For Immediate Release
July
7, 2006 |
Little Debbie/Sunbelt Media Contacts:
Brian Pia, (205) 877-9870, bpia@luckie.net
Lori Merricks, (205) 877-9736, lmerricks@luckie.net
Wood Brothers/JTG Media Contacts:
Marti Rompf, (734) 787-8551, mrompf@woodbrothersjtg.com
Misty Almond, (704) 796-1708, misty@stmotorsports.com |
|
SUNBELT SNACKS FORD
DEBUTS AT THE LENOX INDUSTRIAL TOOLS 300
IN LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE ON JULY 16, 2006
NASCAR Veteran Ken Schrader Will Drive
the Bright Yellow Sunbelt Ford Fusion in
Two Nextel Cup Races This Season.
Loudon,
N.H. – Ken Schrader is glowing over his bright
yellow Sunbelt Snacks Ford Nextel Cup car.
“This car is so bright, it’ll be hard to miss on
the track, even at 190-plus miles an hour,” says
Schrader. “The competition will literally be
seeing yellow.”
The 21-year veteran NASCAR driver usually drives
the Little Debbie Ford during the 2006 NASCAR
Nextel Cup season. The Little Debbie Ford
features a large portrait of then 4-year-old
Debbie McKee, the granddaughter of the founder
of McKee Foods, which makes Little Debbie Snacks
and Sunbelt Snacks & Cereals. That
portrait-turned-brand logo has been on billions
of  Little Debbie Snacks since the brand first
appeared on store shelves in 1960.
But for the Nextel Cup races in Loudon, N.H. on
July 16 and Watkins Glen on August 13, Schrader
will be driving the Sunbelt Snacks Ford.
“Lots of Nextel Cup fans know about Little
Debbie Snacks, but the Sunbelt Snacks Ford is
designed to call attention to our lesser-known
but quite popular brand of granola bars and
cereals,” says McKee Foods vice president of
sales and marketing Chris McKee. “And we’re
doing it in a big way—Sunbelt Yellow.”
According to recent IRI Infoscan Reviews,
Sunbelt Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars,
Sunbelt Chewy Oats & Honey Granola Bars and
Sunbelt Fudge Dipped Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
rank among the 25 most popular granola bars in
the U.S. based on unit sales in supermarkets.
Ken Schrader on New HampshireThe Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at the New
Hampshire International Speedway is a 12-turn,
1.058-mile oval track.
“Many people refer to New Hampshire
International as ‘Martinsville on Steroids,’”
says Schrader, who has had two top 10 finishes
at that track. “The corners there are just so
flat. You can’t carry much speed into or through
the center of the turns. The key to New
Hampshire is whoever can step on the gas sooner
off the corners is usually the leader.”
Ken Schrader: The Most Active Cup Driver in 2006Schrader has started in all Nextel Cup races this year and is currently #33 in the Nextel Cup standings. His two best performances in 2006 have been at Daytona where he finished #9 at Daytona I in February and #12 at Daytona II in June.
Schrader, 51, is the oldest and most active Cup driver in NASCAR. He’s planning to compete in well over 100 races this year, including all 36 Nextel Cup races, 10 NASCAR Busch Series races, West Series, ARCA, Southwest Tour Series and smaller races on a number of dirt tracks. Schrader’s Cup record includes four victories, 64 top five finishes and 183 top 10 finishes. His autobiography, Gotta Race, is now in bookstores. For more information, visit www.schraderracing.com.
About Wood Brothers/JTG Racing
Glen Wood founded the Wood Brothers Racing team in 1950, while his brother Leonard has always been at his side. The Ford-based team has earned 97 victories and is currently managed by Glen’s children; Eddie, Len, and Kim. The Wood Brothers established a partnership in August 2006 with ST Motorsports, owned by Tad and Jodi Geschickter. The Wood Brothers/JTG Racing team has teams in the Nextel Cup, Busch, and Craftsman Truck Series in 2006. Visit www.woodbrothersjtg.com to learn more.
About the Sunbelt Brand
McKee Foods introduced the Sunbelt brand in 1982. The Sunbelt brand includes more than 25 different varieties. The products include Chewy Granola Bars, Fudge Dipped Chewy Granola Bars, Fruit & Grain cereal bars, Fruit Jammers and cereals, and are generally found on a stand-alone display or in the granola/breakfast bar section in retail stores. Sunbelt products carry suggested retail prices ranging from 25 cents for a single-serve granola bar to $2.99 for a 12-count Big Pack variety. For more information, visit www.sunbeltsnacks.com.
About McKee Foods
McKee Foods, with annual sales of over $1 billion, is a privately held, family-operated company based in Collegedale, Tenn. The company makes such popular brands as Little Debbie snacks, Sunbelt Snacks & Cereals,
and Heartland Granola cereal. Production facilities are located in Collegedale, Tenn.; Gentry, Ark.; and Stuarts Draft, Va. McKee Foods employs 6,000 people. For more information on McKee Foods, visit www.mckeefoods.com.
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