Pepsi Extends Hendrick Motorsports Sponsorship

CONCORD, N.C. (Nov. 9, 2005) – Pepsi and Hendrick Motorsports have extended one of NASCAR’s most enduring relationships, today announcing an agreement that secures the New York-based beverage maker as a major associate sponsor and “Official Soft Drink” of Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 DuPont Chevrolets through the 2010 NEXTEL Cup Series season. As part of the pact, Gordon in 2006 will drive Pepsi-branded race cars April 30 at Talladega, Ala., and July 1 in the company’s signature event, the Pepsi 400, at Daytona Beach, Fla. “Jeff Gordon and Hendrick Motorsports have been invaluable partners over the last eight years,” said John Galloway, vice president of sports marketing and media for Pepsi-Cola North America. “With Jeff we have been lucky to have one of the best drivers in NASCAR history as a member of the Pepsi family as well as a consummate professional who always goes beyond the call of duty. We’re looking forward to another successful five seasons together.” NASCAR’s 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001 Cup Series champion, Gordon has been associated with Pepsi since 1997 and remains its most longstanding spokesperson. “I’ve been proud to represent the Pepsi brand for almost a decade,” said Gordon, 34, who has four NEXTEL Cup wins in 2005. “They’ve been a great partner of Hendrick Motorsports and an incredible supporter of the No. 24 team and my racing career. I’m looking forward to continuing an already fantastic relationship and putting that No. 24 DuPont/Pepsi Chevy in Victory Lane again.” With 73 first-place finishes in Cup competition, Gordon is third on NASCAR’s modern-era win list and seventh all-time. He has won some of the most prestigious events in auto racing, including the Daytona 500 three times, the Brickyard 400 four times, the Southern 500 five times, and the Pepsi 400 on three occasions (1995, 1998 and 2004). “Pepsi and Jeff Gordon are synonymous,” said Marshall Carlson, general manager of Hendrick Motorsports. “This has been an extremely successful and enduring partnership, which speaks volumes about Pepsi’s commitment to our team and this sport as a whole. We couldn’t be more excited about continuing the relationship.” 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. ABOUT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS: Hendrick Motorsports has won nine NASCAR championships in the last decade and currently fields teams in the sanctioning body’s top two divisions -- the NEXTEL Cup Series and Busch Series. Drivers include Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Brian Vickers, Terry Labonte and Jimmie Johnson.