Robby Gordon to Race on Behalf of Special
Olympics at Talladega
ATLANTA (March 31, 2003) — Sporting a Special
Olympics Team USA paint scheme on his race car, Robby Gordon will
drive Richard Childress Racing’s (RCR) No. 31 Cingular Wireless
Chevrolet for a good cause on April 6 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
To launch Cingular’s fourth year of supporting
Special Olympics, Cingular will donate $100 to the organization
for every lap completed and an additional $1,000 for each lap that
Gordon leads in the Aaron’s 499. If Gordon wins the race, Cingular
will donate $100,000 to Special Olympics.
The promotion will help to support Special Olympics
Team USA athletes who will compete at the 2003 Special Olympics
World Summer Games in Dublin, Ireland, June 21-29. The games will
showcase the athletic skills, courage and dignity of 7,500 athletes
with mental retardation from more than 150 countries around the
world.
Five Special Olympics Alabama athletes will be
the VIP guests of Cingular Wireless and Gordon at Talladega. Gordon
has invited them to pit row to cheer him on from the sidelines in
his specially painted No. 31 race car with a Special Olympics Team
USA logo splashed across the car. Special Olympics athletes attending
are: Elizabeth Bronold, Dothan, Ala.; Michael Crunkelton, Huntsville,
Ala.; Brandi Deese, Dothan, Ala.; Joseph Gann, Prattville, Ala.
and Dossie King, Montgomery, Ala.
Cingular Wireless, an official partner of Special
Olympics USA and an official sponsor of Special Olympics Team USA,
has raised more than $28.1 million for the organization over the
past three years. Cingular’s fundraising effort is the largest
partnership in Special Olympics history.
“This is one of Cingular’s many initiatives
for Special Olympics. As an athlete, Robby knows all too well how
much training, hard work and determination goes into competition,”
said Marc Lefar, Cingular’s chief marketing officer. “Cingular
is confident Robby will end up in Victory Lane, allowing us to successfully
launch our 2003 Special Olympics fundraising efforts, and to help
Special Olympics Team USA athletes train and participate in the
2003 World Games.”
“Cingular and I both believe in the mission
of Special Olympics,” said Gordon. “Realizing that my
success at the Talledega Superspeedway this week can have a direct
impact on the organization and can benefit Special Olympics athletes
gives me more incentive than ever to win.”
ABOUT SPECIAL
OLYMPICS
Special Olympics is an international year-round program of sports
training and competition for individuals with mental retardation.
More than one million athletes in over 150 countries train and compete
in 26 Olympic-type summer and winter sports. Founded in 1968 by
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics provides people with mental
retardation continuing opportunities to develop fitness, demonstrate
courage, and experience joy as they participate in the sharing of
gifts and friendship with other athletes, their families and the
community. There is no cost to participate in Special Olympics.
Visit Special Olympics online at www.specialolympics.org or on AOL
(Keyword: Special Olympics).
ABOUT CINGULAR
WIRELESS
Cingular Wireless, a joint venture between SBC Communications (NYSE
– SBC) and BellSouth (NYSE – BLS), serves more than 22 million voice
and data customers across the United States. A leader in mobile
voice and data communications, Cingular is the only U.S. wireless
carrier to offer Rollover, the wireless plan that lets customers
keep their unused monthly minutes. Cingular provides cellular/PCS
service in 43 of the top 50 markets nationwide, and provides corporate
e-mail and other advanced data services through its GPRS and Mobitex
packet data networks. Details of the company are available at www.cingular.com.
|