In the Pits- MBV

Riggs, Petty take college rivalry from the gridiron to the Nextel Cup

Scott Riggs will drive the No. 10 Checkers Florida State Chevrolet in the season-ending NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season event to be held at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 20. Riggs’ football themed machine will be joined by Kyle Petty’s No. 45 Checkers University of Florida Dodge.

“As our new sponsor, Checkers/Rally’s has been fantastic,” said Riggs, who had Checkers/Rally’s on board his No. 10 Chevy in five races this season. “It’s great to be able to take our relationship to a new level with a football tie-in. This is a very relevant program for our fans.”

This sponsorship is designed to give sports fans one more opportunity to gear up for the intra-Florida rivalry on the football field the following week. The company expects to create excitement due to the tremendous fan cross-over among the two sports.

In September, new collectible No. 10 Florida State Seminole and No. 45 Florida Gator cups became available at nearly 150 Checkers restaurants in Florida as Checkers kicks off year two of its “Pick Your Champ” promotion.

“Checkers/Rally’s® has enjoyed phenomenal national visibility in this, our first year as the Official Burger and Drive-thru Restaurant of NASCAR,” said Richard Turer, vice president of marketing, Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc. “With nearly one in four restaurants located in Florida, our ability to link our position in NASCAR to our already successful relationship with the Gators and Seminoles is very exciting. This event will only contribute to our long list of successes in 2005.”

During the unveiling of the new cars at Bristol Motor Speedway, Checkers pledged $5,000 to both Riggs’ and Petty’s charities: Carolina Donor Services and the Victory Junction Gang, respectively. An additional $5,000 will be donated to the winner of the race-within-a-race, that is the higher finisher between Riggs and Petty, on Nov. 20.

“This promotion allows us some good, friendly competition, which is always fun,” said Riggs. “We are especially grateful to Checkers for their donation to our charities.”

University of Florida Gator and Florida State University Seminole 1:24 scale die-cast cars will also be available as part of this program. The die-casts will feature Checkers’ logo and the Gator or Seminole logo and can be purchased online at http://www.gatorsnolesracing.com or by calling (877) 212-6017. They are also being sold through school newsletters, newspapers, Web sites and onsite during university home football games. A portion of the proceeds of the sale of the die-casts benefits the scholarship programs at both schools.

Photo caption: Kyle Petty (l) and Scott Riggs show off checks to their favorite charities donated by Checkers/Rally’s