Brian Vickers is 'Fueled by Dew'

CONCORD, N.C. (Jan. 19, 2006) – Brian Vickers, the youngest driver ever to win a championship in one of NASCAR’s top touring series, will be “Fueled by Dew” beginning this season, with Mountain Dew today announcing a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Hendrick Motorsports. Mountain Dew will be an associate sponsor of Vickers’ No. 25 GMAC Chevrolets throughout the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series campaign. The season will mark the 20th anniversary of the No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports team, which has 29 pole positions and 15 wins since 1986. A 22-year-old Thomasville, N.C., native, Vickers will also pilot No. 57 Mountain Dew Chevrolets in three NASCAR Busch Series races in 2006: Feb. 25 at California Speedway, May 12 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, and Aug. 19 at Michigan International Speedway. Vickers, who was 20 when he won the Busch Series championship in 2003, will be featured in Mountain Dew advertising and on in-store display materials. He joins teammate Jeff Gordon as part of the Pepsi-Cola racing team. “Brian is an exciting and intense young driver who fits in perfectly with the Mountain Dew brand,” said John Galloway, vice president of sports marketing and media for Pepsi-Cola North America. “We look forward to joining Brian in Victory Lane and to continued success with the whole crew at Hendrick Motorsports.” Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew’s parent company, has been involved with stock car racing for more than five decades. Today, Pepsi serves its products at 15 of the 22 NEXTEL Cup tracks and is the title sponsor of the Pepsi 400, which is held annually at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. “Mountain Dew and Pepsi have been longtime supporters of our sport,” said Marshall Carlson, general manager of Hendrick Motorsports. “We’re excited to welcome Mountain Dew to the team and look forward to this extension of our wonderful relationship with Pepsi-Cola.” Driving the No. 25 Chevys, Vickers posted one pole position, five top-five finishes and 10 top-10 performances in his sophomore season in the NEXTEL Cup Series. He also has one pole, three wins, 14 top-fives and 24 top-10s in 65 career races on the Busch Series circuit. “I’m extremely proud to represent Mountain Dew,” Vickers said. “To be associated with a brand that has so much history and success in our sport is an incredible opportunity for me. Pepsi has been a longtime partner of Hendrick Motorsports and I look forward to developing that same kind of relationship with Mountain Dew.” ABOUT PEPSI: Purchase, N.Y.-based Pepsi-Cola North America (www.pepsi.com) is the $4 billion refreshment beverage unit of PepsiCo Inc. in the United States and Canada. Its U.S. brands include Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi ONE, Wild Cherry Pepsi, Pepsi Twist, Pepsi Vanilla, Mountain Dew, Diet Mountain Dew, Mountain Dew Code Red, Mountain Dew LiveWire, Sierra Mist, Sierra Mist Free, Mug, Slice, Aquafina, Aquafina FlavorSplash, Aquafina Sparkling, Dole single-serve juices, Tropicana Juice Drinks and SoBe. The company also makes and markets North America's best-selling ready-to-drink iced teas and coffees, respectively, via joint ventures with Lipton and Starbucks.