Combos awards truck, tools to NASCAR fan

CHARLOTTE, N.C.-- Combos Snacks, "The Cheese-Filled Snack of NASCAR" will award Raleigh, N.C., resident Charity Smith a NASCAR Garage on Dec. 15, culminating a year-long NASCAR promotion. Smith will claim her prizes at Capital Ford located at 4900 Capital Blvd in Raleigh.

Combos Snacks, which sponsors driver Elliott Sadler in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, offered fans a chance to win what most race fans only dream of -- a NASCAR Themed Garage. The promotion ran throughout the 2004 season and awarded Smith a prize package valued at more than $35,000 including $10,000 worth of tools and a new Ford F-150.

"I bought the Combos hoping I'd at least win the $75 daily prize," said Charity Smith, a Raleigh resident and long-time NASCAR fan. "I never dreamed that I'd actually win the grand prize. But two or three months after the promotion was over, I received a letter from UPS saying I had won and I just couldn't believe it. I was so nervous reading it - my knees were shaking and everything. Nothing like this has ever happened to me and I'm so appreciative to Masterfoods."

The online promotion, housed at www.combos.com, encouraged participants to enter unique codes found on the back of each bag of COMBOS®. A daily winner was drawn at random from the entry list and received $75 in tools. Each daily winner was then placed in a drawing for the grand prize -- The Combos Snacks NASCAR Themed Garage.

"At the heart of every NASCAR fan is the vehicle and the garage," said Jeffrey Moran, Masterfoods USA spokesman, maker of Combos Snacks. "We figured we'd give our loyal Combos fans a chance to get the ultimate NASCAR-inspired prize."

Combos® Snacks are "The Cheese-Filled Snack of NASCAR" and a proud sponsor of top NASCAR driver Elliott Sadler and the "M&M'S" Racing Team. Sadler, who finished ninth overall in the 2004 standings, carried the banner for Combos® at Lowe's Motor Speedway in October of 2004. Combos® will be primary sponsor of the No. 38 Ford Taurus three times in 2005 including Atlanta Motor Speedway in March, along with Talladega Superspeedway and Darlington Raceway in May.

Masterfoods USA, the United States food, snack and petcare operations of Mars, Incorporated, is one of the world's leading food manufacturers. With more than $5 billion in annual sales, the combined food, snack and petcare segments are a symbol of excellence for quality brands. Headquartered in Hackettstown, NJ, Masterfoods USA employs more than 7,000 associates in the United States, with 15 manufacturing facilities nationwide. The company owns some of the world's favorite brands including M&M'S® Brand, SNICKERS® Brand, UNCLE BEN'S® Brand, PEDIGREE® Brand Food For Dogs, WHISKAS® Brand Food For Cats.