Sprint Fan Vote surpasses 1.5 million total votes

Regan Smith’s win at Darlington Raceway secures spot in Sprint All-Star Race field

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – May 12, 2011 – Sprint (NYSE:S) announced today a record in the Sprint Fan Vote, which allows fans to decide which eligible driver will compete in the upcoming NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. Since voting began on March 23, more than 1 million votes have been submitted using the NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile application on compatible Sprint devices, which has helped push the total number of votes cast to more than 1.5 million. This shatters the previous record of 1.5 million votes set last year. Voting continues until 5 p.m. (EDT) Saturday, May 21.

With his win at Darlington Raceway, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Regan Smith joins 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne as the only other driver to qualify this season for this year’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

In reference to another All-Star event, on Jan. 30 Smith tweeted, “All star game is fun, but…1 thing no other sports can compete with NASCAR on is the intensity of our all star event, we r out for blood!”

This will mark the first time Smith will compete in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

The top 10 drivers in the Sprint Fan Vote standings remain unchanged since last week. In alphabetical order, they are: A.J. Allmendinger, Marcos Ambrose, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski, Bobby Labonte, Joey Logano, Paul Menard, David Ragan and Brian Vickers.

Fans can cast votes for their favorite eligible drivers by using the NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile application, visiting NASCAR.com or at the Sprint Experience, located in the midway at every NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event. As an incentive for Sprint customers, every wireless vote submitted from a Sprint, Nextel, Boost Mobile or Virgin Mobile device counts double in the driver standings.

To be eligible for the Sprint Fan Vote, drivers must be approved by NASCAR for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition and have met all other eligibility requirements. Those requirements include finishing in the Top 50 of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship point standings; competing in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Event during the 2010 season; or attempting to qualify for the 2011 Daytona 500.

The driver who accumulates the most votes and finishes the Sprint Showdown qualifying race on the lead lap with a car in raceable condition (as determined by NASCAR competition) will earn a spot in the prestigious NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race field.

In addition to voting, fans can also use the NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile application to view the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race in its entirety on Sprint devices.

To download the new NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile, which is free with any data plan, Sprint customers should text “NASCAR” to 7777. Votes may also be cast on Sprint devices by texting “VOTE” to 7777 (standard text messaging and data rates apply).

Charlotte Motor Speedway is offering NASCAR fans a limited-time “Buy One, Get One Free” ticket offer for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. To take advantage of this promotion, follow the link http://bit.ly/feJPly.

Drivers eligible for the 2011 Sprint Fan Vote:

A.J. Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Marcos Ambrose, Dave Blaney, Mike Bliss, Todd Bodine, Jeff Burton, Patrick Carpentier, Landon Cassill, Kevin Conway, Derrike Cope, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bill Elliott, David Gilliland, Robby Gordon, Sam Hornish Jr., Brad Keselowski, Brian Keselowski, Travis Kvapil, Bobby Labonte, Terry Labonte, Andy Lally, Joey Logano, Michael McDowell, Casey Mears, Paul Menard, Joe Nemechek, Max Papis, David Ragan, Tony Raines, Robert Richardson, Elliott Sadler, Reed Sorenson, Scott Speed, David Stremme, Martin Truex Jr., Brian Vickers, Steve Wallace, Michael Waltrip and J.J. Yeley.