Z-Line Designs Driver Teams with Fiancée Samantha, Puppies and Ponies in New Ad Campaign

SAN RAMON, Calif., (Sept. 9, 2010) – Kyle Busch scored a hit phrase earlier this year when he uttered the famous line, “Who doesn’t like kittens, bunnies and little baby seals?” during the well-known Toyota TV commercials that features the NASCAR superstar sitting in a pink firesuit next to a pink racecar.

The 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion is again teaming up with animals, but this time in two recently-released national commercials for Z-Line Designs, one of the leading designers and import manufacturer of home office, home entertainment furniture and office seating.

The spots ask viewers if they can resist buying Z-Line Designs furniture, even with Busch and his fiancée, Samantha Sarcinella, encouraging them to do so. At the end of one commercial, the viewer is asked if they can resist buying furniture even with adorable puppies crawling all over it, while the other commercial asks them if they can resist buying furniture with ponies walking around the items.

The commercials are part of a major advertising campaign for Z-Line Designs, which has sponsored Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) in the Nationwide Series since 2007. Together, Z-Line Designs, JGR and Busch have won 15 Nationwide Series races.

“Z-Line’s national television advertising campaign, featuring more than 4,000 spots nationwide, has been well received by both our retail partners and the consumer,” said Jim Sexton, founder and CEO of Z-Line Designs. “By featuring our commercials on multiple networks we have been able to reach a greater audience.  Kyle and Samantha provided an extra personal touch tying our racing promotions into the commercials.”

The spots have aired in the some of the biggest markets in the country during NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series events, as well as IndyCar Series races. The commercials have also been shown on HGTV, Discovery, USA, TNT, FX, CNN, A&E and BRAVO in select markets.

“Z-Line Designs and Jim and Monica Sexton have been huge supporters of my career,” Busch said. “Beyond that, Jim and Monica have become great friends to Samantha and I, and it was awesome for them to ask us to be a part of their ad campaign. It was really cool for me to have Samantha be a part of the commercials and we had a lot of fun shooting them.”

This week at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, Busch’s Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry will have a bit of a different look, as the pink racecar featured in the Toyota commercial will move from the small screen to the .75-mile oval. There, Busch will don a pink firesuit and drive the overwhelmingly pink No. 18 Toyota Kimmy/Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry in the Richmond 250 Nationwide Series race.

Z-Line Designs happily agreed to trade its normal red-and-black logos for pink-and-purple on Busch’s car, while the standard red-and-black Z-Line Designs scheme will be featured on Denny Hamlin’s No. 20 Toyota Camry for JGR.

Busch will drive the regular Z-Line Designs car three more times in 2010 – Oct. 16 at Charlotte (N.C) Motor Speedway, Nov. 7 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, and in the Nov. 20 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The Z-Line Designs commercials featuring Busch can viewed online at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tnMV48Jj3M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3WcI4hWlvc

–www.Z-LineDesigns.com–

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. – (September 9, 2010) – Reed Sorenson, driver of Braun Racing’s No. 32 Dollar General car in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, is stepping out of his racing suit and into Dollar General’s fall fashions.

“When I’m not in my race suit, I want to be comfortable,” said Sorenson.  “The entire line of Open Trails^® clothing is comfortable, stylish and affordable.  Open Trails^® jeans are among my favorite things to wear.”

Sorenson is helping Dollar General re-launch its Open Trails^® menswear line this fall, which features new fabrics and styles, all at budget-friendly prices.  The men’s line includes a variety of denim, pants and shirts.  Open Trails^® clothing offers customers high-quality, affordable fashions, including new blue jeans for only $10 a pair. 

Dollar General customers and employees are enthusiastic NASCAR fans.  A six-year veteran driver in NASCAR, Sorenson has been cultivating fans at Dollar General since 2009.

Look for Reed Sorensen in the latest fashions from Open Trails^® in Dollar General stores and advertising this fall.  To learn more about Open Trails^®, visit www.dollargeneral.com.

About Dollar General Corporation
Dollar General Corporation has been delivering value to shoppers for more than 70 years. Dollar General helps shoppers Save time. Save money. Every day!(R) by offering products that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, house wares and seasonal items at low everyday prices in convenient neighborhood locations. With more than 9,000 stores in 35 states, Dollar General has more retail locations than any retailer in America. In addition to high quality private brands, Dollar General sells products from America's most-trusted manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, Unilever, Kellogg's, General Mills, Nabisco, Hanes, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. Learn more about Dollar General at www.dollargeneral.com.

Ride Along with Martin, Hamlin, Bowyer and Earnhardt at Richmond on DIRECTV

NASCAR HOTPASS™ on DIRECTV is back, and it’s FREE to all DIRECTV customers. Four dedicated driver channels offering viewers multiple camera angles, real-time statistics and audio of the network broadcast augmented by live communication between the drivers and their pit crews is available for all 36 point-paying races during the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

The NASCAR HOTPASS lineup for the Air Guard 400 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway is as follows: 

DIRECTV Channel 795:

Mark Martin and the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet team of Hendrick Motorsports

Mark Martin will make his 784^th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 50^th at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway … The 51-year-old Batesville, Ark., native has scored 40 wins and 424 top-10 finishes in 783 Sprint Cup starts … Has one win (February 1990), four poles (September 1981, September 1996, May 2001 and September 2009) and 27 top-10 finishes in 49 at Richmond … 2010 marks Martin’s 28^th season with at least one Sprint Cup start … Has run a full Sprint Cup schedule 21 times and finished a career-best second in points in 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2009 … Started 17^th and finished 21^st last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. … Ranks 15^th in Sprint Cup points with seven top-10 finishes. 

DIRECTV Channel 796:

Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota team of Joe Gibbs Racing

Denny Hamlin will make his 177^th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 10^th at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway … Has one win (September 2009), two poles (September 2006 and May 2008) and five top-10 finishes in nine starts at Richmond …The 29-year-old Chesterfield, Va., native has scored 13 wins and 89 top-10 finishes in 176 Sprint Cup starts … 2010 marks Hamlin’s fifth full year in Sprint Cup with a career-best point finish of third in 2006 … Started first and finished 43^rd last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. … Ranks 10^th in Sprint Cup Series points with five victories and 10 top-10 finishes.

DIRECTV Channel 797:

Clint Bowyer and the No. 33 Cheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevrolet team of Richard Childress Racing

Clint Bowyer will make his 171^st career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 10^th at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway … Has one win (May 2008)  and four top-10 finishes in nine starts at Richmond … The 31-year-old Emporia, Kan., native has two wins and 74 top-10 finishes in 170 Sprint Cup starts … Won 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series title … 2010 marks Bowyer’s fifth full year in Sprint Cup with a career-best point finish of third in 2007 … Started 14^th and finished seventh last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. … Ranks 11^th in Sprint Cup points with 13 top-10 finishes. 

DIRECTV Channel 798:

Dale Earnhardt Jr., and the No. 88 AMP Energy / National Guard Chevrolet team of Hendrick Motorsports

Dale Earnhardt Jr., will make his 389^th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 23^rd at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway … Has two wins (May 2004 and May 2006) and 10 top-10 finishes in 22 starts at Richmond … The 35-year-old Kannapolis, N.C., native has won 18 races and has 148 top-10 finishes in 388 Sprint Cup starts … 2010 marks Earnhardt’s 11^th full year in Sprint Cup with a career-best point finish of third in 2003 … Won 1998 and 1999 NASCAR Nationwide Series championships … Started 27^th and finished 13^th last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. … Ranks 19^th in Sprint Cup points with six top-10 finishes.

About NASCAR HOTPASS on DIRECTV:

NASCAR HOTPASS is available free to all DIRECTV customers. More information is available at www.directv.com/hotpass. 

The $99 Family 4 Pack for this fall’s TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway is a pretty sweet deal and now it’s even sweeter.

In addition to great racing and food for one pretty amazing price, two Martinsville Speedway hats have been added to the package.

The Family 4 Pack includes two adult tickets and two children’s tickets (18 and under) to the TUMS Fast Relief 500 along with vouchers for The Famous Martinsville Speedway Hot Dog® (four), four Pepsi products and two khaki-colored Martinsville Speedway hats.

The $99 Family 4 Pack seats are located in rows 6 through 14 of the Clay Earles Tower overlooking the second turn.

Order your Family 4 Pack today by calling 877-RACE-TIX (877-722-3849) and mentioning the Family Four Pack offer or online atwww.martinsvillespeedway.com.
    
Tickets for the entire TUMS Relief 500 weekend are now on sale. Tickets for the TUMS Fast  Relief 500 begin at $25 and range to $77. 

Tickets to the Kroger 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on October 23 are $30 in advance, with children 12 and under admitted free.

Tickets for Farm Bureau Pole Day, which features practice and qualifying for both the Kroger 200 and the TUMS Fast Relief 500, are $15, children 12 and under admitted free.

Tickets for all events may be purchased by calling 1.877.RACE.TIX or by visiting www.martinsvillespeedway.com online.

START: 11th

FINISH: 22nd

It was a tough night in the Bluegrass State for James Buescher and the No. 31 Wolf Pack Rentals Chevrolet team as two tire failures left the young team with a 22^nd-place finish at Kentucky Speedway in the Built Ford Tough 225.

Buescher was set to begin the 150-lap race in the 11^th-position and poised to drive his way to a top-finish, but by lap six of the race, he had fallen two positions and reported to crew chief Michael Shelton that his truck was “tight through the center and exit.” 

When the first caution flag of the race was displayed on lap 19, Buescher came down pit road for four fresh tires, an air pressure adjustment, fuel and a spring rubber.  He re-started the race in the 18^th-position, confident in his ability to battle back into the top-10.  After only 12 green flag laps, he reported that he was “leaning on the right front on exit and needs to get off of it,” and only two laps later he found himself “loose on entry” and said the center went away. 

Unfortunately, misfortune hit on lap 45 when Buescher lost his right front tire while running in the 12^th-position.  After receiving damage, specifically to the tow of his Wolf Pack Rentals Chevrolet, he came to pit road for repairs and fresh tires.  But only seven laps after the re-start, he radioed that there was “something going on in the front end” stating that his truck had a vibration and was “unpredictable.”  He quickly began losing grip on the right front and cut another tire.  After pitting for a new right front tire, Buescher found himself two laps down.  Bad luck continued to plague the driver as he discovered a tire rub only four laps after receiving the new tire. 

When the field was slowed to a caution pace on lap 75, Buescher found himself two laps down, but pitted his No. 31 truck to repair the tow.  Until the next caution, the young driver felt that the tow was better but he was simply “dodging bullets” all night.  He pitted once again on lap 83 to let his crew check for another tire rub and get four fresh tires.  When the final caution of the night was displayed on lap 91, he felt that his truck was “a little bit free” but was sure it would come to him.  After pitting for fuel only, he returned to the track to finish the race with a wounded truck in 22^nd-place.

Todd Bodine was the race winner at Kentucky.  Johnny Sauter, Aric Almirola and Jason White joined Ricky Carmichael to round out the top-five.   

FAST FACTS:

In the off-weekend, James Buescher will travel to New Mexico to go elk hunting.

The Turner Motorsports team will enjoy its first weekend at home after a long nine-week stretch and return to action at Loudon on Saturday, September 18^th.  The race can be seen live on SPEED TV, or heard on MRN Radio beginning at 2:30 pm Eastern time.

JAMES BUESCHER:  “What a long night in this Wolf Pack Rentals Chevrolet.  After so many weeks of qualifying in the top-five, 11^th-place wasn’t where I really wanted to begin the race and, after that first tire went down, I was just battling the handling of the truck all night.  The crew worked really hard on pit road all night to keep me in the race and, the good news is that the truck was fast.  Just not the night we wanted, so we’ll go back, take the week away from the track to re-group, and be ready to go again in Loudon.”

For the second year in a row, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Driver and 15-time Motocross/Supercross Champion Ricky Carmichael will be hitting the links on Monday, September 13^th in his annual charity golf tournament in an effort to raise funding for the Emergency Help Care Organization (ECHO). 

Carmichael, a Florida native and long-time resident of Tallahassee, Fla., will be joined by other celebrities including NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Driver, and current championship points leader, Kevin Harvick in the event that is open to the public. 

ECHO, a local Tallahassee – based non-profit organization, offers support to homeless families in the Tallahassee area with food, clothing, job training and even housing assistance.  The organization was founded in 1981 by a group of Tallahassee churches and concerned citizens who realized a need for a central location to help individuals and families in crisis. Having served the Leon County community for more than 29 years, ECHO is the largest faith based human services organization in the Tallahassee community.

Last year, Carmichael’s tournament raised enough money to be ECHO’s largest contributor, and he hopes to do the same again in 2010.  

“It really means a lot to me to be able to host this tournament and give something back to the Tallahassee community,” Carmichael said.  “Especially in today’s economy, our neighbors are facing so much adversity and ECHO does an amazing job by helping people get back on their feet.  This golf tournament is a fun way for everyone to come together, do something good for our community and lend a helping hand to those who really need it right now.” 

Prizes will be awarded by tournament and hole sponsors, including Monster Energy Drink, NASCAR, Camping World of Tallahassee, Fox Racing, Suzuki, Makita, Mechanix Wear, Oakley, Kicker and DC Shoes.

For more information on the event, or to sign up to play, visit http://www.echotally.org/echoevents.cfm

More Than a Decade’s Worth of Winning Began at Richmond

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (Sept. 9, 2010) – Heading into Saturday night’s Air Guard 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, much attention will be paid to the four drivers vying for the remaining two spots in the 12-driver Chase for the Championship, which will be determined once the checkered flag drops at Richmond.

For two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing, he locked himself into the Chase by winning last Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and in doing so, picked up 10 precious bonus points that he’ll carry with him into the Chase when the top-12 driver’s point standings are reset to 5,000.

As other drivers root and gouge their way into Chase contention, one could assume that Stewart will take it easy. After all, he doesn’t have anything on the line. The worst point standing he could have to start the Chase is eighth, and the best is fourth. But with another 10 bonus points up for grabs at Richmond – points that transfer to the Chase – expect an all-out sprint for all 400 laps around Richmond’s .75-mile oval.

In fact, with making the Chase being somewhat anticlimactic, as 11^th-place Greg Biffle has a 161-point lead over 13^th, and 12^th-place Clint Bowyer has a 117-point lead over 13^th, the rooting and gouging may well be for the win. A checkers-or-wreckers mentality, for once, carries very little downside, as the top-12 that roll into Richmond will most likely be the top-12 that roll into the 10-race Chase.

It appears that Vince Lombardi was right, for winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing. That suits Stewart just fine. His victory at Atlanta was the 38^th Sprint Cup win of his career, and it kept a streak of logging at least one victory in each of his 12 Sprint Cup seasons going.

Seven times Stewart has scored back-to-back wins, and if he were to make it an eighth time with a win at Richmond, it would be a fitting location, as the Sept. 11 Air Guard 400 falls 11 years to the day of Stewart’s very first Sprint Cup (then Winston Cup) victory, which came on Sept. 11, 1999 when he drove a Joe Gibbs Racing-prepared Pontiac to a dominating win by leading 333 of the 400 laps available (83.2 percent). The triumph was impressive beyond that one race, as Stewart became the first rookie to win in Cup since the late Davey Allison did so on May 3, 1987 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Since then, Stewart has gone to victory lane 37 more times, scored two Sprint Cup championships and even ventured into team ownership, procuring a 50 percent stake in Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009, which he co-owns with Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in the western world.

So while Stewart will look forward to Saturday night, and specifically the upcoming Chase for the Championship, he’ll also have a chance to celebrate the past. And there’s no better way to celebrate than in victory lane.

TONY STEWART, Driver of the No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala  for Stewart-Haas Racing:

You’re locked into the Chase. So, while other drivers face pressure to make the Chase, is there any pressure for you to just win?

“I’m racing 100 percent pressure-free because we have absolutely nothing to lose. We can’t be bumped out of the Chase. We can finish 43^rd and it’s a non-event. Our goal is to try and do what we can to win and get those 10 extra bonus points. That’s our focus. It’s all or nothing for us. We’re not going to throw away a car trying to make a stupid mistake while trying to get those 10 points, but our goal is to go out and try to win the race. More than that, you don’t want to end up with 43^rd-place finishes, you want to end up with some momentum on your side after Richmond. You’re still going to race smart.”

Since you’ve been in the Chase five of the past six years, does that give you an advantage at Richmond other drivers don’t have?

“How you get into the Chase is the same way you win the Chase. You’ve got to go out there and you’ve got to be good. You’ve got to be good in 26 races to get in the Chase, and then you’ve got to be good for 10 races after that to win the Chase.”

With three Sprint Cup wins and two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series wins, you’ve had a lot of success at Richmond. Is it one of your favorite tracks?

“It is my favorite track. It’s not one of them, it’s the favorite track of mine on the circuit. I’ve just always thought it’s the perfect-sized track for a Cup race. The other short tracks we run – Bristol and Martinsville – they’re cool in their own right, but there’s a lot of congestion at those two tracks. But at Richmond, it just seems like that extra quarter-mile, and that three-quarter-mile shape, and how wide the groove gets there, allows for good racing. It seems like we have to race ourselves and race the racetrack versus racing each other a lot of times. You do have to race each other, obviously, but there are a lot of times during the race when you have the flexibility to move around on the racetrack and try to find a spot your car likes better than somewhere else. A lot of times on a short track you don’t have the flexibility. You’re more narrowed down with what groove you’re going to be in.”

What’s the key to being successful at Richmond?

“You want to make sure your car is adjustable. We start the race at the end of the day, when it’s usually pretty hot but, as night comes, the track cools down and it changes quite a bit. Old pavement, new pavement – the same theory applies, and that’s not something you see at most of the races we go to. It’s pretty much isolated to just the night races. You’ve got to have adjustability because you know for a fact that the track isn’t going to stay the same all night long.”

Is Richmond similar to any other tracks you’ve raced on in your career?

“It just reminds me of some of the shorter tracks that I’ve run. It has kind of the same feel that three-quarter-mile tracks did with some of the other cars I’ve run with. It was like Phoenix the first time I went there. I hadn’t been to a 1-mile oval but once in my life, but when I got onto Phoenix, I adjusted and adapted to it really quickly. It was a place where I became very comfortable right away. I had that same feeling when I went to Richmond for the first time. I think every driver has a track they go to where they get that same feeling. There are just some places you go to where you adjust, and it really suits your driving style.”

DARIAN GRUBB, Crew Chief of the No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Richmond is a home race for you, as you grew up in Virginia in the tiny town of Floyd. Richmond is also the site of the press conference that was held in September 2008, when you were announced as Stewart’s crew chief at Stewart-Haas Racing. Do you pay attention to any of that, or do you put that on the shelf and not worry about it and just attack it like it’s any other point-paying race?

“We do attack it like it’s any other race, but it’s also a special place in my heart, because it is in Virginia, a couple hours from home, and the place where we did the announcement. But it’s also a special place for me because we know how well Tony’s run there in the past. He’s got a very strong, long history there. It was pretty cool to see the way he’s been able to run there in the past. You know we better be on our ‘A’ game when we get there. We’ve got to be ready to give Tony a car he can drive because we know he can get around that place. It’s a little bit of extra pressure, as well. We’re using it and, hopefully, we can take that to the front.”

Had you been to Richmond as a fan or had you worked on any teams before you became a mainstay in NASCAR?

“No. I’d only actually been to Richmond for the Late Model races. I hadn’t been to a single Cup race until I actually started working for a Cup team. The very first time I was there was the last time it had Armco barriers and then, after that, it was the new configuration we’re running, now. It was just amazing to take our little Late Model team up there to that big, monster three-quarter-mile oval. It felt like you were racing with the big boys when you showed up to that place after they re-did it.”

TONY STEWART’S RICHMOND PERFORMANCE PROFILE

× Race length extended due to green-white-checker finish.      

† Qualifying canceled due to weather, starting position set via car owner points.      

* Race cut short due to weather.