INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 22, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Racing stars, professional athletes, music industry artists and local celebrities will be part of a star-studded fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation at the Nashville, Tennessee location of NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway.
The event will be held on Friday, January 31, and continue on Saturday, February 1, according to an announcement by William R. Donaldson, Chairman and CEO of Interactive Motorsports and Entertainment Corp. (OTCBB:IMTS). Perfect Line, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of IMTS, owns and operates the unique NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway mall-based racing centers. Nashville's Opry Mills Mall is the location for the racing center.
Three-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip, now part of the NASCAR on Fox television team, will be one of the racing stars attending during the course of the two-day event. Also on hand will be drivers Sterling Marlin, Bobby Hamilton and Bobby Hamilton, Jr., along with Kevin Carter and Frank Wychek, members of the NFL's Tennessee Titans.
The special event, known as "Race With Rudy", will be hosted by Rudy Kalis, longtime sports anchor of WSMV-TV (NBC) in Nashville. Ten driver slots will be available to race against Kalis and a celebrity in 30-minute competitions. Donations will be of $50-$75 per driver for each competition. Five 30-minute bid competitions will be held starting at 8 p.m. on January 31. Two additional competitions are scheduled for 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on February 1. Hours of the fundraiser will be 12 noon until 11 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants special wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. More than 10,000 wishes have been granted through the charitable international organization. The Middle Tennessee chapter of the foundation will receive all proceeds generated through the special racing competitions, as well as all funds raised through a NASCAR Silent Auction with items donated by the local hospitality, community and Opry Mills merchant partners. NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway at Opry Mills will also be donating a portion of all revenues generated during the event dates.
Additional information is available by calling NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway at Opry Mills at (615) 514-7223.
Perfect Line's NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway racing centers are the largest chain of officially licensed, NASCAR-branded interactive entertainment stores in the world, and offers its customers the most popular NASCAR merchandise available. Perfect Line has integrated sophisticated proprietary racing simulator technology with an exclusive NASCAR license for location-based entertainment and licenses for popular NASCAR tracks and teams. NASCAR racing is considered the number one spectator sport in America, with an estimated 75 million fans and over $1 billion in NASCAR branded retail merchandise sales.
For more information on IMTS, please visit our website at www.SMSonline.com
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in this Press Release are forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements, and the business prospects of Interactive Motorsports & Entertainment Corporation, are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the Company's actual results in future periods to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the outlook for the economy and the effect on future revenues, access to and cost of capital, uncertainty of new product development, competition, and dependence on updated technology and licenses and leases.