IRL: Truscelli, Miles of Hope Team up to Find Missing Children

PHOENIX, Friday, March 10, 2000 - Indy Racing's Truscelli Team Racing is joining forces with Sign Biz, Inc., and the "Miles of Hope" campaign to raise awareness about Mikelle Biggs, a 12-year-old girl from Mesa, Ariz., who was abducted Jan. 2, 1999.

The Miles of Hope campaign, created by Irvine, Calif.-based Sign Biz, Inc., will use state-of-the-art digital print technology and the trucking industry to highlight images and information about America's missing children.

Truscelli Team Racing is one of the Indy Racing Northern Light Series teams that will compete in the MCI WorldCom Indy 200 on March 19 at Phoenix International Raceway.

The Truscelli #33 G Force/Oldsmobile/Firestone will feature Miles of Hope insignia at the MCI WorldCom Indy 200 and will carry it for the remainder of the season. A 2-foot by 2-foot poster with Biggs' likeness will adorn the Truscelli team's semi-truck transporter for the remainder of the season, too.

"We can achieve the attention this program deserves," said Joe Truscelli, owner of Truscelli Team Racing. "The viewership of the Indianapolis 500 last year alone was 5.4 million people. By making the Miles of Hope name visible through the generosity of our team sponsors, Exodus Communications, and Paladin in partnership with Pepsi-Cola, we are doing something more than just racing. We are supporting the greatest child search resource of our time."

Miles of Hope will create 100 weatherproof, reflective graphic posters for missing children and will place them on the back of semi-tractor trailers. With more than 200 million drivers on American highways today, and images of children that can be seen day or night, the program is expected to generate 14 million impressions annually for each poster, according to trucking industry research.

"Miles of Hope bridges the gap between traditional poster and flyer approaches and the downtime behind the wheel for some 210 million drivers on the road today," said Teresa M. Young, president and chief executive officer of Sign Biz, Inc. "Trucking companies are part of the solution, and Truscelli Team Racing is driving this fact home. Imagine if your child was missing. Currently one in six children is found by means of posters or photos. We hope to triple that number with this long-term program."

Bobby Regester will drive at Phoenix for the injured Jaques Lazier, who sustained a compression fracture in his lower back during the Delphi Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway in January. According to Truscelli, Lazier will be back in the car for the Las Vegas 500 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on April 22.

-IRL/IMS-