TMS set to unveil IndyCar race billboard
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| Danica Patrick in SI Swimsuit issue |
04/24/08 Texas Motor Speedway’s billboard campaign for the upcoming Bombardier Learjet 550k IndyCar Series race will be unveiled Monday in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and will feature a bikini-clad Danica Patrick and two-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves.
The “Reason #7: Danica!" billboard celebrates Patrick, who is coming off her first career IndyCar Series win in Motegi, Japan this past weekend, and the reason tagline is accompanied by a waist-up image of her in a bikini top from the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition shoot earlier this year.
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| Dancing with the Stars winner Castroneves |
“Reason #3: Tango at 220!" features Castroneves and plays off his off-season triumph in the “Dancing with the Stars" competition. Each driver will be displayed on three billboards in the Metroplex. Patrick’s billboards will be at the intersections of the North Dallas Tollway/Beltline; Loop 820/377 and I-35E/College Avenue while Castroneves’ will be at I-30/Beltline; I-30/Haskell and LBJ/Church Road.
“In keeping with our ‘Reasons’ campaign, we used Indy car’s two most marketable figures to promote the Bombardier Learjet 550," TMS President Eddie Gossage said.
“We focused on two of the off-season’s most visible achievements for them and the series – Danica in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and Helio winning ‘Dancing with the Stars’ – and played off that. They may not be as controversial as ‘Reason #88: Step-Mom,’ but they are creative." Texas Motor Speedway also will have a presence in Indianapolis during the month of May and the Indianapolis 500, with a billboard to be unveiled Monday at I-465 and Crawfordsville Road regarding Indy car traditions.
The billboard will read, “Indy Traditions …" and feature a bottle of milk and a brick to represent the prestigious Indy 500 and the TMS logo to represent the speedway’s long-standing history with the IndyCar Series and as the home of “America’s Original Nighttime Indy Car Race," the Bombardier Learjet 550k. “Since the Indy Racing League was founded, Texas Motor Speedway has joined bricks and the bottle of milk as one of Indy car racing’s great traditions," Gossage said.
“Outside of the Indy 500, the Bombardier Learjet 550k draws the biggest crowd of the year and it has every year since this speedway opened. This billboard is our way to pay respect to a couple of Indy’s great traditions and to express our appreciation to the fans that our great race has become an important tradition as well. There is nothing like the month of May at Indy followed by Indy cars under the stars at night in Texas." Tickets for the Bombardier Learjet 550k on Saturday, June 7 – along with the Sam’s Town 400 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Friday, June 6 – are available by calling (817) 215-8500 or by visiting www.texasmotorspeedway.com.