McDonald's Recognizes NASCAR Pit Crews in New Series of TV Commercials

Ad campaign, featuring star drivers Tony Stewart and Kyle Petty, to debut in Sunday's Auto Club 500 telecast

OAK BROOK, Ill. (April 26, 2003) - McDonald's will launch its newly-created NASCAR advertising campaign during Sunday's FOX telecast of the Auto Club 500 Winston Cup race. The new series of commercials is an enhancement to the inaugural McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERade.

Two of NASCAR's most popular drivers -- Tony Stewart and Kyle Petty -- are featured in three different versions of the 30-second commercials, produced by DDB Chicago, McDonald's national advertising agency.

"The new campaign reinforces McDonald's commitment to celebrating and recognizing NASCAR pit crews," said John Lewicki, director of alliances, McDonald's U.S. Marketing. "McDonald's truly understands the importance of a successful pit crew because being fast and being accurate are also the key ingredients of McDonald's restaurant crews when serving our customers."

Tony Stewart

Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet and the reigning NASCAR Winston Cup champion, has firsthand knowledge of the similarities between a NASCAR crew and a McDonald's restaurant crew. As a teenager, Stewart worked as a McDonald's crew person.

"When I worked for McDonald's it was the crew people that made the difference and it's the same in racing," said Stewart. "McDonald's has always put a heavy emphasis on having quality restaurant crews and it is only fitting that they stepped up to recognize and honor the NASCAR crews."

Kyle Petty

Petty concurs.

"First of all, I had a lot of fun making the commercials," said Petty, driver of the No. 45 Georgia-Pacific Dodge. "They are neat spots and I am sure race fans will enjoy them. I was proud to be part of the commercials because the focus is on the crew members. And we all know the crews are the backbone of this sport."

The McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERade will offer prize money in excess of $1.2 million during the 2003 season, making it the largest monetary contingency program in NASCAR history and the first season points championship for pit crew teams.

McDonald's, the official drive-thru of NASCAR, is the world's leading food service retailer with more than 30,000 restaurants serving 46 million customers each day in more than 100 countries. Approximately 80 percent of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent, local businessmen and women.