Jerry Nadeau to Drive Michael Holigan.com" Car

Hendrick Motorsports and Michael Holigan.com To Build Solid Team with Jerry Nadeau

HARRISBURG, N.C. (July 19, 1999) -- The key to building a quality home is having the right people and the right tools. Building a NASCAR Winston Cup team is no different, so Hendrick Motorsports has poured a foundation that includes one of the country's top home builders, a talented young driver and one of the largest sponsorship agreements in the history of NASCAR. Michael Holigan, president of Michael Holigan.com and Michael Holigan Homes, announced today that his company has teamed with Hendrick Motorsports to sponsor the No. 25 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, which will be driven by Jerry Nadeau, beginning with the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Daytona 500. The sponsorship agreement is a multi-million dollar, three-year program that will help promote Michael Holigan's website for home builders, home buyers and home owners -- www.michaelholigan.com -- and help expand the Michael Holigan Homes brand of franchised home builders. "Being involved in NASCAR serves several purposes for our business," Holigan explained. "Our first priority is to build brand awareness of our website and let people know that they can find free information on how to buy, build and maintain homes, plus purchase building products and tools at the lowest price possible. Our second goal is to build brand awareness of our home-building company so we can continue our exciting growth across the country." Hendrick Motorsports is one of the premier organizations in NASCAR racing. Its teams have captured the NASCAR Winston Cup championship the past four years in a row with drivers Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte. Hendrick Motorsports was founded by Rick Hendrick in 1984 and his teams have scored 90 wins in the series since then. "Our goal has always been to put together the best teams in the series so we can win races," said Rick Hendrick. "The teaming of Michael Holigan, Jerry Nadeau and Hendrick Motorsports is a great start toward doing that. This is a great three-way relationship that is sure to have an impact on NASCAR racing and Michael's business over the next several years." Nadeau, in his second year in NASCAR's premier division, is currently driver of the No. 9 Melling Racing Ford. The Danbury, Conn., native has more than 24 years of racing experience, since starting in go-karts at age four. His varied motor sports background includes 10 karting championships, five wins in the Skip Barber Pro Series and a year in the Formula Opel European Union Series where he finished sixth overall. "This is an opportunity that every driver dreams about," said Nadeau, 28. "Rick (Hendrick) has a championship-caliber team that will accelerate my learning curve in the series. This is a team where I'll have an opportunity to prove what I can do -- be competitive, which will put me in position to win races. Michael Holigan and I have more in common than NASCAR. I used to work on houses as a roofer, so we can talk about more than cars and racing. It's a great relationship -- we click." The Michael Holigan Companies, a venture between Holigan Family Investments and Olympus Real Estate Corporation, an affiliate of Hicks, Muse, Tate and Furst, reaches more than 30 million people each month through a weekly syndicated television series "Michael Holigan's Your New House," a daily version of the show on the Discovery Channel, a regular advertorial column in USA Today and an Internet website on buying, building, remodeling and maintaining homes. Professional Builder magazine has ranked Michael Holigan Homes as one of the top 100 home builders in the United States for the past three years. The company built the 1998 Life magazine Dream House and Home magazine's "Best Little House" design this year. Michael Holigan Homes recently franchised its home-building operation in order to provide its quality homes across the country. To support the sponsorship, Michael Holigan will host more than 4,000 home builders at 15 race hospitality events from Michigan to California and throughout the South. The No. 25 Michael Holigan Chevrolet show cars will also have a busy year with appearances at model homes of franchised home builders. "We really want to take our business to the next level," said Holigan. "Teaming with the top organization in racing is only the foundation for building a great marketing program."