Terry Labonte surprised hundreds of children with an impromptu pizza party today at the Charlotte, N.C., University City YMCA. Roaring into the YMCA parking lot in his No. 44 car, complete with a Pizza Hut(R) delivery car topper, Labonte delivered more than 100 pizzas to children in the YMCA's Afterschool program.

This special delivery marks the pizza company's first move into NASCAR. As a primary sponsor of Chevrolets driven by Terry Labonte and Brian Vickers in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series and NASCAR Busch Series, the Pizza Hut logo will be prominently displayed on the hood in five races throughout this season, beginning May 6 at Darlington Raceway.

"These three, YMCA, Pizza Hut and NASCAR, are all about family -- strengthening families, gathering families and families having fun together," said Tom James, chief marketing officer, Pizza Hut. "We certainly had fun making this special pizza delivery to the children at the YMCA. You can imagine the surprise on the kids' faces when a NASCAR race car pulled into the parking lot to deliver piping hot pizzas. We were also quite surprised to see how well Terry made the right-hand turns!"

"Now that I'm running a partial NEXTEL Cup schedule, pizza delivery wouldn't be a bad way to stay behind the wheel," said Terry Labonte. "I really appreciate Pizza Hut and YMCA for hosting the event and giving me the opportunity to have some fun with the kids today."

"We're thrilled to be the recipients of this special Pizza Hut delivery from Terry Labonte," said Karie Barbieri, Director of Camping and Youth Services, University City YMCA. "This was such a treat for our kids. We thank Pizza Hut for this exciting and delicious surprise."

Labonte, 48, who won Cup championships in 1984 and 1996, is driving 10-race NEXTEL Cup schedules in 2005 and 2006 as part of his "Shifting Gears -- Lone Star Style" tour.

He already has made starts this season at California Speedway, Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway. A Corpus Christi, Texas, native, Labonte has 22 victories, 27 pole positions, 181 top-five finishes and 359 top-10 efforts since joining the Cup circuit in 1978. He was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.

To support its NASCAR team sponsorship, Pizza Hut is offering the essential racing 'gear' so families can get a complete meal from start to finish. The new Family Race Pack(TM) promotion includes a large one-topping pizza, bread sticks, cinnamon sticks, a two liter of Pepsi(R) and napkins, plates and cups so no cooking or cleaning up is necessary. The Family Race Pack promotion is offered nationally at participating Pizza Hut restaurants for carryout, delivery or dine-in (where available) for $16.99.

Source: www.businesswire.com

Date: 5/8/2005 7:29:33 AM