Aaron Fike: Pepsi 300 preview

CORNELIUS, N.C. -- Open wheel ace and two-time National Midget Driver of the Year Aaron Fike looks forward to making his second appearance in the NASCAR Busch Series at this weekend's Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway. Aaron will drive the special silver No. 43 Ollie's Bargain Outlet Curb-Agajanian Dodge in an effort to capture the coveted Gibson Les Paul guitar trophy.

This is Aaron's second start in the No. 43 Curb-Agajanian Dodge. "I'm thrilled to continue driving the No. 43 in the Pepsi 300," he said. "With the team's winning experiences and the backing of a sponsor like Ollie's Bargain Outlets, we should be very competitive against what's sure to be a tough field."

The No. 43 team has been recently bolstered with the addition of Ollie's Bargain Outlet, Inc. as primary sponsor of the 2004 Curb-Agajanian NASCAR Busch Series entry. This sponsorship agreement will extend to at least twelve (12) races with Aaron Fike at the wheel. To celebrate this agreement for the Pepsi 300, the No. 43's color has been changed from the traditional yellow to a bright silver hue.

"A multi-race sponsorship agreement with the Curb-Agajanian No. 43 NASCAR Busch Series team is an ideal situation for Ollie's," said Mark Butler, Chief Executive Officer, Ollie's Bargain Outlet. "Over the past several years, this race team has frequently outperformed its competitors while maintaining a significantly lower budget. Ollie's thrives on selling brand-name, top-quality products at deeply discounted prices, so being associated with a race team that over-delivers is a perfect match for our brand."

Although Aaron is a mere 21, his resume reads like a veteran race car driver's. Aaron has recently entered competition in full-bodied stock cars, having driven in the 2004 Rockingham 200 Busch Series race and in two 2003 ARCA events at Lowes Motor Speedway and South Boston Speedway. "I hope to gain a lot more stock car experience and success in 2004," he said. "I know I have a lot to learn, but I feel with my experience I should be able to get the hang of NASCAR competition fairly quickly."

Like many of today's top NASCAR Nextel Series drivers, including Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne, Aaron started his professional racing career in open wheel cars. He has met with considerable success, winning more than 20 feature races in United States Auto Club (USAC) Midgets, Sprint Cars, and the premier Silver Crown Series. In 2001, Aaron became the youngest driver ever to win in a Silver Crown Series race, breaking a record previously held by NASCAR Nextel Cup star Jeff Gordon. Aaron is also a two-time winner in the Indy Racing League's Infiniti Pro Series.

Accomplished racing team owner Mike Curb is pleased to have Aaron in the Ollie's No. 43. "We think Aaron can help us sustain the progress we've made as a team," said Mike. "We know it won't happen overnight, but this young man has won in everything he's driven, so I think we made the right choice."