BUSCH: Lear re-signs with PRW Racing and No. 77

Lear Corporation renews NBS sponsorship with 77 team

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (Nov. 12, 1998) Lear Corporation, a leading global supplier of automotive interior systems, will renew its sponsorship with PRW Racing, and will retain the prime sponsorship rights to the team for the 1999 NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division season, it was announced Thursday. Team Lear will run the entire 1999 NASCAR Busch Series schedule. "Team Lear provides us an opportunity to strengthen our relationships with our customers and the United Auto Workers union," said Terry O'Rouke, Group Vice President of Lear's Ford and Seat Trim Divisions. "The sponsorship also gives the company the opportunity to recognize our employees, many of whom are UAW members."

Team Lear will retain the number 77 and will continue to run the Ford Taurus in the NASCAR Busch Series next season. Ed Berrier will remain behind the wheel of the Team Lear/UAW No. 77 Taurus for 1999.

Berrier has been driving for Team Lear since midway through the 1997 NASCAR Busch Series season. After bringing the team and Lear its two best finishes in 1997, he also brought them its first NASCAR Busch Series win at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway on April 11. Berrier is also expected to finish in the top twenty in the 1998 NASCAR Busch Series driver point standings, a major improvement over 1997.

Berrier is currently 19th in the point standings with one race left in the season, this Sunday's Jiffy Lube Miami 300 at Miami-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex. His place in the top-20 is assured, as Dick Trickle, in 21st place, cannot make up the 253 points he's behind Berrier in one race.

Berrier made seven starts in the series in 1997 and finished 48th in the standings.

"We appreciate Lear Corporation's support and loyalty to the team," said crew chief and team manager Jimmy Means. "We've almost put a whole season behind us and built a stronger team over this season. We've continued to develop our Taurus program and should be able use our data gained this year for pre-race set-ups a little closer to the mark next year. There's still a long way to go but with all the support of Lear, Ford, and the UAW, '99 should be an even better year for us."

A Fortune 500 Company, Lear Corporation is one of the world's largest automotive suppliers, with 1997 sales of $7.3 billion. The company's world-class products are designed, engineered and manufactured by more than 60,000 employees in over 200 facilities located in 28 countries.

Source: NASCAR Online