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EA SPORTS FUELS TOP NASCAR DRIVER COMPETITION WITH EVENTS AT EA SPORTS 500
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, and Jimmie Johnson Team Up With EA SPORTS for Race Weekend Activities in Alabama
TALLADEGA, AL September 23, 2003 - This weekend at the EA SPORTS™ 500 race at Talladega Superspeedway®, the competition heats up early and often amongst top NASCAR® drivers. In addition to the race excitement on Sunday, several other weekend activities are planned, including head-to-head racing between top drivers of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series as Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, and Ryan Newman pick up the controllers and race in the 3rd Annual EA SPORTS Drivers Challenge on Friday night. On Saturday, Dale Earnhardt Jr., last year's EA SPORTS 500 race winner and avid videogame player, is scheduled to trade paint with an EA SPORTS NASCAR Thunder™ 2004 video game fan. The EA SPORTS 500 race will be telecast on NBC Sunday, September 28 at 12:30 p.m. EST.
"I've been playing NASCAR Thunder 2004 a lot, knowing the other guys are going to be coming after me in this year's race and I want to defend my title," said Ryan Newman, last year's Driver's Challenge Champion and 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of The Year.
"It's an amazing opportunity for us to bring true NASCAR racing to the fans through NASCAR Thunder 2004 at the Fan Challenge, to the drivers Friday night at the Drivers' Challenge and to the rest of America through NBC's Sunday broadcast of the EA SPORTS 500 race," said Chip Lange, Vice President of marketing at EA. "The EA SPORTS 500 is a pure fit for EA, which has built its EA SPORTS reputation around competition, authenticity, and excitement; and NASCAR racing doesn't get more competitive, authentic, or exciting than it does at Talladega."
EA SPORTS™ 500 race at Talladega
NASCAR Thunder 2004 features the EA SPORTS 500 race, one of the premier stops on
the NASCAR Winston Cup Series at Alabama's Talladega Superspeedway. EA is in its
third year of its sponsorship deal with Talladega Superspeedway and the
International Speedway Corporation naming the legendary NASCAR Winston Cup
Series fall race the EA SPORTS 500. The past two years' races have ended with
dramatic victories by last year's NASCAR Thunder 2003 cover athlete, Dale
Earnhardt Jr. This year's race takes place on Sunday September 28, 2003. Ticket
and race information can be found at 1-800-PITSHOP or (256) 362-RACE or the
track's official website at
www.talladegasuperspeedway.com.
About the EA SPORTS™ NASCAR® History
and NASCAR Thunder™ 2004:
In its seventh year of involvement with NASCAR, EA SPORTS just released NASCAR
Thunder 2004 for the PlayStation® and the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment
system, the Xbox™ video game system from Microsoft and PC-CD. In addition to
network and online play for PC-CD, the PlayStation 2 console version features EA
SPORTS™ Nation online gameplay, the first ever console NASCAR® game to include
online racing. Online racing features include online ranking, text chat, and EA
SPORTS Talk (USB headset and broadband connection required) that allows users to
talk to each other in-game (broadband only). Dial-up is available for
peer-to-peer racing. For more information on the online features of the
product, see back of game pack or see the platform specific pages at
www.thunder2004.com.
About Electronic Arts:
Electronic Arts (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's
leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, Electronic
Arts posted revenues of $2.5 billion for fiscal 2003. The company develops,
publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game
systems, personal computers and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its
products under three brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA GAMES™, and EA SPORTS BIG™.
EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com.
More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be
found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
ABOUT NASCAR® Licensing
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, NASCAR, is the sanctioning
body for one of America's premier sports. With 75 million fans spread
throughout the U.S. and ranking second among sports on television and third in
licensed product sales, NASCAR has catapulted into the American mainstream. The
Passion and brand loyalty of NASCAR fans have attracted many of the best known
brands in America: more Fortune 500 companies are involved in NASCAR than any
other sport. Based in Daytona Beach, Fla, with offices in Charlotte, New York
and Los Angeles, NASCAR sanctions 1,800 races at 120 tracks in 38 states.
About Talladega Superspeedway:
Talladega Superspeedway opened in 1969 after William (Bill) France, Sr. decided
to build the world's biggest and fastest oval racing track. Alabama's famed
2.66-mile tri-oval has been the site of the fastest qualifying mark in NASCAR
and the fastest 500-mile race in NASCAR history as
well as the home to several world land speed records. Six of the Top 10 most competitive races in NASCAR's modern history were held at Talladega Superspeedway.
About ISC:
Talladega Superspeedway is owned by International Speedway Corporation ("ISC") (Nasdaq/NM:
ISCA; OTC Bulletin Board: ISCB), a leading promoter of motorsports activities in
the United States, currently promoting more than 100 events annually. Including
Talladega, the company owns and/or operates 12 major motorsports facilities, as
well as other motorsports related businesses. For more information, visit the
Company's website at
www.iscmotorsports.com.
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Electronic Arts, EA, EA SPORTS, EA GAMES and EA SPORTS BIG are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. NASCAR is a registered trademark and NASCAR Thunder is a trademark of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. TALLADEGA and Talladega Superspeedway are used under license from International Speedway Corporation. The names of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman are the property of their respective owners and used under license.. PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft and Xbox are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries and are used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
NASCAR Thunder 2004 (PC)
Nascar Thunder 2004 (PS2)
Nascar Thunder 2004 (XB)

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