Truckin' around for the Victory Junction Gang

As the holidays approach, it's very important to remember that this is a time of giving as well as receiving. Sunoco has created a program that allows NASCAR fans to do both, making a difference for chronically ill children in the bargain.

For the past 11 years, Sunoco has produced a mini-hauler for sale at its participating Sunoco and APlus retail locations. This year, to celebrate its first year as official fuel supplier of NASCAR, the truck will have a NASCAR theme. The proceeds from sales of the mini-hauler will go to benefit the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C., to the tune of $250,000.

That's holiday spirit in a nutshell.

Beginning Nov. 23, you can purchase the Sunoco mini-hauler ($19.99) with featured drivers Richard Petty, Kyle Petty, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte and Robby Gordon. Each hauler makes authentic truck sounds when turned on, has working head and tail lights and side panels with Sunoco-themed racing graphics. Inside the truck, a racing car sits on a pedestal and rotates when the truck is rolled, while a spotlight focuses its beam on the race car. Each truck also comes with a mini war wagon, complete with Goodyear tires, Sunoco dump cans and Sunoco checkered flags.

"We are so excited about this," said Jaine Lucas, director of brand management for Sunoco. "We think this is really neat. We feel like we have had a terrific first year in NASCAR, and we have had so much support from NASCAR and its fans. We just felt this was a great way to give something back. This has been good for our dealers and distributors as well. We do a truck every year, and obviously we wanted to do something that was NASCAR-themed for our first year in the sport. We were able to design a program in a way that generates a significant amount of money for the camp."

Each of the participants in the program has made either an outright donation to Victory Junction or has agreed to contribute royalties. The program to benefit Victory Junction Gang Camp will be implemented over Sunoco's entire business footprint, which extends from Indiana to the East Coast and from Maine to Florida.

"We want to encourage people to buy the truck because it does generate a lot of money for the camp," Lucas said. "This was just such an unbelievable team effort. This was truly NASCAR at its very best. You have racing teams [Richard Childress Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing], NASCAR, a manufacturer, a sponsor and a charity all coming together to do something that is really bigger than any one of us could most likely do on our own. Everybody just worked together in such a seamless way and with such a positive spirit to make this happen for the kids at the camp."

Sunoco, which assumed the fuel-supplier role for NASCAR at the beginning of 2004, forged a special relationship with Petty Enterprises in the run-up to its sponsorship, and that played a part in the holiday program, Lucas said.

"Richard was one of the spokespersons for NASCAR and he did all of the radio spots we did on MRN and PRN," Lucas said. "We just thought it was the right thing to do. He brings such instant credibility. Our sign-off line for the ads was 'if it's good enough for NASCAR, it's good enough for your car,' and when Richard says that, that means something to NASCAR fans. We have so much respect for the Petty organization, Richard and Kyle. We just thought, this being a new charity, obviously the Victory Junction Gang Camp has been embraced by the entire NASCAR community."

Equity Marketing has produced some 150,000 of the mini-haulers for sale, and the trucks will be in participating locations beginning Nov. 23. Should fans wish to order any of the previous 10 mini-haulers, point-of-purchase displays will be located in participating retailers for this purpose.