The No. 37 R&J Racing Dodge Charger has joined forces with UNDERDOG for two of NASCAR's most high profile races, the Nextel Cup All-Star Challenge and the Coca-Cola 600 on May 28, 2005. The No. 37 racecar will be fueled by the "speed of lightning and roar of thunder" in its all-new red, white and blue UNDERDOG paint scheme.
In recent months the team has been referred to as the 'underdog' of Nextel Cup. Beginning with a 9th place finish in the Daytona 500, the team has sought week after week to qualify and race in every Nextel Cup event on the schedule thus far.
Kevin Lepage, driver of the No. 37 Dodge Charger said, "UNDERDOG is one of my favorite cartoons. I was actually watching the show not long ago and thought about how our team was a lot like this scrappy superhero. So many fans have cheered for us as the 'underdog' team that continues to race against the odds, that it makes perfect sense to have the real Underdog character support the No. 37 Dodge Charger."
For the next two races, R&J Racing has teamed up with Classic Media to bring Underdog himself to the racetrack.
"This is a very exciting announcement for us," says John Carter, R&J Racing owner. "We have been working on this project for several weeks. We feel the fans will identify with UNDERDOG and he will bring back memories for many of them."
Classic Media manages some of the world's most recognizable family properties across all media including feature film, television, home video and consumer products. The company's extensive library features a diverse collection of popular animated and live-action characters such as: Underdog, Lassie, The Lone Ranger, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Here Comes Peter Cottontail, Richie Rich and Rocky & Bullwinkle.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
