Shane Wallace, Speed Racer team up for 15 races

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- NASCAR Busch Series driver Shane Wallace and his family owned team announce a unique partnership program for the 2004 season with the classic cartoon Speed Racer. Wallace will pilot the No. 63 Speed Racer Chevrolet in approximately 15 races this season. The program will make its exciting debut on April 3rd at the Texas Motor Speedway in the running of the O'Reilly 300.

"What an honor it is for me to be associated with one of America's most popular cartoon characters such as Speed Racer," stated Wallace. "I have become a huge fan of the cartoon series and it is very neat to have them involved with my racing career. I look to make everyone at Speed Racer proud this season."

Wallace is a graduate of the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series where he competed during the 2001 and 2002 season. In 2003 he competed in 7 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events with 4 top 20 finishes and a season best 15th place finish at Gateway. The 2003 season also saw Shane make his NASCAR BGN Series debut at Richmond where he performed impressively before a mid-race incident ended his day and relegated him to a 36th place finish.

This unique partnership will feature five (5) different paint schemes during the course of the 15 races with each spotlighting different characters and features of the classic cartoon. The April 3rd debut will see "The World's Greatest Driver" himself -- Speed Racer -- featured on the No. 63 Chevrolet and this will serve as the primary design for the 15 races. A special scheme featuring Speed's arch rival and brother -- the mysterious Racer X -- will be featured at the May 29th race at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. Three additional Speed Racer paint schemes will be added throughout the season.

Also, a major merchandising program will be undertaken featuring merchandise and collectibles celebrating the partnership between Speed Racer and Shane Wallace. As well, corporate partners will be an additional component of this unique program where companies will appear on the No. 63 Chevrolet along with Speed Racer and enjoy the merchandising, cross-marketing and promotional rights.

"We are thrilled to be a part of the winning Shane Wallace team for the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series," stated James Rocknowski, Executive Vice President for Speed Racer Enterprises. "Not only do Shane and Speed Racer share the same intense desire to be the best race car driver they can be, but they both do so within the family framework."