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MLB and NASCAR team up
Racing meets America's pastime
By Jesse Sanchez / MLB.com
ARLINGTON, Texas -- The race to
bind NASCAR and Major League Baseball fans is off and
running.
On Saturday at The Ballpark in Arlington, 2002 Hall of
Fame inductee Ozzie Smith and driver Johnny Benson
participated in a ceremonial pirst Pitch prior to the
Rangers' game against the Anaheim Angels.
Smith, who will be inducted into the National Baseball
Hall of Fame on July 28, will be the Honorary Starter of
the Samsung/RadioShack 500 on Sunday and will wave the
green flag to start the NASCAR Winston Cup Series Race
at Texas Motor Speedway as part of festivities to
commemorate the opening of the 2002 Major League
Baseball season. |
Nascar driver Johnny Benson
throws out the first pitch to Hall of Fame inductee
Ozzie Smith at The Ballpark in Arlington Saturday. (Brad
Newton/Texas Rangers)
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In addition, Benson, who
drives the #10 Valvoline Pontiac, will race a
specially-designed MLB-themed car in Sunday's race, which
will be televised nationwide on FOX.
"I think the interest is there, we just have to find a way
to mesh our two sports together," Smith said. "It makes
perfect sense. We are both spectator sports with a lot of
enthusiasm."
RadioShack, an official sponsor of Major League Baseball, is
a first-time title sponsor of the race, which coincides with
the Texas Rangers' home opening series at The Ballpark.
"This is such a neat thing to come out here and be a part of
something like this," Benson said. "I don't get to do
something like this very often. This is a special thing for
me."
The MLB-themed car that Benson will drive is designed in a
red, white and blue color scheme, with blue over top, red
around the sides and white around the bottom. A special MLB
logo commemorating opening day, featuring the special stars
and stripes MLB silhouetted batter logo, is on the hood,
while the RadioShack "Official Sponsor of Major League
Baseball" logo appears on all angles of the car. Benson's
#10 appears in white paint on the roof, and is featured next
to images of a pitcher in mid stride and batter in mid swing
on the side panels. The Texas Rangers logo appears on both
rear quarter panels of the car.
Fans who attend Angels-Rangers games at The Ballpark in
Arlington April 5-7 are able to view a show car replica of
the MLB-themed car that Benson will race in the Samsung/RadioShack
500.
"It will be interesting," Smith said. "I've been to Daytona,
but I've never done anything like this before. I've been
practicing my flag-waving."
To commemorate this unique relationship and racecar,
RadioShack is selling 5,000 officially-licensed radio
controlled replicas of the MLB-themed racecar exclusively
through 1-800-THE SHACK. The car retails for $79.99 and will
come with a numbered certificate of authenticity.
NASCAR fans attending the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 can
receive a copy of the "2002 Major League Baseball Official
Fan Guide Presented by RadioShack." The Official Fan Guide,
which features Rangers shortstop Alex Rodriguez on the cover
and contains exclusive RadioShack products and coupons along
with each Major League Baseball club's 2002 schedule, also
will be available while supplies last at all RadioShack
retail stores.
Jesse Sanchez covers the Texas Rangers for MLB.com. He can
be contacted via email at jsanchez@texasrangers.com. This
story was not subject to the approval of Major League
Baseball or its clubs.
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