Crown Royal to honor military service with race name

Nominations for 'Your Name Here' 400 contest for April Richmond race will be accepted through Nov. 30

Crown Royal takes pride in showcasing our country’s finest heroes, and once again, the tradition will live on. The makers of Crown Royal Canadian whisky, a subsidiary of Diageo plc (NYSE: DEO), will award naming rights to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway on April 30, 2011 to a serviceman or servicewoman.

This marks the second time throughout the five-year history of the Crown Royal “Your Name Here” 400 contest that only individuals serving our country can be nominated. Nominations will be accepted until Nov. 30 and can be submitted to www.nascar.com/crownroyal.

"Crown Royal truly takes pride in ensuring that our race entitlement shines light on all the everyday heroes who serve our country,” said Heather Boyd, senior brand manager of Crown Royal. “We believe that the experience provided to the winner is unprecedented and really transforms one deserving individual into a superstar the entire race weekend. We look forward to reading all the nominations and announcing our finalists and grand prize winner in February, at the Daytona race.”

Once nominations are received, Crown Royal will provide fans the opportunity to cast their votes for whose name they think should be incorporated into the annual spring NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Richmond International Raceway. The grand prize winner will then be announced from Daytona in a patriotic ceremony among all the finalists, NASCAR’s Roush Fenway Racing driver Matt Kenseth and representatives from Crown Royal and Richmond International Raceway.
"There are no words to describe how special this is for one serviceman or servicewoman," Kenseth said.  "Crown Royal goes the extra step to ensure the individual who wins is treated like royalty throughout race weekend. I encourage all adult race fans to think about their friends and family serving our country and nominate them for this honor."

This past May the race was titled “Crown Royal Presents the Heath Calhoun 400” in honor of retired serviceman Heath Calhoun.  Calhoun was awarded the honor for his determination and ability to inspire others to live their lives to the fullest despite their injuries. Prior to his race in Richmond, Calhoun also competed on the US Paralympics Team at the 2010 Paralympics Winter Games, where he scored an 8th-place finish in the Super-G and a 10th-place finish in the Men’s Super Combined alpine skiing events.

“It is great to have a dedicated partner like Crown Royal continue to make the spring NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway something special and like no other race on the circuit,” said track President Doug Fritz. “We are honored to be involved again in 2011 in showcasing one inspirational serviceman or servicewoman’s story of incredible courage and patriotism.”

Those wishing to nominate one of their fellow soldiers (21 or older) to be the next Heath Calhoun, must write a brief essay, 50 words or less, on how that individual demonstrated the core values of the military in performing a selfless act that made them a hero.

Leading up to the big day in Richmond, Crown Royal will continue to remind fans to "Please Drink Responsibly.” through its “Safe Rides Home” designated driver initiatives and other programming designed to reinforce the importance of drinking responsibly.

NASCAR returns to Richmond International Raceway April 29-30, 2011 for an action-packed doubleheader weekend. The April 30 Crown Royal Presents The Your Name Here 400 showcases the stars of the NASCAR Sprint Cup series beating and banging around Richmond's 3/4-mile short track. Friday, April 29, features a full day of on-track activity, including the BUBBA burger 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race "under the lights," as well as practice and pole qualifying for the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series. Tickets go on sale to the general public January 15, 2011.