Verizon Wireless To Sponsor Penske Grand-Am Series Team

March 31, 2009


Verizon Wireless To Sponsor Penske Grand-Am Series Team
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (March 31, 2009) - Building on its partnership with Penske Racing while extending its Verizon Championship Racing program, Verizon Wireless today announced that it will serve as primary sponsor of the Penske Racing Daytona Prototype in the 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.

Beginning with the Bosch Engineering 250 race at Virginia International Raceway, April 24-25, and for the remaining events on the 2009 Grand-Am Series schedule, the Penske Racing entry will carry the Verizon Wireless black and red color scheme and iconic "V" design. The car will be co-driven by championship racers Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas, who earned back-to-back American Le Mans Series sports car titles for Penske Racing in 2007 and 2008.

Competing with the No. 12 Verizon Wireless entry in the Grand-Am Series, the Porsche Riley will build on the identity that the Penske Racing No. 12 and Verizon Championship Racing is establishing in both the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series. Verizon Wireless supports both the No. 12 Penske Dodge driven by David Stremme in the Cup Series as well as the No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge piloted by rising star Justin Allgaier in the Nationwide Series.

Verizon Wireless is one of the most diverse and wide-reaching brands in all of motorsports. With partnerships established with Penske Racing teams in NASCAR, the Grand-Am Series and the IndyCar Series - featuring associate sponsorship of the No. 6 Team Penske car driven by Ryan Briscoe and the No. 3 Team Penske machine scheduled to be driven by Helio Castroneves - Verizon Wireless is broadly represented at the highest levels of professional auto racing.

"Verizon Wireless is a terrific partner of Penske Racing and we're excited to announce that the relationship will extend to our team in the Grand-Am Rolex Series," said Roger Penske. "We have experienced much success in sports car racing and with the support of Verizon Wireless, we hope to celebrate with them in Victory Lane many times this year. I want to thank Verizon Wireless for its extensive support of our NASCAR Nationwide and Cup Series teams as well as our IndyCar Series and Grand-Am Series programs."

In addition to its partnership with the team, Verizon Wireless will also serve as title sponsor of two Grand-Am Rolex Series events this season. The Verizon Wireless 250 presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 will be held May 1-3 at New Jersey Motorsports Park, while Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will host the Verizon Festival of Speed presented by SPEEDCOM Communications, May 15-17.

"It's been a great start to the 2009 racing season for Verizon Wireless working with the Penske Racing team," said Mike Lanman, chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless. "We look forward to taking Verizon Championship Racing to the next level with our sponsorship of the Penske Grand-Am team, as well as our entitlement of the two events this season in the Grand-Am Rolex Series. It's a outstanding opportunity for Verizon Wireless to partner with Grand-Am and one of the top teams in sports car racing. We can't wait to see the No. 12 Verizon Wireless Daytona Prototype compete on track this year."

Verizon Championship Racing is the designation for all race programs supported by Verizon Wireless. Verizon Championship Racing will deliver exciting activation elements in many markets this year across various racing disciplines, unique fan experiences, and the latest in racing news and action available only on VCAST. V CAST Video subscribers will have access to behind-the-scenes exclusive interviews with drivers, recaps of races, highlights, games, news and other racing information. Information about show car and driver appearances, the smart fortwo fleet in Verizon racing colors, concerts and other elements can be discovered at www.VerizonChampionshipRacing.com.