Target House 300 - Kevin Lepage Notes

Top U.S. Homebuilder Teams With MacDonald Motorsports
Kevin Lepage driving KB Homes Chevrolet In NASCAR Busch Series race at California

THOMASVILLE, N.C. – One of the largest homebuilders in the United States is teaming with the only Canadian-owned full-time team in NASCAR’s top series this weekend at California Speedway.

KB Homes, a $5.85 billion company that has been building homes for nearly half a century, is sponsoring MacDonald Motorsports and driver Kevin Lepage in Saturday’s Target House 300 NASCAR Busch Series race at the two-mile California Speedway.

The sponsorship, which brings one of the largest corporations in the Busch Series to the new race, is another in a long line of single-race sponsorship victories by an owner many consider one of the most tenacious on – and off – the race track. The sponsorship is a result of the hopes of a second race at the California Speedway – KB Homes, based in Los Angeles, is one of the very few Southern California-based companies involved in NASCAR sponsorship on the team level.

“Sponsoring a race team at the California Speedway is an obvious thing for KB Homes,” MacDonald said. “They are based in Los Angeles but have operating divisions in 12 different states – and most of those are in stock car racing areas. A company like this – a large corporation based in Southern California and with ties into other areas of the country – is good for everyone in our sport. The second California race already is paying off.”

Like most race teams, MacDonald’s goal is for his cars to be competitive and to maximize their performance based on available resources. “Our goals go past that of a lot of teams, though. Sponsorship for our teams is not as expensive as most other teams and we want our sponsors to get the very best we can give them. If somebody invests one dollar in sponsorship with us, we try to give them two dollars in results through exposure or show cars or driver appearances or whatever we need to do to make the sponsorship program successful.”

MacDonald’s sponsorship efforts – and results – have reached near legendary proportions in NASCAR. His abilities to find niche sponsors are tops in the field of sports marketing, and he has found ways to make those sponsorships – even one-race sponsorships – work.

One of the top selling books of the past several years – the Left Behind series – sponsored MacDonald’s truck when the books first started reaching book shelves. Drill Doctor, a drill bit sharpening tool, will appear on MacDonald’s car at Bristol, Tenn., in a couple of weeks.

“Giving our sponsors more than they ask for is important to us,” MacDonald said. “It’s obviously a business thing but it’s a moral thing too. We have an obligation to do the best job we can do for our sponsors, and we take that very seriously.

“It’s been quite the journey from the short tracks back home. With the realization of what we have to operate on and who we are racing against in the Busch series, we’ve had some pretty good on-track accomplishments. Our goal is to continue building and to do everything we can to keep getting better. And I believe that we are on the right track” he added.

Building homes for nearly half a century, KB Home is one of America's premier homebuilders with domestic operating divisions in some of the fastest- growing regions and states: West Coast -- California; Southwest -- Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico; Central -- Colorado, Illinois, Indiana and Texas; and Southeast -- Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Kaufman & Broad S.A., the Company's majority-owned subsidiary, is one of the largest homebuilders in France. In fiscal 2003, the Company delivered homes to 27,331 families in the United States and France. It also operates a full-service mortgage company for the convenience of its buyers. Founded in 1957, and winner of the 2004 American Business Award for Best Overall Company, KB Home is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "KBH." For more information about any of KB Home's new home communities, call 888-KB-HOMES or visit kbhome.com.