HENDERSON, Nevada -- The Race to Success Reading Program, implemented by H-Town Racing driver Jim Petrie, announced that the program's primary sponsorship is available for the upcoming 2007-2008 school year. The Race to Success reading program was implemented in Roundy and Sewell Elementary Schools beginning in September of 2007 for all the fifth grade classes. The results of the first year of the program were overwhelming where it achieved a 100% class room participation rate with the students reading a total of 2,376 books. H-Town Racing is planning on continuing the program at Roundy and Sewell Elementary and expanding it up to eight schools for the 2008-2009 school depending on sponsorship funding.

“When we first established the program we did it because our team wanted to help with community service programs however as we got to know the students better, it became more important because we saw several students succeed in the classroom when nothing else was motivating them. The purpose of the program is to leverage the appeal of local NASCAR racing as a means for elementary school students to learn the value of goal setting and personal achievement. The program encouraged and rewarded students for recreational reading. Reading is a critical skill for future academic success in middle and high school. During my monthly visits I saw how excited and responsive the students were to the program, and I realized that we needed to expand. But we need help to continue and grow the program" Petrie stated. Another success story for the program is the community goodwill generated and the high visibility the sponsors received. Last year's program generated lots of local and national media attention with the highlight of Jim and his race car featured in the national broadcast of the NASCAR Angels program. The estimated media placement value of the program was over $600,000. That amount doesn't include the program featured on other race related web sites, community appearances, and the web traffic generated. Jim said "Any sponsor will find this to be a great ROI for their marketing dollars." Additional benefits of the Race to Success sponsorship is the availability of race car and driver appearance at company events, business locations on printed driver cards, community events, and track recognition nights at the LVMS Bullring race track.

For sponsorship information contact: Jim Petrie 702-378-2363 or to speak to the schools about the success of this program contact Rod Knowles, Principal, Roundy ES 799-5890 or Carrie Larson, Principal, CT Sewell ES 799-8940.

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