SKITTLES® Press Release

CHARLOTTE - SKITTLES® Bite Size Candies will sponsor a major new NASCAR Winston Cup Team for 1997 with former Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope at the wheel and Ryan Pemberton calling the shots as crew chief for the No. 36 Pontiac.

At a news conference at Charlotte Motor Speedway, team officials unveiled the brilliantly colored Pontiac Grand Prix, and introduced NASCAR's newest team owners along with plans for a motorsports/entertainment complex.

The sponsorship has SKITTLES® increasing its NASCAR involvement, and continuing its two-year-old associate sponsorship of Winston Cup Champion Jeff Gordon. Mars, Incorporated has been involved in motorsports since 1990, when SNICKERS® began a three-year major sponsorship of a NASCAR Winston Cup team. In 1994, SNICKERS® became a major associate sponsor for Gordon for one year. The PEDIGREE® brand is in its second year as a major associate sponsor on Hendrick Motorsports' No. 25 Winston Cup car, and that sponsorship will continue.

"NASCAR is a fun, energetic, and intense family sport that fits perfectly with the vibrant, colorful personality of SKITTLES® and the intense taste experience of our candy," said Michael Murphy, president of M&M/MARS. "We're very successful in reaching NASCAR fans through SKITTLES® role as an associate sponsor and look forward to even greater success with the expanded presence that a major sponsorship will bring to the brand."

MB Motorsports is owned by a group including Nelson Bowers, a Chattanooga auto dealer, Atlanta investment banker Tom Beard, and Atlanta attorney Read Morton. Jay Frye, former NASCAR program manager for Valvoline, is the team's general manager.

Cope, 36, a California native who now lives outside Charlotte, startled the racing world when he won the 1990 Daytona 500 in his 71st start in Winston Cup competition. He won again that year and has become one of the most popular drivers on the circuit. The son of a professional drag racer, Cope turned to motorsports after a knee injury ended the prospects of a professional baseball career. Since he began racing Winston Cup fulltime in 1988, Cope has won more than $3 million.

"Since we're a new team, Derrike's experience will be invaluable," said Bowers. "Ryan is one of the brightest young crew chiefs in the sport, and we feel very fortunate to be able to enter the sport with a sponsor the caliber of SKITTLES® and top personnel like Derrike, Ryan, and Jay. They will be great representatives for us on and off the track."

Pemberton, 27, is the younger brother of Robin Pemberton, the highly successful crew chief for Rusty Wallace. A New York native, Ryan Pemberton is making the move up from the Busch Series where he was crew chief for 1995 and most of 1996 for two-time Busch Series champion Larry Pearson. Prior to that, he worked with some of the biggest names in the sport, including Robert Yates, Larry McReynolds, and Davey Allison.

"It's exciting to be part of something new, and I'm going to do everything I can to justify the confidence SKITTLES® and the team owners have shown in me," said Cope. "They're great sponsors. They've been in racing for quite a while and they've been very good for the sport. I am really looking forward to 1997."

The team will be housed in the Charlotte area for the 1997 Winston Cup season, pending completion of the Myrtle Beach facility. Initial plans call for a racing-theme restaurant, museum, theater and retail store, as well as team shops. The timetable calls for the facility to be completed within two years.

"This facility will provide SKITTLES® with additional exposure," said Bowers. "Our appeal to younger audiences will also help NASCAR develop its fans of the future."

SKITTLES® Bite Size Candies have been available nationally since 1985. It's currently the favorite chewy, sugar brand among kids and teens 8-17 years old. SKITTLES® comes in three varieties: Original Fruit, Wild Berry, and Tropical.