WELCOME, N.C. (October 5, 2011) – Wheaties® will become a co-primary sponsor of Richard Childress Racing’s No. 31 Chevrolet with driver Jeff Burton beginning in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
The multi-year program will continue General Mills’ primary sponsorship with RCR for key races and associate positioning for the balance of each season with the No. 31 team. The famed Wheaties brand will be replacing Cheerios as the focus of the sponsorship. Wheaties has a proud history of fueling and celebrating sports performance. In addition, Wheaties shares a rich history with RCR, as Dale Earnhardt was the first NASCAR driver to be featured on a Wheaties box and he drove a Wheaties car for the 1997 All-Star Race. RCR began its current relationship with General Mills in 2008 with the No. 33 Chevrolet and driver Clint Bowyer, sponsored by its Cheerios® and Hamburger Helper® brands.
“With more than a dozen years in NASCAR, General Mills is looking forward to continuing our relationship with Richard Childress Racing,” said Patrick Simmons, Vice President, Customer Marketing for General Mills, Inc. “At the same time, we’re excited about the opportunity to forge a new relationship with Wheaties and Jeff Burton. We value our association with RCR and are thrilled to be part of their organization.”
Burton has been part of RCR’s driver lineup since midway through the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The 21-time NSCS race winner has eight top-10 finishes in the final point standings and qualified four times for the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship.
“I’m excited to have a company like General Mills and a brand like Wheaties join our No. 31 team,” said Burton. “Wheaties is one of the most iconic brands in American history, and my kids use so many General Mills products that I’m sure we have a decent market share of the company in our pantry. I also like that they have worked hard to provide so many healthy choices.”
“The General Mills partnership with RCR has been terrific, as they have leveraged their program across their portfolio of leading brands as well as with their retail partners,” said Ben Schlosser, RCR’s chief marketing officer. “General Mills is a blue-chip sponsor in our sport and with their extremely popular brands; they help carry both RCR and NASCAR to families throughout America. Jeff Burton will be a great ambassador for their program so we are very excited to continue the relationship in the coming years.”
About Richard Childress Racing
Richard ChildressRacing (www.rcrracing.com) has earned more than 200 victories and 12 NASCAR championships, including six in the Sprint Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR was the first organization to win championships in the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series. Its 2011 Sprint Cup Series lineup includes Paul Menard (No. 27 Menards Chevrolet), Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet), Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet) and Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet). Its Camping World Truck Series program includes 2010 Rookie of the Year Austin Dillon (No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet) and Joey Coulter, Jr. (No. 22 RCR Development Chevrolet). Tim George Jr. (No 31 Applebee’s/Potomac Family Dining Group Chevrolet) and Ty Dillon (No. 41 RCR Chevrolet) will compete in the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.
About General Mills
General Mills is one of the world’s leading food companies, operating in more than 100 countries. Its consumer brands include Cheerios, Wheaties, Fiber One, Häagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Yoplait, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant and Old El Paso. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills had fiscal 2011 net sales of US $14.9 billion.
About Wheaties and Wheaties FUEL
For more than 85 years, Wheaties has been committed to providing athletes with the nutrition they need to help them perform at their best. Wheaties 100% whole grain flakes provide a simple source of long-lasting energy. Some of the greatest athletes in American history have been honored by being featured on the front of the Wheaties box. The team behind “The Breakfast of Champions” has worked for decades to learn from food scientists, health professionals and athletes about what it takes to fuel an active lifestyle. With that learning, the Wheaties team added Wheaties FUEL to round out the family of Wheaties products. FUEL was designed with the help of Peyton Manning, triathlete Hunter Kemper, Kevin Garnett, gold medal-winning decathlete Bryan Clay, Albert Pujols and sports nutritionist Dr. John Ivy. The result is a delicious honey cinnamon crunch that meets the nutritional needs of today’s champion athletes and delivers long-lasting energy from whole grain and b-vitamins to help release energy provided by food, and provides an excellent source of fiber.
The Breakfast of Champions® and Wheaties® are registered trademarks of General Mills
