Taylor Swift To Donate Pink Pickup to Victory Junction Gang Camp
Saturday at Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust
Country Stars Ray Stevens, Jamey Johnson, Julie Roberts, Duane Allen Join Lineup
With Racing’s Ray Evernham, Reed Sorensen, Aric Almirola, Michael Valiante, Brad Coleman
NASHVILLE (Jan. 9, 2008) – Taylor Swift, part of a growing illustrious lineup of country music artists, NASCAR drivers and celebrities taking part in this weekend’s third-annual Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust at Nashville’s Sommet Center, will make a special presentation to the Victory Junction Gang Camp during her performance at the Saturday-evening concert event – a bubble-gum pink pickup truck she received for her 18th birthday.
The Chevrolet pickup, which she received on her birthday Dec. 13 from her record label, Big Machine Records, was on display at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum from Dec. 28 through Jan. 3. It will move to the Sommet Center alongside NASCAR show cars and sponsor displays during Saturday’s Backstage Garage Pass Festival from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST, when country artists and NASCAR celebrities, including Swift, Josh Turner, Craig Morgan, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip, will sign autographs and take part in Q&A and storytelling sessions.
At 8 p.m., Saturday, the event concludes with a country concert featuring Grammy-winning and multi-platinum-selling recording artist Alan Jackson and special guest Swift, with Jason Michael Carroll and a performance by The Wrights. Proceeds from Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust benefit the Victory Junction Gang Camp and the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum. The event, which has attracted more than 25,000 country music and racing fans in its first two years of existence, has raised more than $500,000 for the two charities.
Tickets are available through TicketMaster (www.ticketmaster.com) or the Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust website (www.soundandspeed.org) at $20 for The Backstage Garage Pass Festival and $39.50 for The Country Concert. Combination tickets, good for both the festival and the concert priced at $54.50, are no longer available.
“My label was so awesome to give me this amazing truck for my birthday. The moment I saw it, in all its pink glory, I knew that the kids at the Victory Junction Gang Camp would love it,” said Swift, the recent CMA Horizon Award winner who burst into country music at the age of 16 with her smash hit single, “Tim McGraw.” “This year I've been lucky enough to have everything I’ve ever dreamed about happen! I’m a strong believer in Winston Churchill’s philosophy that we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
Swift’s current single, “Our Song,” is currently in its fifth week in the No. 1 position atop the country charts, distinguishing her as the youngest person to single-handedly write and sing a No. 1 country single entirely on her own. Swift is also the first female solo artist in country music history to write or co-write every song on a double platinum-selling debut CD. Swift is nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award in the prestigious multi-genre Best New Artist category, and her self-titled debut album produced three consecutive top-10 singles and remained at the top of the Billboard Country Album Chart for eight weeks. In 2007 she was named Country Music’s Hottest Female Artist by AOL Music and Best New Artist of the Year by iTunes, she won the CMT Music Award for Breakthrough Video, and she tied with Alan Jackson for the Songwriter/Artist of the Year Award from her songwriting peers at the Nashville Songwriters Association International.
“Taylor Swift is a bright star on the rise,” said NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Petty, who with his wife, Pattie, founded Victory Junction Gang Camp in memory of their late son, Adam. “Not only is she a talented musician, but she also believes strongly in helping others. Taylor was one of the first supporters of this year’s event and we are fortunate. She is really generous with her time. Pattie and I were completely surprised by her donation of her bright pink truck. It will be a popular piece at the camp. The kids are really going to love it. This year’s Sprint Sound & Speed presented by SunTrust is going to be the best, yet, thanks to the contributions from personalities like Taylor.”
“What a fabulous gift for the kids at Victory Junction. They will be thrilled to ride in the truck and become a Star for the day,” said Pattie Petty, CEO/Chairman of the Board for Victory Junction Gang Camp. “Taylor is so generous and we all greatly appreciate her kindness and support.”
The latest additions to the country music artist lineup for the 2008 Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust are Ray Stevens (Multi-Grammy Award winner and Comedian of the Year for nine consecutive years), Jamey Johnson (CMA Award-Winning Songwriter who took home 2007 honors for Song of the Year for “Give it Away,” which is also nominated for a Grammy® in the category of Country Song of the Year, to be announced in February), Julie Roberts (2006 ACM Top New Female Vocalist nominee and gold recording artist) and Duane Allen (lead singer for the award-winning Oak Ridge Boys since 1966, who have recorded 17 Billboard No. 1 songs and sold more than 30 million albums).
NASCAR team owner Ray Evernham (Gillett-Evernham Motorsports), NASCAR drivers Reed Sorenson (No. 41 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Dodge), Aric Almirola (No. 8 Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Chevrolet) and Brad Coleman (No. 27 Baker-Curb Racing Ford in the NASCAR Nationwide Series) and Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series driver, Michael Valiante (No. 10 SunTrust Pontiac of Wayne Taylor Racing), have also joined the lineup of team owners and race car drivers.
Previously announced country music artists participating in the Backstage Garage Pass Festival include Taylor Swift, Jason Michael Carroll, Josh Turner, Marty Roe and Jimmy Olander of Diamond Rio, Danielle Peck, Bucky Covington, Richie McDonald (former lead singer of Lonestar), Craig Morgan, Josh Gracin, Bryan White, and Adam and Shannon Wright (The Wrights). Previously announced racing celebrities include Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Richard Petty, Kyle Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Michael Waltrip, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, Wayne Taylor, Max Angelelli, Dave Blaney, David Stremme, Richard Childress, Clint Bowyer, Scott Wimmer and Juan Pablo Montoya.
For more information about the 2008 Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust, visit www.soundandspeed.org.
