Scholarship winner named

CRAFTSMAN NHRA SCHOLARSHIP WINNER NAMED
Reno, Nev., Student Receives $25,000 Grant

MADISON, Ill. - The seventh annual Sears Craftsman NHRA Nationals drag race at Madison's Gateway International Raceway, near St. Louis, doesn't get underway until this Friday, but one winner has already been chosen. Nick Holmer of Reno, Nev., is the recipient of this year's Craftsman NHRA scholarship. The award will cover Holmer's future education as an automotive technician, up to $25,000.

Each year, 21 deserving students, three from each of NHRA's seven geographic divisions, are awarded scholarships of $1,000 under a program administered by the NHRA and funded by Sears Craftsman tools as an incentive for graduating high school seniors to continue their education. Winners are selected based on academic achievement, citizenship, extracurricular activities, community service and work experience. Scholarship preference is given to applicants planning a career in automotive technology or motorsports.

From that group, Holmer, a June graduate of Galena High School in Reno, was selected to receive the scholarship of up to $25,000.

Holmer is representative of the more than 2,000 students who applied for a Craftsman NHRA scholarship this year. In high school Holmer was active in numerous extracurricular activities including academics, leadership and athletics, all the while holding down a job and accomplishing a year-long restoration of his prized 1969 Pontiac GTO.

"This scholarship means I can go to the school I want without having to worry so much about the money," Holmer said.

Holmer has been accepted at the Universal Technical Institute in Phoenix to study automotive technology.

"Long term, I hope to go on to one of the manufacturers' training schools - maybe Porsche - and someday have my own high-performance shop," Holmer said.

"At Craftsman, we supply the tools for the best auto mechanics in the world, at the race tracks, at auto dealerships and in neighborhood shops," said Toure Claiborne, Sears motorsports marketing manager for Craftsman. "Nick Holmer represents a group of young people of whom we all can be proud - the high-quality, highly skilled auto technicians of tomorrow."

The presentation of Homer's scholarship will occur during pre-race ceremonies prior to the Sears Craftsman NHRA Nationals final eliminations on Sunday, June 29. Holmer and his mother, Meta Morris, attending the race as VIP guests of Sears and Craftsman, will be joined on the start line by Claiborne and officials of NHRA.

Craftsman funds the NHRA scholarship program as part of a motorsports program designed to make the excitement of racing available to race fans and customers nationwide. It includes sponsoring Dale Creasy Jr. and the Craftsman Funny Car, and associate sponsorships with several other top drivers in NHRA competition, as well as presenting the annual Sears Craftsman NHRA Nationals drag race at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis and title sponsorship since 1995 of the popular NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

"The Craftsman NHRA scholarships are only part of Craftsman's emphasis on encouraging and rewarding talented young people," said Claiborne. "We also support the Urban Youth Racing School, a motivational and training program for inner-city youngsters in Philadelphia, and the Craftsman/NSTA Young Inventor Awards Program which challenges students in the second through eighth grades to invent a new tool or re-think an existing one."

For more information about the Craftsman NHRA scholarship, or for applications for 2004 scholarships, contact the National Hot Rod Association's Youth and Education Services Department at (626) 250-2296, or online at nhra.com.

Craftsman, the Official Tools of NHRA, has sponsored every NHRA event held at Gateway International Raceway. According to a 2002 EquiTrend survey, Craftsman is rated the No. 1 brand in the nation among men for overall quality. Sears sells more than 1,600 Craftsman hand tools that are guaranteed forever. If any Craftsman hand tool ever fails to provide complete satisfaction, return for free repair or replacement. Sears offers Craftsman tools, merchandise and related services nationwide through its Full-line stores, Sears Hardware stores, Sears Dealer stores and Orchard Supply Hardware stores, as well as through specialty catalogs and online at www.sears.com.