Patrick Racing Teams with Yahoo! Global Internet Media Company Joins As an Associate Marketing Partner and the Official Internet Service of Team JACKSON, MI
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Patrick Racing Teams With Yahoo! Global Internet Media Company Joins As An Associate Marketing Partner And The Official Internet Service Of Team JACKSON, MI. -- July 10, 1998 -- Patrick Racing, one of the most established and successful teams in the history of CART racing, today announced a sponsorship agreement with Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO). Commencing today at the Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland, Yahoo!® Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com) will be unveiled as an associate marketing partner and the Official Internet Service of Patrick Racing. As an associate sponsor, the Yahoo! Sports logo will appear on the #20 Visteon/Patrick Racing Reynard 98I Ford-Cosworth (Firestone) car. Yahoo! Sports will also appear on driver Scott Pruett's uniform as well as all team uniforms and firesuits. Pruett is the only driver to have led the PPG Cup point standings for the previous three seasons. In addition, Yahoo! Sports will participate in Patrick Racing's In-Car-Cameras during the following six events: Medic Drug Cleveland Grand Prix (July 12), Molson Indy Toronto (July 19), US 500 (July 26), Miller 200 at Mid-Ohio (August 9), Texaco Grand Prix of Houston (October 4), and at the Marlboro 500 in Fontana, Calif. (November 1.) All of these races will be televised on ABC except the Marlboro 500, which will be televised on ESPN. "We are very pleased to have Yahoo! aboard as a sponsor. As an Internet leader, Yahoo! has set the pace in this rapidly growing new medium," said team owner U. E. 'Pat' Patrick. "We believe that the relationship with Yahoo! Sports is a natural one for Patrick Racing as it allows us to reach out to a large audience of Web users and further extend the recognition of CART throughout the U.S. and around the world." "Both on and off the track, Patrick Racing has earned a reputation as a world-class organization, and has been influential in CART and the world of open-wheel motorsports," said Cindy Bishop, brand manager, Yahoo! Sports. "This new relationship allows both of us an opportunity to build awareness and expand our visibility -Yahoo! Sports with a championship contending team in the FedEx Championship Series, and Patrick Racing with the world's most popular navigational guide." In the first nine races of the 1998 FedEx Championship Series seasons, Patrick Racing has placed at least one of the teams' two cars in the top five in seven of nine races and both cars in the top 10 three times. Pruett is the only driver to have led the PPG Cup point standings for the previous three seasons. He has two career CART victories (1995 Michigan 500 and the 1997 IndyCarnival Australia) and three career poles (Detroit, 1996; Michigan, 1997; and Portland, 1997). A 38-year-old native of California, Pruett is coming off a season best second place finish in Portland. He is currently ninth in the PPG Cup standings with 44 points and has finished in the top 10 in his last four races. Pruett has three top five showings and five top 10 placements so far this season. Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) is the sanctioning body of the FedEx Championship Series, competing for the PPG Cup. The series, which continues to grow on an international basis, reaches 195 countries, generating a cumulative worldwide audience for all dedicated race programming of 981.8 million, according to Sponsorship Research International USA (SRi USA). CART (NYSE: OPW) is the first and only major professional sports sanctioning body to become a publicly-traded company. About Patrick Racing Patrick Racing is in its 26th year of competition. It is one of the most successful teams in the history of Indy car racing with 38 victories, three Indianapolis 500 wins and two national championships. This is the fourth consecutive year that Patrick Racing has led the PPG Cup standings. Driver Scott Pruett led in 1995, 1996 and 1997, while driver Adrian Fernandez led the points earlier this year. U. E. "Pat" Patrick is a co-founder of CART and the "father" of the PPG-Dayton Indy Lights Series, which has produced much of the top young talent now competing in the FedEx Championship Series for the PPG Cup. For more information on Patrick Racing, visit the team's worldwide web site at (http://www.patrickracing.com). # # #.