DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Freightliner Trucks has announced its official sponsorship of NASCAR, returning as a 2006 sponsor of individual NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series racing teams. The company will also host a series of pre-race events called The Freightliner Run Smart Hauler Challenge.

Jonathan Randall, director of product marketing for Freightliner, said the NASCAR sponsorship was a great fit because many heavy-duty truck drivers and buyers are also devoted NASCAR fans.

For the 2006 racing season, Freightliner will sponsor the following individual NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series and NASCAR Busch Series teams:

Evernham Motorsports; Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI); Penske Racing South; Hendrick Motorsports; Petty Enterprises; Haas CNC Racing; Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabatas; BAM Racing; Akins Motorsports; Rusty Wallace Racing Inc.; Jr. Motorsports; Fitz-Bradshaw Racing; and Michael Waltrip Racing.

Steve Phelps, vice-president of corporate marketing for NASCAR said, “A small city moves from event to event during the 38-race NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season, and partners like Freightliner keep our sport rolling.”

As an associate sponsor of 13 racing teams, the Freightliner Trucks logo will appear on each team’s racecar, driver suit, crew uniforms and the heavy-duty transporter vehicles.

Freightliner’s Coronado and Classic XL heavy-duty truck models will transport the sponsored racecars and team equipment from race to race for the entire 2006 NASCAR season. Medium-duty Freightliner Business Class M2 SportChassis models will also haul NASCAR equipment and scoring trailers and some teams use the M2s as box trucks and roll backs as well, hauling show cars and engines.

2006 will also mark the first year of the Freightliner Run Smart Hauler Challenge, an event that showcases NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series hauler drivers demonstrating their truck driving skills in Freightliner’s top-of-the-line heavy-duty Coronado model. Drivers will maneuver through an obstacle course and test skills such as parallel parking and backing up around curves.