---

Dr. Pepper Sponsors NASCAR Race Car

22 September 1997

       WASHINGTON ERVING MOTORSPORTS TO DEBUT FIRST MINORITY-OWNED           
      NASCAR RACER IN A QUARTER CENTURY AT DAYTONA BEACH IN FEBRUARY 


SAN ANTONIO, TX - Dr Pepper Company today announced the soft drink
company will sponsor Washington Erving Motorsports' Ford race car on
NASCAR's Busch Grand National circuit in 1998. The agreement between
Dr Pepper and Washington Erving Motorsports marks the first time the
soft drink brand has sponsored a race car, and provides financial
support for the first minority-owned NASCAR race team to compete
full-time on the circuit in more than 25 years. The announcement came
at the Dr Pepper Company annual bottlers meeting in San Antonio.
    
"This is an exciting opportunity for Dr Pepper to get involved in one
of the fastest growing sports in the world," stated Dr Pepper
President and Chief Operating Officer Jack Kilduff. "We are also
delighted to support Washington Erving Motorsports' Ford Taurus race
car on one of the most popular NASCAR circuits in 1998, and we look
forward to a winning partnership."

In May, Washington Erving Motorsports and Ford Motor Company announced
a partnership agreement which resulted in the first wholly
minority-owned, full-time racing team in the last 25 years of Winston
Cup racing.  Washington Erving Motorsports is owned by former National
Basketball Association (NBA) and National Football League (NFL) stars
Julius "Dr. J" Erving and Joe Washington respectively, in addition to
North Carolina businesspersons Kathy Thompson and Fields Jackson, Jr.,
and Philadelphia businessperson Asa Murray.

"We're in this sport to win," stated Washington, "and forging mutually
beneficial partnerships with the right sponsors, like Dr Pepper, is
how we intend to win races and championships."

The maroon Dr Pepper-sponsored Taurus will debut in February at
Daytona Beach, Fla., during Speedweeks, '98, driven by 20-year-old
Jimmy Foster. Foster won more than 200 races at a dozen Florida tracks
by age 15. He was Rookie Of The Year in NASCAR Goody's Dash Series in
1996.

Dr Pepper maintains the number one trademark position among non-cola
soft drinks in the U.S., and is in its 13th consecutive year of volume
growth. As a unit of Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc., Dr Pepper also sponsors
the Big 12 Conference, Big 12 and Southeast Conference (SEC)
championship football games, Cotton Bowl football game, Tournament of
Roses Parade, LPGA golfer Dottie Pepper and WNBA basketball star
Sheryl Swoopes.

By Dr Pepper Racing Public Relations