ATLANTA, GA — NAPA Auto Parts has announced it will continue its sponsorship of the No. 15 Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) Chevrolet Monte Carlo for the 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL CUP season.
Two-time Daytona 500 champion Michael Waltrip is piloting the NAPA Chevy in 2005. Waltrip carries the NAPA shield for the fifth consecutive year in NASCAR’s premier series.
“We are pleased to announce our continued partnership with both Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and Michael Waltrip,” said NAPA President Bob Susor. “This partnership began in 1996 and has resulted in two NASCAR Truck Series Championships, a top-five finish in the NASCAR Busch Series points standings in 2000, and four NASCAR Cup Series wins to date — including two Daytona 500 victories. Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt, Inc. are excellent representatives of the NAPA brand. We are proud to have them flying the NAPA colors.”
Waltrip, a native of Kentucky, captured the prestigious Daytona 500 in his first season with DEI. After 36 races in 2002, Waltrip held the 14th position in the point standings and revisited Daytona’s victory lane twice (Twin 125, Pepsi 400). In 2003, Waltrip won the 45th running of the Daytona 500 at the Daytona International Speedway for the second time in three years. In the process, he became the all-time money winner at Daytona International Speedway and just the eighth driver to win multiple Daytona 500s. Waltrip again found victory lane winning the EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
“Driving the NAPA Chevy the last four years has been the best time in my racing career,” Waltrip said. “NAPA embraces our sport as much as any sponsor in the industry. Their dedication to NASCAR and DEI is unmatched and I am the lucky guy who gets to represent them. The guys who make up the No. 15 team complete the NAPA package. I never thought I would meet anyone who was as dedicated to winning as I am. Slugger (Crew Chief Richard Labbe) has a win-at-all-cost attitude which has saturated the NAPA team. As a driver, that is all I can ask.”
Added Richie Gilmore, DEI’s Director or Motorsports, “The partnership with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and NAPA AUTO PARTS goes back almost a decade. Together we’ve achieved tremendous success winning championships and races. We’re looking forward to continuing both relationships into 2005.”
NAPA distributes automotive replacement parts, accessories, tools and equipment to 6,000 NAPA Auto Parts stores and more than 12,000 NAPA AutoCare Centers nationwide.
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