HISTORY(R) to Sponsor NASCAR Nationwide Series Race; Top Gear 300 on May 28 to Highlight Unique Partnership

CONCORD, N.C. (March 14, 2011) 0 Highlighting a unique pairing of entities known for providing exceptional entertainment, officials from HISTORY and Charlotte Motor Speedway announced the May 28 NASCAR Nationwide Series race will be entitled the Top Gear 300.

Considered one of the premiere events on the NASCAR Nationwide Series circuit, the Top Gear 300 will air nationally on ABC at 2:30 p.m. EST on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. Terms of the sponsorship entitlement were not disclosed.

"At first glance, pairing a television show with a NASCAR race might seem like a non-traditional sponsorship," said Marcus Smith, president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway. "But this is a perfect fit for our race fans. Top Gear is a television program with risk taking behind the wheel and high-performance equipment, just like a NASCAR race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

"HISTORY has some of the best programming on television," Smith added. "Highlights of their shows will entertain fans throughout the Coca-Cola 600 weekend on the world's largest high-definition video screen."

The U.S. version of the award-winning program, Top Gear enters its second season tracking the colorful history of the automobile through an offbeat celebration of the art of driving. Featured segments include profiles of super-cars, extreme stunts and challenges, car reviews and celebrity interviews. The series also features the eccentric adventures of its hosts: comedian and car buff Adam Ferrara, champion rally and drift racer Tanner Foust and racing analyst Rutledge Wood.

"HISTORY is thrilled to become an integral part of Charlotte Motor Speedway's biggest racing weekend and to be the first media brand to use the screen in an entitlement partnership," said Chris Moseley, senior vice president, marketing, HISTORY. "NASCAR and Top Gear are world-renowned. So in terms of a brand synergy and audience reach, the Top Gear 300 could not be a more perfect fit. It allows us to increase awareness of Top Gear with a highly targeted consumer audience whose love and appreciation of cars rival our most passionate viewers. It's a win-win!"

The Top Gear 300 was first run at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1982, the inaugural season for the NASCAR Nationwide Series. That event featured a battle among racing legends Harry Gant and Dale Earnhardt, with Gant taking home the trophy.

Since that first race, the Nationwide Series has been a staple on Memorial Day weekend at Charlotte and has seen some of the biggest stars in NASCAR history visit Victory Lane. In addition to Gant and Earnhardt, legends such as Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip and current superstars including Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards, have secured victories in the event. Kyle Busch and Mark Martin are tied for most Nationwide Series wins all-time at Charlotte Motor Speedway with six each. Busch is the most recent winner of the May 300-miler, with a victory in the 2010 event.

Tickets for all Spring Season of Speed events at Charlotte Motor Speedway including the Top Gear 300 starting at just $17 per person are on sale now and can be obtained by calling the speedway ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS (3267) or online at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com.

Connect with Charlotte Motor Speedway on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CLTMotorSpdwy or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/charlottemotorspeedway.

About HISTORY(R)

HISTORY(R) and HISTORY HD(R) are the leading destinations for revealing, award-winning original non-fiction series and event specials that connect history with viewers in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. Programming covers a diverse variety of historical genres ranging from military history to contemporary history, technology to natural history, as well as science, archaeology and pop culture. Among the network's program offerings are hit series such as American Pickers, Ax Men, Brad Meltzer's Decoded, Ice Road Truckers, Top Gear, Pawn Stars and Top Shot, as well as acclaimed specials including America the Story of Us, WWII in HD, 102 Minutes That Changed America, The President's Book of Secrets and Life After People. HISTORY has earned four Peabody Awards, seven Primetime Emmy(R) Awards, 12 News & Documentary Emmy(R) Awards and received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's Save Our History(R) campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. Take a Veteran to School Day is the network's signature initiative connecting America's schools and communities with veterans from all wars. The HISTORY website, located at www.history.com, is the leading online resource for all things history, featuring over 20,000 videos, images, audio clips, articles and interactive features that allow visitors to dig deeper into a broad range of thousands of historical topics.

About Charlotte Motor Speedway

For 52 years, Charlotte Motor Speedway has set the standard for motorsports entertainment and evolved into "The Greatest Place to See the Race." Nestled in the heart of NASCAR country, Charlotte Motor Speedway is the only race vacation destination where fans can immerse themselves in the sport by visiting area race team shops and touring the NASCAR Hall of Fame before attending a race at the legendary 1.5-mile superspeedway. Generating a regional economic impact of approximately $400 million annually, the speedway hosts three premiere NASCAR events each year - the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, the Coca-Cola 600 and the Bank of America 500 - as well as more than three dozen other events for automotive and motorsports enthusiasts of all ages. Charlotte Motor Speedway's philosophy is to always put "Fans First" and create memories that last a lifetime for all that pass through the gates.