Jim Russell Launch New Motorsports Brand; ESPN Russell

[jcraige]

I just saw this come over the wire:

ESPN, Jim Russell Launch New Motorsports Brand; ESPN Russell
2004-05-25 11:55 (New York)
Racing Schools Put Racing Fans in Driver's Seat


[Custom Writers] / Sports Editors
BRISTOL, Conn. & SONOMA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 25, 2004
ESPN, the Worldwide Leader in Sports, and Jim Russell
Racing Drivers School, the pioneer and premier name in racing and
driving instruction, announced today they have created the ESPN
Russell Racing Schools. The ESPN Russell Racing Schools will introduce
a wider cross section of North American sports fans to the exciting
world of auto racing, combining ESPN's vast media resources and Jim
Russell's expertise in professional driving instruction.
This is the latest agreement for ESPN Enterprises, the ESPN
division charged with creating, launching and incubating new business
opportunities -- working independently or with outside partners. The
launch of the new racing brand is timed to take advantage of the
growing interest in motorsports. More than 20 million fans attend auto
racing events annually and millions more watch racing on television.
"ESPN Enterprises is building a network of leading sports
instruction schools, which started with the ESPN Golf Schools and now
includes a racing school," said Rick Alessandri, senior vice president
and general manager of ESPN Enterprises. "Our companies have a shared
belief in the growth potential of the schools and feel this agreement
will benefit both organizations, as well as casual and avid auto
racing fans."
Each week, 94 million people interact with ESPN media -- watching,
listening, reading and logging on.
The ESPN Russell Racing Schools offer more than 10 different
programs to race fans and driving enthusiasts from its base location
at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., and with courses held at famous
racetracks around the country.
For amateur racers and aspiring professionals, the schools offer
courses ranging from half-day "test drives" to three-day advanced
racing classes in open-wheel formula racecars. Drivers interested in
competing can enter the "arrive-and-drive" championship racing series.
On its state-of-the-art karting track, the schools offer sprint and
shifter karting classes for drivers ages 8 and older, in addition to
an "arrive-and-drive" competitive series.
Additional courses include high performance driving classes at
Infineon Raceway and through Performance Track Days at tracks across
the country, defensive driving for teens and adults, and corporate
programs to train commercial drivers or to entertain teams of
employees.
The school also operates an internationally recognized Mechanics
Training Program to train men and women to become race car mechanics.
"Few sports can match the thrill of racecar driving on a
challenging race track," said Ken Ude, president of the ESPN Russell
Racing Schools. "This landmark partnership will introduce more people
to the sport of racing with the highest caliber of racing and driving
instruction offered in the industry."
Instructors at the ESPN Russell Racing Schools have trained
numerous champions in all of the top racing series including IRL,
NASCAR and Formula One. Russell alums include:

-- Tony Stewart --IRL Series winner and NASCAR champion

-- Emerson Fittipaldi -- two-time Indy 500 champion, two-time
Formula One winner and CART series champion

-- Danny Sullivan -- Indy 500 and CART PPG Indy Car World Series
winner

-- Jacques Villeneuve -- Indy 500 winner

Other rising stars who have trained at the school include Nextel
Cup driver Kasey Kahne and Red Bull F1 Driver Search scholar Scott
Speed.
Initially the ESPN Russell Racing Schools will operate from a base
location at Infineon Raceway, a 12-turn, 2.5-mile road course on the
NASCAR circuit in Sonoma, Calif. Additional locations are planned.

About ESPN Russell Racing Schools

Racing legend Jim Russell created the racing school industry more
than 45 years ago. For more than three decades, the Jim Russell Racing
Drivers School in North America has been dedicated to teaching true
racing techniques to professional drivers and people looking for the
experience of a lifetime. The school, now called ESPN Russell Racing
Schools, employs professional instructors and offers more seat time in
the most powerful, well-maintained race cars of any driving school.
The schools operate from its home base at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma,
Calif.,

About ESPN

ESPN, Inc. is the world's leading multinational, multimedia sports
entertainment company featuring a portfolio of over 40 multimedia
sports assets. The company is comprised of seven domestic television
networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Now,
ESPN Today), ESPN HD, ESPN Regional Television, ESPN International
(networks and syndication), ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine,
SportsTicker, ESPN Enterprises, ESPN Zones (sports-themed
restaurants), and other growing new businesses including ESPN
Broadband, ESPN Wireless, ESPN Video-on-Demand, ESPN Interactive and
ESPN PPV. Based in Bristol, Ct., ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC,
Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The
Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.

CONTACT:
ESPN
Mike Humes, 860-766-2233
michael.c.humes@espn.com
or
Double Forte
Donna Berry, 415-928-9600 ext. 204
dberry@double-forte.com
-0- May/25/2004 15:55 GMT

[birkmama]

Originally Posted by jcraige

-- Tony Stewart --IRL Series winner and NASCAR champion

-- Emerson Fittipaldi -- two-time Indy 500 champion, two-time
Formula One winner and CART series champion

-- Danny Sullivan -- Indy 500 and CART PPG Indy Car World Series
winner

-- Jacques Villeneuve -- Indy 500 winner

Right: Fittipaldi was two-time Formula One winner and Jacques won the Indy 500. That's it. Oh, right, they also have three Formula One Driver World Champion Titles amongst the two of them - but who in the US would ever know, what the hell that means....

[jcraige]

Those damn Californians can't get anything right!!

[sydude]

They have a really cool promo going on right now that unfortunately none of us really qualify for. If you have less than 1 year of racing experience, you can enter into a shootout, with the top ten drivers winning scholarships to their racing series. The best Master also gets a free season. Check it out:

http://www.espnrussellracing.com/rac...holarships.php

[Mr.Quik]

Originally Posted by sydude

They have a really cool promo going on right now that unfortunately none of us really qualify for. If you have less than 1 year of racing experience, you can enter into a shootout, with the top ten drivers winning scholarships to their racing series. The best Master also gets a free season. Check it out:

http://www.espnrussellracing.com/rac...holarships.php

Although already past the competition, anybody coming from Skip Barber beware. At most I would say it was a bargain for 6 hours of track time IF you made it to Sunday. I will bite my toung on why I believe I was not picked. Long story extremely short, I was asked to tape over my Skip Barber patches.