Earnhardt to join fellow drivers, country music stars in Nashville festival

NASHVILLE (Dec. 19, 2008) – Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, will join fellow NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers and star country music artists at the fourth annual Sprint Sound & Speed event, which will be held Jan. 9-10 in downtown Nashville. The two-day extravaganza, which brings together the stars of NASCAR and country music for autographs, storytelling and question-and-answer sessions from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Jan. 10 at Nashville's Municipal Auditorium, features Earnhardt and Michael Waltrip and artists Josh Turner, Jason Michael Carroll and Richie McDonald, with more to be announced in the coming weeks. Montgomery Gentry, Rodney Atkins and special guest Julianne Hough will appear in concert at 8 p.m. on Jan. 9 at Nashville's Sommet Center. Tickets for the concert and the Sprint Sound & Speed Festival are available through TicketMaster (www.ticketmaster.com) and through the Web site www.soundandspeed.org. Concert tickets are priced at $35 (Level 1), $25 (Level 2) and $17.50 (Level 3). Festival tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for children 12 and under. Combination tickets, good for the concert and the fan festival, are priced at $50 (Concert Level 1), $40 (Level 2) and $35 (Level 3). For the fourth consecutive year, the Victory Junction Gang and the Country Music Hall of Fame will be the charitable beneficiaries of the event. The first three Sprint Sound & Speed events drew an estimated 40,000 fans and raised more than $800,000 for its designated charities. At Saturday's Fan Festival, fans of racing and country music once again will have the opportunity to get up-close-and-personal with drivers, team owners and top-name artists. The blockbuster event also will feature show car and sponsor displays, as well as a charitable auction with memorabilia from the racing and entertainment industries. Among the NASCAR celebrities already scheduled to join Earnhardt and Waltrip at the festival are Kyle Petty, Ray Evernham, Reed Sorensen and David Stremme. Sports prototype road racing stars Wayne Taylor (three-time champion and owner of a racing team in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series), Max Angelelli and Brian Frisselle (co-drivers of the No. 10) also are part of the lineup. Headlining this year's Friday-night concert, are the ever-popular Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry, known as the chart-topping duo Montgomery Gentry. The group's past 10 years in the limelight have produced more than 20 charted singles, five No. 1 singles, gold and platinum albums, CMA and ACM awards, as well as a Grammy® nomination. According to Billboard and Radio & Records year-end rankings for country radio airplay, Montgomery Gentry was the No. 1 duo. With anthems such as "Lucky Man," "Hell Yeah," "If You Ever Stop Loving Me" and "Something To Be Proud Of," Montgomery Gentry have become an indelible part of the honky-tonk landscape. For more information, visit www.soundandspeed.org.