Dale Jarrett Says "Yes" to Racing the Big, Brown UPS Truck
The Official Express Delivery Company of NASCAR Speeds Past the Flag
ATLANTA, Feb. 17, 2005 -
UPS (NYSE:UPS) today announced the arrival of the moment race fans have been waiting for - Dale Jarrett, driver of the Robert Yates Racing #88 UPS Ford Taurus, has agreed to race the UPS delivery truck in the fifth installment of the popular “Race the Truck” advertising campaign.
What began as a way to create awareness for UPS’s entry with the #88 race team has since transcended the airwaves to become part of NASCAR culture. For more than four years, everyone from celebrities to race fans to UPS employees - even Dale’s father, famed driver Ned Jarrett - has encouraged Jarrett to take the wheel of the ubiquitous brown truck. During FOX’s broadcast of the Daytona 500, scheduled for Sunday, February 20, fans will finally hear their long-awaited reply, “Yes.”
In the new commercial titled “Yes,” Jarrett casually enters a UPS conference room at the company’s Atlanta headquarters and announces he has reconsidered racing the truck. A woman outside the room overhears this statement and tells a fellow co-worker, resulting in a chain reaction of buzz around the globe that even includes UPS employees in China. After it seems everyone knows the big news, Jarrett re-enters and requests this announcement remain a secret for now.
“While Jarrett may have wanted us to keep the news a secret, we just couldn’t keep something like this under our hood,” said Patrick Guilbert, UPS vice president of sponsorships and events. “The Race the Truck campaign lets us showcase the playful side of UPS. We get down to business providing reliable delivery and logistics services to the entire NASCAR family and leadership with our sponsorship program.”
UPS has flexed its muscles as the sport’s official delivery company by coordinating thousands of critical inbound and outbound shipments within the controlled-access garage area at NEXTEL Cup Series events through UPS Trackside Services. A second commercial, also to debut on Sunday, demonstrates to fans how the world’s largest package delivery company helps keep the number two-rated sport on television in high gear and moving fast.
Race teams, sponsors, officials, merchandise vendors and media have come to depend on UPS Trackside Services for last-minute shipments to arrive before the green flag. These services will expand internationally when the NASCAR Busch Series travels to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course near Mexico City. UPS Supply Chain Solutions will coordinate the customs clearance and movement of more than 80 car haulers, media trucks and official vehicles across the border and back.
Stateside, UPS has enhanced its relationship with the motorsports community this year by becoming an exclusive track sponsor of California Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Richmond International Raceway in addition to expanded presence at Daytona International Speedway. For five years, UPS has been the primary sponsor of the #88 Ford Taurus driven by Dale Jarrett for Robert Yates Racing. Jarrett extends his leadership as a premier driver to the shared commitment of UPS drivers in their big, brown trucks together with a team of nearly 370,000 dedicated employees around the world.
Building on the sport’s popularity and fan loyalty, UPS provides updated information about UPS Racing, the #88 team performance, features and photography and access to licensed merchandise at
racing.ups.com.
