Dale Jr. vs. Shaq June 23 at Concord Speedway

CONCORD, N.C. (June 18, 2010) – The challenge has been issued and accepted. Four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal has swapped his size-23 basketball shoes for racing Velcro; traded his breezy, cool basketball jersey for a heavy, fire-retardant driver’s suit; forgone the familiarity of basketball hardwood for the cramped quarters of a stock-car cockpit – all 7-foot-1, 325 pounds of him. His reason: challenge NASCAR’s most popular driver and winner of more than 40 NASCAR-sanctioned races, Dale Earnhardt Jr., to a one-on-one race in a test of skill, endurance and speed. The competition will be featured in the second season of Shaq Vs., the popular television series that is part of ABC’s new summer season. The show’s premise is simple: O’Neal takes his top-level skills and athletic prowess from the basketball court and transfers it to a different and unfamiliar sporting event. The first season pitted Shaq in a head-to-head match-up against Albert Pujols in a homerun-hitting contest, Michael Phelps in a swimming race, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh in beach volleyball and Oscar de la Hoya in a boxing match. Shaq Vs., which is produced by Media Rights Capital in association with dick clark productions, will begin airing its second season in early August. Season Two will not rely solely on sporting matches but also will feature fun, comedic non-sports competitions such as a spelling bee contest and dance crew battle. Each will test O’Neal’s adaptability, but perhaps none more challenging than maneuvering a 3,500-pound stock car with more than 800 horsepower against Earnhardt Jr., winner of the Daytona 500 and 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup races. The race between O’Neal and Earnhardt will take place at 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, June 23, at Concord Speedway, a tricky, half-mile tri-oval that features some of the best weekly racing in North Carolina. The event is open to the public free of charge. Gates will open at 3 p.m. ET. No cameras or phones will be allowed inside the facility. Terms of the race will be negotiated by O’Neal and Earnhardt on the day of the race. “SHAQ vs. JUNIOR” EVENT DETAILS When: Wednesday, June 23 (Race starts at 5 p.m. ET / Gates open at 3 p.m.) Where: Concord Speedway, 7940 U.S. Highway 601 South, Concord, N.C. 28025 Notes: The show will be taped. By attending the event you agree to have your likeness shown on television. No cameras, phones (of any kind) or outside recording devices will be allowed inside. Please leave them in your car. Parking is limited. Please share a ride, when possible. Social Media & Web Info: For more information on Shaq Vs., please visit www.ABC.go.com. For up-to-the-minute information on Wednesday’s taping, please visit www.Facebook.com/DaleJr and www.concordspeedway.net or follow us on Twitter at @ConcordSpeedway and @JRMotorsports. Directions to the speedway can be found at www.concordspeedway.net.