Mattei Inks NationsRent to Three-Year Deal

Mattei Motorsports inks NationsRent to three year deal as primary sponsor

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (Nov. 13, 1999) - NationsRent, Inc. (NYSE: NRI), one of the country's leading construction equipment rental companies, has signed a three-year agreement to serve as the primary sponsor for the No. 7 NASCAR Winston Cup Chevrolets fielded by Mattei Motorsports and driven by Winston Cup veteran Michael Waltrip. The announcement was made by team owner Jim Mattei and NationsRent Chief Marketing Officer Gary Stewart at a press conference held Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

NationsRent replaces Philips Electronics as the primary sponsor on the machines driven by Waltrip. The car will also carry the support of several outstanding associate sponsors, including Omniquip-Textron, New Holland, JLG, Philips Lighting Company, Klaussner Furniture Industries and Bostrom Seating.

According to Stewart, "the combination of Mattei Motorsports, Michael Waltrip and NationsRent will make the best partnership for our entry into Winston Cup racing. Mattei's business acumen and Michael's personality and popularity are a perfect fit with NationsRent's goals for racing. We have created an industry leadership position in less than two years and this partnership will help solidify that position with our customers and vendor partners."

By signing NationsRent for the next three seasons, Mattei has succeeded in landing the type of sponsorship program he has searched for since 1997.

"Mattei Motorsports has been working ever since we entered the sport to secure a long-term relationship with a company of this stature," said Mattei. "We feel very lucky to have forged a racing partnership with such an outstanding company as NationsRent. They are going to devote a great deal of their time and resources to developing their brand around our race team. Having an aggressive national sponsor this excited to be in racing creates a tremendous opportunity for Mattei Motorsports to grow and become a contender for the Winston Cup championship."

During the 1999 season, Mattei's team started that growth process with the introduction of a new crew chief in Bobby Kennedy, a new manufacturer in Chevrolet and a new driver in Waltrip. As he nears the conclusion of his 14th full season of Winston Cup competition in 1999, Waltrip sees the addition of NationsRent as an enormous boost for a team that started to gel during the latter half of the 1999 season.

"Our sponsorship package was slow to develop as we prepared for 1999, which put us a little bit behind," said Waltrip. "But because of Jim Mattei's commitment, we were able to go forward and build what was basically a new race team from top to bottom. Now with NationsRent on board, we will be able to capitalize on all the hard work that has gone into this team."

Headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., NationsRent, Inc. is one of the country's leading construction equipment rental companies. Focused solely on renting a broad range of high-quality construction equipment, NationsRent offers superior customer service, affordable prices, and convenient locations throughout the country.

NationsRent's locations offer a broad selection of high quality, well-maintained brand-name equipment including backhoes, bulldozers, skid steer loaders, aerial lifts and work platforms, compressors and generators. NationsRent markets its products and services primarily to a broad range of construction and industrial customers, including heavy highway contractors, sub-contractors, manufacturing plants and distribution centers. NationsRent also sells used and new equipment, spare parts and supplies, and provides maintenance and repair services.