KFC(R) First Company to Sponsor Three NASCAR Race Teams
15 July 1997
KFC(R) First Company to Sponsor Three NASCAR Race Teams
`Team Twister' to Run in Winston Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck
Races July 31-August 2
Teams Celebrate KFC's New `Chicken Twister(TM)' Sandwich
LOUISVILLE, Ky., July 15 -- KFC is on the go with its new
Chicken Twister sandwich and newly formed "Team Twister" trio of NASCAR
drivers. To celebrate KFC's first cold chicken menu item, Chicken Twister,
the company will be the first sponsor in NASCAR history to have race teams in
all three major NASCAR series -- Winston Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck.
Team Twister includes three great NASCAR drivers and their teams -- Rich
Bickle, driving the Winston Cup car for owner Darrell Waltrip Motorsports;
Kenny Irwin, Jr., driving the Busch Series car for Liberty Racing's Jim
Harrick and Brad Daugherty; and Mike Skinner, piloting the Craftsman Truck for
Great Dane Racing and owner Dana Dorman.
"KFC is excited to be a part of one of the world's fastest-moving sports,"
said Randy Gier, KFC Senior Vice President-Marketing. "Just as our new
Chicken Twister is earning kudos from customers `racing' through lunch, we
expect KFC's Team Twister to fire up the fans in three different races during
one incredible fast-paced weekend of NASCAR racing. We're extremely proud
that KFC is sponsoring three top-level teams in three great races."
Team Twister will be competing in the races surrounding the 1997 running
of the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). Mike Skinner
will kick things off with the Cummins 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP)
on Thursday, July 31. Kenny Irwin, Jr. will run the Kroger 200 at the IRP on
Friday, August 1. Rich Bickle caps off the week with the Brickyard 400 at IMS
on Saturday, August 2.
Team Twister's on-the-go image reflects KFC's newest menu item, the
Chicken Twister sandwich. The Twister, KFC's first "cold" chicken sandwich,
is "like a meal, wrapped up and ready to go." The KFC Twister consists of
tender chunks of chicken, shredded lettuce, juicy tomatoes, bits of real
bacon, shredded cheese and a specially blended ranch dressing -- all neatly
wrapped up in a soft pita bread.
Three-time Winston Cup Champion Darrell Waltrip will serve as the
"Official Team Twister Coach," providing a link to the days when KFC was an
associate sponsor of Junior Johnson's "Double Thunder" race teams with drivers
Waltrip and Neil Bonnett. From 1984-1986, while carrying KFC colors, Waltrip
sped to 13 victories and became the first driver to win more than $1 million
in a single season. "It's extremely exciting for me to be reunited with my
friends from Kentucky Fried Chicken," said Darrell. "You'll probably think
I'm making this up because KFC is sponsoring our race car, but chicken is my
favorite food. Honestly, I'd eat chicken three times a day."
Craftsman Truck driver Mike Skinner also has KFC ties from 1994 when KFC
operators in the Carolinas and East Tennessee sponsored him in a limited Busch
Series. That year, Skinner turned heads when he won the pole position for the
Champion Spark Plug 300. Skinner was tapped by Richard Childress, who put
him in his Craftsman Truck where he won the title in his first season.
Skinner is now racing legend Dale Earnhardt's teammate in the Childress
stable.
Winston Cup Series driver Rich Bickle has made 34 NASCAR Winston Cup
starts, earning a pole position at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the 1995 Red
Dog 300. This season, Bickle has captured two first-place finishes, three
pole positions and five top-five finishes in the Craftsman Truck Series for
Darrell Waltrip Motorsports.
This is KFC's first outing with Busch Series driver Kenny Irwin, Jr., but
from all indications, it should be as successful as the others. Kenny has
already won two Craftsman Truck races, and currently leads the "Rookie of the
Year" points.
Since its founding by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952, KFC has been
"America's Leading Kitchen For Convenient Meals," serving customers delicious,
already-prepared complete family meals, sandwiches and snacks at affordable
prices. There are more than 9,900 KFC outlets in 76 countries around the
world serving nearly seven million customers each day. Kentucky Fried Chicken
Corp. (KFC), based in Louisville, Ky., is the world's most popular chicken
restaurant chain specializing in both fried and roasted chicken pieces and
homestyle sides.
SOURCE Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation
Photo of Darrell Waltrip with two assistants applying KFC logo available via Newscom,
305-448-8411 or http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/pub/pd/gird?f=PRN/prnphotos
