[January 21, 2013] |
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Sprint Invites Fans to Design NASCAR Race
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. --(Business Wire)--
Sprint (News - Alert) (NYSE: S) confirmed today fans will have a direct impact on
several competition elements of the newly titled The Sprint Unlimited At
Daytona, the 75-lap non-points race that opens the NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series season Saturday, Feb. 16 (8 p.m. EST, Fox) at Daytona
International Speedway.
Fans are invited to design the race by casting votes on the number of
laps in each segment, the type of pit stop a team makes after the first
segment, how many cars will be eliminated after the second segment, and
which fire suit Miss Sprint Cup will wear in Victory Lane after the
final segment. Votes can be cast on NASCAR's new official mobile app -
NASCAR Mobile '13 - or at NASCAR.Com/SprintUnlimited.
All votes made through the NASCAR Mobile '13 app will count twice.
"Giving fans such a strong voice in the design of the race is a fitting
way to launch our 10th season in the sport," said Steve
Gaffney, vice president of corporate marketing for Sprint. "For the
first time, we are giving them the ultimate access to the sport, the
decision-making power to sculpt the type of race they want to see.
"With today's technology, fans can make these decisions in real time as
the race is happening, and Sprint customers with one of our Unlimited
plans have the added comfort of knowing they can vote as often as they
want without additional fees."
The voting window for the race format will close at 11:59 p.m. (EST)
Wednesday, Feb. 13. The voting windows for the pit stop, elimination and
Miss Sprint Cup's Victory Lane fire suit will close at various times
throughout the race broadcast. Vote results will be relayed to teams
during each segment and announced live on the Fox race broadcast.
"We are excited to provide our fan base this first-of-its-kind
opportunity to directly be involved in determining the race's format and
in-race decisions," said Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition
for NASCAR. "By allowing our fans this type of interaction, we hope that
more fans will be tuned in to the event than ever before."
The Sprint Unlimited is the second race entitlement in Sprint's
sponsorship portfolio. For the past nine years, Sprint has sponsored the
NSCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Sprint also is
the title sponsor of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Sprint's involvement in NASCAR has always been driven by its
technological advances and a mission to bring fans closer to the sport.
It began in 2004 with the simple introduction of driver-themed mobile
devices and has evolved to NASCAR's first-ever mobile application and
ultimately fans designing their own race.
"Sprint has been a great partner for the sport, and I applaud them for
developing new and innovative ways to give the race fans an
unprecedented role in The Sprint Unlimited," said Joie Chitwood III,
president of Daytona International Speedway. "We have some of the most
passionate and knowledgeable fans in sports and I'm looking forward to
seeing the choices they make and how it will impact this exciting
star-studded event."
Fan voting categories, include:
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Length of each of the three race segments:
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Choice A: 40 laps, 20 laps, 15 laps
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Choice B: 35 laps, 30 laps, 10 laps
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Choice C: 30 laps, 25 laps, 20 laps
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Race format voting ends at 11:59 p.m. (EST) Wednesday, Feb.
13.
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Team pit stop after the first segment:
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Choice A: No pit stop
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Choice B: Two (2) tire change
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Choice C: Four (4) tire change
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Pit stop voting concludes at the green flag of the first
segment.
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How many cars will be eliminated after the
second segment:
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Choice A: None (0)
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Choice B: Two (2) cars eliminated
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Choice C: Four (4) cars eliminated
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Choice D: Six (6) cars eliminated
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Elimination voting concludes at the green flag of the second
segment.
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Fire suit to be worn by Miss Sprint Cup in
Victory Lane:
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Fans have a choice of three different fire suit styles
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Fire suit voting concludes at the green flag of the third
segment.
Fans are encouraged to follow @MissSprintCup
and @NASCAR
on Twitter to engage in the #SprintUnlimited conversation throughout the
voting window.
About Sprint Nextel (News - Alert)
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline
communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers,
businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 56
million customers at the end of the third quarter of 2012 and is widely
recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative
technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national
carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data
services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile (News - Alert) USA, Boost
Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international
push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The American
Customer Satisfaction Index rated Sprint No. 1 among all national
carriers in customer satisfaction and most improved, across all 47
industries, during the last four years. Newsweek ranked Sprint
No. 3 in both its 2011 and 2012 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the
nation's greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications
company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com
or www.facebook.com/sprint
and www.twitter.com/sprint.

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