BUSCH: Kingsford signs with ST Motorsports

Kingsford Charcoal extends sponsorship in Busch Series

Locust, NC (March 22, 2002) -- Kingsford Products Co. and ST Motorsports signed a three-year sponsorship agreement that will extend Kingsford's involvement in the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series through 2005. Kingsford Charcoal has sponsored ST Motorsports #59 Chevrolets, now driven by Stacy Compton, since 1998.

Grant LaMontagne, Kingsford's vice president of sales for special products, is quite happy with the marketing and business relationship with ST Motorsports. "When we got involved in racing, we clearly wanted to understand how we were going to get the return to justify the expenditure of that money," LaMontagne stated. "In doing our post-race analysis, we can actually come up with a hard number and say, 'This activity generated this many cases at this incremental case rate.' One of the things we found out is that it's been a tremendous pay out for us."

According to Rich Conti, president of Kingsford Products Co., the decision to sponsor a NASCAR Busch Series team came about as the result of the company's need to expand its market share, especially in the Southeast. A convincing presentation from ST Motorsports owner Tad Geschickter and a trip to the race track helped Conti make the decision to use racing as a marketing tool.

Geschickter hopes his successful relationship with Kingsford will encourage other companies to get involved with Busch Series sponsorship. "I'm not special in any way, shape or form," Geschickter stated. "I hope that by Kingsford doing this (signing another extension), it tells other companies that are still considering sponsorship to really look at the fact that this works for their bottom line. The Busch Series is a viable marketing alternative, and here's a big company that leveraged it to the hilt, and is pleased with the results."

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