NEW YORK – May 5, 2015 – The SpongeBob SquarePants team just welcomed another of its friends to the field for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway on May 9, 2015, — with NASCAR young star Ty Dillon set to drive the No. 33 Plankton Chevrolet SS.
Dillon’s No. 33 Chevrolet, campaigned by Circle Sport Racing, will feature Plankton, the show’s pint-sized microbe with an evil plan… to steal the Krusty Krabs’ secret Krabby Patty recipe! But Dillon has designs on stealing the coveted SpongeBob SquarePants 400 trophy instead.
“I grew up watching episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants on Nickelodeon, so you can imagine it’s pretty cool to have Plankton on our Chevrolet SS,” Dillon said. “The NASCAR community is fortunate to have such a great partner in Nickelodeon for this weekend and to utilize our sport in its activation plans. Nickelodeon is all about kids and having fun and I look forward to having some fun with the Nickelodeon characters and their guests at the race track this weekend.”
Dillon will be making his fourth career Sprint Cup Series start and his career debut at the 1.5-mile speedway. Dillon last drove in a Sprint Cup Series event at Daytona International Speedway earlier this season. The 23-year-old, Welcome, N.C.-native is currently the NASCAR XFINITY Series points leader in his second full-time season in the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro.
For the SpongeBob SquarePants 400, which will be broadcast at 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1, Dillon will join an all-star Sprint Cup lineup including:
* Â Â Â Â Â Greg Biffle, driving the No. 16 Cheez-It/ Patrick Star Ford Fusion
* Â Â Â Â Â Michael McDowell, driving the No. 95 WRL/Larry the Lobster Ford Fusion
* Â Â Â Â Â Casey Mears, driving the No. 13 Squidward Tentacles Chevrolet SS
* Â Â Â Â Â David Ragan, driving the No. 55 Aarons/SpongeBob SquarePants Toyota Camry
Also at the speedway, attendees on Saturday will be able to enjoy some pre-Mother’s Day fun in the Nickelodeon Kids Zone, which will be located in the Kansas Speedway Fan Zone. The area will feature appearances from the SpongeBob SquarePants costumed characters, a SpongeBob SquarePants photo station and more.
Since its launch in July 1999, SpongeBob SquarePants has emerged as a pop culture phenomenon. The series has been the most-watched animated program with kids 2 – 11 for more than 13 consecutive years, and over the past several years, it has averaged more than 100,000,000 total viewers every quarter across all Nickelodeon networks. SpongeBob is seen in over 185 countries and translated in more than 50 languages. The character-driven animated series chronicles the nautical and sometimes nonsensical adventures of SpongeBob, an incurably optimist and earnest sea sponge, and his undersea friends.
About Nickelodeon:
Nickelodeon, now in its 36th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 20 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB).
About Richard Childress Racing:
Richard Childress Racing (rcrracing.com) has earned more than 200 victories and 15 championships, including six in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR was the first organization to win championships in the Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Its 2015 Sprint Cup Series lineup includes two-time NASCAR champion Austin Dillon (No. 3 Dow/American Ethanol/Cheerios/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet), 2011 Brickyard 400 champion Paul Menard (No. 27 Menards Chevrolet) and 2008 Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman (No. 31 Caterpillar/Quicken Loans/Grainger/WIX Filters Chevrolet). Its XFINITY Series program includes Brian Scott (No. 2 Albertsons/Shore Lodge/Whitetail Chevrolet), 2012 Camping World Truck Series rookie of the year Ty Dillon (No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/WESCO/Yuengling Light Lager/Red Kap Chevrolet), Brendan Gaughan (No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino/WIX Filters Chevrolet) and a multi-driver lineup with Austin Dillon, Brandon Jones and Paul Menard (No. 33 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet) team.
