Rockwell Automation Making Racing Fun

GREENVILLE, SC (August 27, 2001) – Rockwell Automation has done it again. For the second consecutive year, the No. 21 Richard Childress/Brant Motorsports Chevrolet will catch the eyes of everyone at the fall NASCAR Busch Series event at Darlington Raceway. As part of an annual employee promotion, the primary sponsor has turned the familiar red and white racing machine into a collage of colors and designs created by 16-year old Chris Kettle of Winterville, GA.

The Rockwell Automation Racing Paint Shop Contest, held during the month of April at Rockwell Automation facilities across the country, was geared toward the children and grandchildren of company employees. Participants received an outline of the No. 21 Chevy which they were allowed to decorate as they chose. Over 600 entries were collected in May and the winner was announced on June 25th.

"I just can't believe I won!" an elated Kettle said after finding out his design was chosen. "I got the idea for it from a T-shirt my stepdad was wearing one day. It took me a little while to create, but I just played around with it until it was how I liked it. I love racing and didn't believe my mom when she told me the first time. I can't wait to see the car."

Kettle, whose mother Pam works in the winding department at the Rockwell Automation manufacturing facility in Athens, GA, receives a trip for four to Darlington, SC to watch his paint scheme compete in the South Carolina 200 on Saturday, September 1st. He and three members of his family also get the chance to meet Winston Cup veteran Mike Skinner, get their picture taken with the car, and watch the race from the Rockwell Automation suite. Saturday's race will be the first time Kettle has ever attended a NASCAR event, although he's been racing cars for some time.

"I've never been to a NASCAR race before so this should be a lot of fun," added Kettle, who is a big fan of RCR drivers Skinner and Kevin Harvick. "The only racing I ever see is when my friends and I take my dirt track car and go racing at Lavonia Speedway when we're not in school. That's a lot of fun, but this will be something a whole lot different and much more exciting."

"We've decided to make things a little more fun at Darlington again," stated Ryan Kurek, Motorsports Manager, Rockwell Automation. "When we did this last year the turnout was a lot higher than we expected and it showed us that our employees were getting involved with our program. This year, with the on-track success, the excitement seemed to jump up even higher and made the decision to choose a winner a lot more difficult. We thought Chris's design just stood out above the rest."

The promotion, the largest that Rockwell Automation conducted this season, was a huge success at the facilities and employee participation in the sponsorship is at an all time high. Everyone around the company is looking forward to watching the brightly-colored car hit the track come Saturday.

"The excitement level at the plant has been very high this year," said John Pinkerton, Human Resources Manager, Rockwell Automation Athens Facility. "We've got a large percentage of race fans and the recent success has generated a lot of enthusiasm. Everyone thought it was great when they found out Chris won the contest. More and more people have been stopping by our wall dedicated to the team and asking how to purchase racing merchandise. It sure would be nice to get a win this car and I know all our employees will be rooting for Chris and Team Rock."

Skinner, scheduled to be in the car for Saturday's race, is still anxious to get his first win with Team Rock. Since taking over the No. 21 Chevy at Texas, he has solidified the team in the top-5 in owner points with six top-5 and nine top-10 finishes in 11 races.

"The car kind of looks like a bubble-gum machine," stated Skinner, who participated in his first Busch event at the 1.336-mile track back in 1987. "Rockwell Automation has been great since I took over their car this year. I think it's neat to see them doing a promotion cool like this for their employee's children. I know this car won't get lost on the track on Saturday, especially if we keep it up front."

Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) is a $4.3 billion world-leading provider of industrial automation power, control and information solutions that help customers meet their manufacturing productivity objectives. The company brings together leading brands in industrial automation for Complete Automation solutions, including Dodge mechanical power transmission products, Reliance Electric motors and drives, Allen-Bradley® controls and engineered services and Rockwell Software®. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., USA, the company employs approximately 23,500 people at more than 450 locations serving customers in more than 80 countries.