Official NASCAR Members Club (Sm) Combines Online Social Networking With Offline VIP Benefits For NASCAR’s Loyal Fans

NASCAR’s Official Members Club offers NASCAR’s 75 million fans the opportunity to publish personal blogs, communicate and socialize with other passionate fans, and receive customized NASCAR news alerts to their desktop in addition to enjoying exclusive offline NASCAR VIP benefits.

Charlotte, NC (PRWEB) October 19, 2006 -– Stoneacre, Inc. (http://www.stoneacrepartners.com), a leading developer of affinity and customer loyalty programs and the operator of the Official NASCAR Members Club and NASCAR RacePoints sm under exclusive license from NASCAR (http://www.nascar.com), announced today new online social networking capabilities for the Official NASCAR Members Club that will enhance the Club’s current offline VIP benefits. The new service provides an exclusive place for NASCAR fans to network, socialize and share their passion for NASCAR. This new capability, which is currently available to fans through the Official NASCAR Members Club, enables fans to publish individual blogs, customize the NASCAR news they want to receive, and communicate with like-minded NASCAR fans who share similar interests, in addition to receiving exclusive VIP benefits.

“In addition to their passion for the sport, NASCAR fans share many common interests that include a diverse range of social, outdoor, hobby and lifestyle activities,” said Patrick Brady, Chairman & CEO of Stoneacre, Inc., the operator of the Official NASCAR Members Club, the only fan membership program licensed by NASCAR. “From the outset, the Official NASCAR Members Club has provided a social networking infrastructure to build local, national and global communities through our offline programs, including over 1,000 Local Chapters already in the US. Now our enhanced online capability will take our NASCAR community to a new level.” The enhanced offering by the ONMC will enable NASCAR fans to find others with similar interests, and provide simple community and socialization tools that will allow fans to enjoy their passion and lifestyle like never before. “For NASCAR fans, combining online and offline social community tools through the ONMC is a powerful way to unite the NASCAR Nation,” said Brady. “It’s as if ‘MySpace’ had actual Club events, NASCAR ticket packages and VIP experiences to offer everyone that listed NASCAR as one of their passions.”

Social Networking particularly appeals to NASCAR’s younger fans which is a rapidly growing audience. Research shows that NASCAR’s viewership among 12-17 year olds grew 37 percent over the last five years

The new social networking tools will accelerate the viral growth of NASCAR’s Official Club. The tools enable NASCAR fans to easily publish individual blogs, and create a personal profile to search and connect with other fans in the community. Through RSS technology already available on the ONMC home page, fans can also customize the NASCAR news alerts they wish to receive at their desktop, and instantly learn about exclusive ONMC VIP benefits such as advanced sales of exclusive race ticket packages, opportunities to attend NASCAR Driver events, and invitations to local NASCAR activities organized by Local Chapters of the Club.

“Social Networking particularly appeals to NASCAR’s younger fans which is a rapidly growing audience. Research shows that NASCAR’s viewership among 12-17 year olds grew 37 percent over the last five years,” continued Brady. “More importantly, NASCAR fans are the sporting industry’s most loyal and don’t exhibit the fickleness attributed to other social network communities.”

Other exclusive ONMC Member benefits include VIP Treatment at NASCAR events; 24/7 insider information and NASCAR Driver reports; discounts from NASCAR sponsors and licensees; limited-edition merchandise and collectibles offers, access to NASCAR Local Chapters and more than 160,000 discounts on dining, shopping and entertainment.

For more information on joining the ONMC, go to NASCAR.COM, and click on the “Members Club” tab at the top right of the screen.

About Stoneacre, Inc.
Stoneacre, Inc., a leading developer of affinity and customer loyalty programs, has secured long-term, exclusive rights from NASCAR to create, develop and manage the Official NASCAR Members Club sm and NASCAR RacePoints sm, the Official Rewards Program of NASCAR. Stoneacre and NASCAR work closely with numerous sponsors, licensees, promotional partners, race tracks, teams, drivers and other businesses affiliated with the sport, to develop special benefits and rewards for members of the Official NASCAR Members Club and participants in NASCAR RacePoints. Stoneacre manages fan relationships for the entire sport of NASCAR by directly connecting the sport to its avid fans. The Stoneacre Partners team has a long history of creating and developing some of the most successful customer loyalty initiatives in history including Marlboro Gear, Pepsi Stuff, and the Beanie Babies Official Club.

About The Official NASCAR Members Club sm
The Official NASCAR Members Club is the only official fan membership organization licensed by NASCAR. Membership enables fans to become Official Members of NASCAR, and thus enjoy VIP Insider status and access to exclusive events, information, merchandise, deals, discounts and other benefits. The Club aggregates rewards and assets from the entire sport, enabling its members to get closer to the sport and the sport to more accurately and efficiently connect with its fans. Fans can join the Official NASCAR Members Club by going to NASCAR.COM and clicking on Members Club.

About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR), which began in 1948, is the sanctioning body for one of America's premier sports. NASCAR is the No. 1 spectator sport - holding 17 of the top 20 attended sporting events in the U.S., the No. 2 rated regular season sport on television with broadcasts in more than 150 countries, and has 75 million fans that purchase more than $2.1 billion in annual licensed product sales. These fans are the most brand loyal in all of sports and as a result, more Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport. NASCAR consists of three major national series (NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, NASCAR Busch Series, and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series) as well as eight regional tours and one local grassroots series. NASCAR sanctions 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 35 states, Canada and Mexico. Based in Daytona Beach, NASCAR has offices in Bentonville (Ark.), Charlotte, Concord (N.C.), Conover (N.C.), Los Angeles, New York, Mexico City and Toronto.

For Further Information, contact:
Mark S. Kapsky
Stoneacre, Inc.
973-593-8361

Scott Warfield
NASCAR
Manager, Public Relations, Charlotte Division
704-348-9650

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