Miss Sprint Cup Lineup Goes Green to Promote Corporate Social Responsibility

Miss Sprint Cup Kim Coons, left, and Paige Duke will wear green
firesuits for the races at Texas and Talladega. (Credit: Sprint Nextel)

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – April 8, 2011 – Sprint (NYSE:S) announced today its Miss Sprint Cup representatives will sport a new look at two upcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.

Kim Coon, Paige Duke and Monica Palumbo will trade in their traditional black and white uniforms for a new green uniform design for this weekend’s Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway and again April 17 at the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

The green uniforms are intended to help raise awareness for Sprint’s corporate responsibility efforts, including Focus on Driving and green sustainability initiatives.

“Distracted driving and green sustainability are issues that are extremely important, both to Sprint and to our customers,” said Tim Considine, director of sports marketing for Sprint. “We believe that the temporary Miss Sprint Cup uniform change will be a disruptive and effective way to raise awareness for these important subjects.”

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Since 2005, Sprint has worked on behalf of its customers and employees on the dangers of distracted driving and worked with schools, nonprofit organizations and product developers on various programs to combat texting while driving and to promote responsible driving.

Sprint will introduce an interactive distracted-driving pledge this month that Sprint customers will be able to access online. Later this year, Sprint will offer Sprint^® Drive First^TM – the wireless carrier’s first safe-driving solution to help wireless consumers safely manage their mobile devices and focus on driving while they’re behind the wheel.

More information on Sprint’s distracted-driving efforts can be found at sprint.com/focusondriving. At this site visitors can access a database of useful distracted-driving mobile applications and can find other helpful resources on responsible driving behavior.

Earth Day (April 22), a day to promote awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment, falls during the week after the Talladega NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event. Sprint is committed to green sustainability, and was listed No. 6 in Newsweek magazine’s 2010 ranking of the Top 500 Greenest Companies in the United States. (The rankings were based upon environmental impact, green policies and performance, and reputation survey scores as of Oct. 18, 2010.)

Sprint’s environmental efforts are evident at NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events through Recycle for Victory, a wireless-recycling program that benefits a key NASCAR charity – Victory Junction. Recycle for Victory helps protect the environment by reducing the number of used, wireless phones that end up in landfills.

Fans who visit the Sprint Experience, Sprint’s mobile marketing display in the midway at every NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event, can pick up a pre-addressed, postage-paid envelope to recycle their used wireless phones, batteries and accessories, from any carrier and in any condition. Net proceeds benefit Victory Junction.

Since 2001, Sprint has recycled more than 24 million phones, which equates to more than 2,600 metric tons of material. For more information on Sprint programs that protect the environment, go to www.sprint.com/green, or follow @SprintGreenNews on Twitter.

The Miss Sprint Cup program, which began in 2007, has gained tremendous recognition among both race fans and industry members alike. The three Miss Sprint Cup representatives symbolize the Sprint brand wherever the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competes and serve as the fans’ “friend on the inside.”

Miss Sprint Cup now interacts with more than 350,000 social media followers (Twitter, Facebook and the NASCAR.com “Community” page) and greets thousands of fans every race weekend at the Sprint Experience.

Thanks to their engaging personalities and knowledge of the sport, the three Miss Sprint Cup representatives are popular interview subjects among local media looking to get an insider’s view on the activities surrounding race weekends.

As their popularity has grown, they’re now regularly asked to participate in charity events and are even being requested to appear at other NASCAR sponsors’ events.

To follow Miss Sprint Cup, visit:

Twitter – www.twitter.com/misssprintcup

Facebook – www.facebook.com/misssprintcup

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 49.9 million customers at the end of 2010 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 6 in its 2010 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.