worldwide and more than 6 million in the US. With hits such as "Since U Been Gone," "Behind These Hazel Eyes" and "Because Of You," the Texas native's music has become a staple of pop radio over the past five years, and in 2006, Clarkson was declared the most successful artist in Top 40 history, with at least one single on the chart for 111 consecutive weeks.

Dr. Jerry Punch, the lead announcer for NASCAR coverage on ESPN, will serve as the onstage master of ceremonies for the banquet.

ESPN Classic, which has televised live coverage of other awards ceremonies such as the Baseball Hall of Fame, is a 24-hour, all-sports network devoted to connecting today's sports fan to the timeless elements of sports by airing the greatest games, moments, stories and personalities in sports history. ESPN Classic brings a current perspective and creates bridges between two generations of athletes and fans by illustrating the connections between the past and present.

ESPN360.com, ESPN’s signature live sports broadband network, is delivering more than 2,500 live, global sports events over the next 12 months (more than ESPN and ESPN2 combined). The service is available at no additional charge to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection from an affiliated service provider. It has more than doubled its distribution since Oct. 2006, and is available in more than 17 million households nationwide via more than 25 Internet service providers around the country including AT&T, Verizon, RCN, Frontier, Cavalier, Charter, Mediacom, Conway, Grande Communications and more. Since the Sept. 4 re-launch of the service, sports fans have logged more than 200,000 hours viewing sports events on ESPN360.com.

Last Race Ratings Down

Home Depot-NASCAR Announce Humanitarian Award

The three finalists are: Spencer Lueders, project creator, director and team member of 24 Hours of Booty; Don Miller, project creator and director of Stocks-for-Tots Charity Event; and Kyle Petty, driver for Petty Enterprises and co-founder of Victory Junction Gang Camp.

The recipient of the NASCAR Home Depot Humanitarian Award will be announced at the NASCAR NMPA® Myers Brothers Awards luncheon in New York City on Nov. 29, 2007. The award recipient will receive a specially designed crystal award, a $100,000 donation made by The Home Depot to the recipient’s charity of choice and a playground in the city of their choice built by volunteers from NASCAR, The Home Depot and KaBOOM!®, the company’s national nonprofit partner which envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. The other two finalists will receive a $25,000 donation each to their non-profit charity.

“The NASCAR Home Depot Humanitarian Award finalists exemplify the values of volunteerism and charitable giving of time and talent that are fundamental to both The Home Depot and NASCAR,” said John Ross, vice president of marketing and interim chief marketing officer of The Home Depot. “We are proud to recognize and celebrate these individuals who give so much of their time and energy to help others.”

“NASCAR is proud to join with our valued partner, The Home Depot, to recognize an individual in our sport who has given back to the community in a special and meaningful way,” said Jim O’Connell, vice president of corporate marketing at NASCAR. “The NASCAR Home Depot Humanitarian Award is an innovative way to recognize the efforts of those in the NASCAR industry who show extra dedication and service to their communities and those less fortunate.”

All active employees within the NASCAR industry – drivers, owners, team and track employees, licensees, media partners, sponsors, and motorsports media – were eligible to receive the NASCAR Home Depot Humanitarian Award. Nominees were assessed based on their community commitment and dedication; impact on the community; and charitable giving of their time and talents. A blue-ribbon committee comprised of representatives from NASCAR, The Home Depot and motorsports media selected the three finalists.

ABOUT THE FINALISTS

Spencer Lueders, NASCAR Competition and Patent Counsel, started 24 Hours of Booty in 2002 by riding the famed “Booty Loop” in Charlotte by himself to raise local awareness for cancer. Today, it has evolved into a 24-hour road cycling charity event which aims to increase public awareness and support for cancer research and programs, while raising funds to support the Lance Armstrong Foundation and local cancer organizations. It is the only 24-hour event of its kind in the country. To date, the annual event has raised more than $1.3 million.

Don Miller, Penske Racing executive officer, initiated the development of Stock-for-Tots as a holiday event and fundraiser for Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN), an organization whose mission is to continue to help and provide education, counseling and intervention programs for the prevention of child abuse and neglect. Miller continues to be intimately involved in the event which brings together stock car racing and its fans to collect toys and raise funds for SCAN. Since 1989, the event has raised more than $400,000 and distributed nearly 40,000 toys to children in North Carolina and is now the largest fundraiser for SCAN.

Kyle Petty, driver for Petty Enterprises, founded the Victory Junction Gang Camp, along with his wife Pattie, in honor of their late son Adam. Victory Junction is a year-round camp located in Randleman, N.C., whose mission is to enrich the lives of children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses by providing life-changing camping experiences that are exciting, fun and empowering while in a safe and medically sound environment. The camp offers disease-specific sessions during the summer to create supportive peer groups for children encountering the same health issues. Currently, Petty serves as vice chairman on its Board of Directors.

Labonte Will Drive Part-time In Nationwide Series

Labonte started ninth and finished 11th in April 2004 when he drove RCR’s Nationwide Series No. 29 ESGR/Army National Guard/Army Reserve Chevrolet at Texas Motor Speedway. He competed in 19 series races in 2007 for Kevin Harvick Incorporated, earned one win (Talladega Superspeedway in April) and three top-10 finishes.

“I’m really looking forward to driving for Richard (Childress) and the No. 21 team in the Nationwide Series next year,” said Labonte. “I had a great time in the one race I did for them in 2004 so I’m excited about running 15 races with a team that has won a lot of races and a couple of championships. RCR’s Nationwide Series program has been at the top for years and I hope I can help keep it there.”

RCR’s No. 21 team earned six victories in 2007 with driver Kevin Harvick and has earned two of the organization’s four NASCAR Nationwide Series championships. Harvick and Johnny Sauter shared driving duties and won NASCAR’s first owner-only championship in 2004 and Harvick won the overall championship in 2006. Securing sponsorship for the program is ongoing.