Partners

For more information, go to www.cheeriosracing.com

General Mills first entered the sport of NASCAR in 1998 as a sponsor of Roush Racing and driver Johnny Benson in the Sprint Cup Series. Today, over 10 years later, General Mills continues to be a strong supporter of NASCAR. General Mills continued their partnership with Roush Racing in 1999, but made a change for the 2000 season that stands true today. Their Cheerios and Betty Crocker brand are now the primary sponsors of the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge for Petty Enterprises and driver Bobby Labonte.

Cheerios, America's No. 1 cereal, debuted in 1941 as Cheerioats. The nation's first ready-to-eat oat cereal has since become one of the most trusted and recognized brands in America. In fact, one of every 10 boxes of cereal sold in America is a box of Cheerios. General Mills' popular franchise includes Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Frosted Cheerios, Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, MultiGrain Cheerios, Berry Burst Cheerios, Fruity Cheerios, Cheerios Crunch and Yogurt Burst Cheerios.

Since her creation in 1921, Betty Crocker has been one of the strongest brand icons in the food industry. A brand associated with quality and trust, Betty Crocker and the red spoon symbol appear on more than 300 General Mills products including ready-to-spread frostings and mixes that make some of the country’s best cakes, brownies, cookies, muffins and other baked goods. As a pioneer in the dessert mix category, General Mills was one of the first companies to introduce layer cake mix in 1947; it did so under the Betty Crocker name. This started a revolution in baking, providing homemakers with a convenient, reliable way to replicate the quality and taste of “homemade” without the hassle. Today, Betty Crocker products are the best selling dessert mixes on the market.

The Cheerios Racing sponsorship is one of the sport’s most recognizable. In 2008, their sponsorship will highlight brands such as Cheerios, Betty Crocker, Hamburger Helper, Totino’s and Chex. Labonte will once again compete for his second championship in all 36 Sprint Cup events.

For more information, go to www.ergonracing.com

In the fall of 2006, a massive repaving project had just completed. NASCAR’s largest facility, the Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway had just received a facelift. It turned into one of the most talked about stories in the NASCAR circles for weeks. Drivers and officials praised the project for the tracks smooth and ultra-competitive surface. It was all courtesy of Ergon, Inc., a company now in their third year of major league stock car racing.

Ergon, Inc., a privately held company, operates under six primary business segments including Refining and Marketing, Asphalt and Emulsions, Transportation and Terminaling, Oil and Gas, Embedded Computing and Real Estate. Their diverse portfolio also includes owning and operating three petroleum refineries located in Mississippi, Arkansas and West Virginia, producing gasoline, low sulfur diesel, lubricant and process base oils, asphalts and other specialty products. The diverse company stretches coast-to-coast operating product terminals from Bakersfield, California to Bainbridge, Georgia.

The paving of Talladega might have brought Ergon, Inc. to the forefront of NASCAR, but since that time they have also been involved in sponsorship of a young up-and-comer. Marc Mitchell is today the man behind the wheel steering Ergon Racing to the front. Mitchell first competed with Ergon at Talladega soon after the repaving. The duo then teamed up to race in nearly a dozen ARCA races in 2007 and an event in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The 2007 season was highlighted by a second place in the season opening ARCA event at the prestigious Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

Ergon Racing and Marc Mitchell continue their march for excellence in 2008. They have teamed with winning Craftsman Truck Series owner, Billy Ballew to form the #15 Ergon Toyota Tundra for Billy Ballew Motorsports. The #15 Ergon Chevrolet will compete in 21 of the 25 events of the Craftsman Truck Series schedule. Mitchell will also be competing for Raybestos Rookie of The Year Honors.

Headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana, the ACCENT family of companies was established in 1993 with ACCENT Marketing, an international CRM provider that includes 12 state of the art call centers and full service lettershop/fulfillment center. ACCENT Intermedia was created as a natural progression of ACCENT Marketing’s growth, and became a separate company with an emphasis on stored value products in 2004. Today, the two companies work side by side in Jeffersonville’s “ACCENT campus,” and combine product offerings to provide turn key support for numerous clients.

ACCENT Intermedia develops new, unique stored value products and program support that expand beyond traditional brick and mortar “buy here / redeem here” gift card models. By combining technology, creativity and industry expertise, ACCENT delivers innovative gift card concepts that increase revenue for clients. Whether it is through the seamless integration of an online order placement sitelet, launching a new, stored value product with web-based redemption, or providing card fulfillment with carrier customization, ACCENT takes a “hands on” approach that maximizes program profitability while adding value and convenience for the end consumer.