IndyCar Honors ………………

Danica Patrick and Pippa Mann

2010 MOST POPULAR DRIVER AWARD WINNERS

During the 2010 INDY DownForce Banquet, two women were honored with the 2010 MPD Awards. Danica Patrick was recognized in the IZOD IndyCar Series and Pippa Mann in the Firestone Indy Lights Series.

Danica’s season in the IZOD IndyCar Series ended with her placing 10th in the overall standings. With 2nd-place finishes in Texas and Homestead, she ran 2,408 laps for the season.

Although this was Danica’s sixth consecutive MPDA, she stated, “I’m very flattered that I’ve received this award once, let alone six times. Every person has the ability to pick their favorite driver, and it can change so it's a real honor to receive an award from the fans.”

Pippa Mann has two seasons under her belt in the Firestone Indy Lights Series. Pippa led all 67 laps at Kentucky, winning her first race driving for Sam Schmidt Motorsports in 2010. She also managed to finish in the top 10 while driving with a broken hand when she competed in Toronto.

Mann missed one race during the 2010 Season due to surgery on a broken hand, but still came out with a 5th-place finish overall in the Firestone Indy Light Series.

Upon receipt of the MPDA, Pippa felt it was an honor and a “flattering and fantastic feeling.” Perhaps one of the most memorable achievements for Pippa was being the first woman to win a pole at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The MPDAs are determined through a fan vote during all IndyCar racing events during the season. Voting is also done via their website and at Indycar.com as well.

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Top 5 MPD Votes Revealed for Nationwide and Truck Series

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 16, 2010) – Online voting has been underway since July 6 for the 2010 Most Popular Driver of the Year Awards in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Now, for the first time in the three-year history of the poll, the top five vote-getters in each series will be unveiled before voting closes in November.

The early reveal gives fans the opportunity to perhaps increase their favorite driver’s lead, or help build the numbers to move their favorite higher in either poll.

To date, nearly 30,000 fans have voted in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, while over 25,000 fans have cast votes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.


Here, in alphabetical order, are the top-five vote-getters in the NASCAR Nationwide Series through Wednesday, Sept. 15:

• · Justin Allgaier
• · Carl Edwards
• · Brad Keselowski
• · Morgan Shepherd
• · Kenny Wallace

Here are the top five thus far in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in alphabetical order, also through Wednesday, Sept. 15:

• · Aric Almirola
• · Johnny Benson
• · Ricky Carmichael
• · Austin Dillon
• · Ron Hornaday Jr.

Fans can visit www.nascarnationwideseries.com to vote for their favorite NASCAR Nationwide Series driver and www.nascar.com/news/headlines/truck/ to vote for their favorite NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver.Fans also may write in their favorite driver if he/she is not among the nominees for a specific series. Fans can send an e-mail to fanfeedback@nascar.com and submit their write-in vote.

Fans may vote or submit a write-in candidate once per day and are encouraged to vote throughout the season. Voting continues until Nov. 12 for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and Nov. 13 for the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Results will be announced at the combined awards banquet for the NASCAR Nationwide and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, which will be held at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel on Monday, Nov. 22.

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Finalists for Most Popular Driver Announced

Minneapolis, Minn. (September 13, 2010) - Just like drivers trying to get into the chase for the championship, racing fans took it down to the wire to get their favorites in as finalists for the NASCAR® National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Hamburger Helper® Most Popular Driver Award. Voting for the full field of drivers is now over and the top 10 vote-getters move on to the "playoff" round of voting.

The 10 finalists are, in alphabetical order: Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart.

In conjunction with the top-10 announcement, the campaign also announces the "Hamburger Helper Most Passionate Fan Contest." The winner will receive a trip for two to Las Vegas and the opportunity to help present the NMPA Hamburger Helper Most Popular Driver Award to the winning driver at the end of the season in December.

To enter, fans must submit a 15- to 30-second video by October 20 on www.helpersmostpopulardriver.com/MostPassionateFanVideoContest.aspx, demonstrating why they are Helpers' number-one fan. The top five submissions will be posted on the website on October 25, where fans will vote to choose the winner. Submissions will be judged on passion for the Hamburger Helper brand, originality and creativity, and clarity.


Meanwhile, race fans can continue to vote once a day for one of the top 10 Most Popular Driver finalists. The vote count has been reset to zero, so it's anybody's race to win. Voting will conclude November 22 at 11:59 PM CT and the winner will be announced at the NASCAR® NMPA Myers Brothers Luncheon in December in Las Vegas with the help of the winner of the "Hamburger Helper Most Passionate Fan Contest."

"The vote campaign is driven by the fans, so why not involve them in the award ceremony itself?" asked Jeff Fuller, marketing manager for Hamburger Helper. "Racing fans are very passionate, so it's going to be fun to watch these video submissions to see how creative they can be."

Last season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. earned his seventh consecutive Most Popular Driver Award, which is administered by the NMPA. Only Earnhardt Jr. and Bill Elliott have won the award seven consecutive times since its inception in 1953.

Hamburger Helper has been making dinner easy for 40 years and is proud to sponsor the NASCAR® NMPA Most Popular Driver Award. Voters are not only encouraged to vote every day for their favorite driver, but are also reminded that Hamburger Helper is a fast and easy race-day meal for the entire family.

For more information on contest details or to vote on the NASCAR® NMPA Hamburger Helper Most Popular Driver Award, visit www.HelpersMostPopularDriver.com.

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Most Popular Driver votes reach 1 million

Fans have 2 weeks to get their driver into Top 10

Minneapolis, Minn. (August 27, 2010) - The race to the NASCAR Chase is on and so is the chase for its favorite driver - and that effort has reached a major milestone. Fans have now cast more than 1 million votes for the NASCAR® National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Hamburger Helper® Most Popular Driver Award at www.HelpersMostPopularDriver.com.

Fans only have two more weeks of voting before the competition is narrowed to the top-10 vote-getters, coinciding with when the drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup will be determined. The votes will be reset on Sept. 12 and the 10 driver finalists will then begin a new race to the finish.

The current top 10, in alphabetical order, are Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart.  

Race fans have been able to vote online for their favorite NASCAR® Sprint Cup driver once a day since the racing season began in February. Voting for the full field of 41 eligible drivers will end on Sept. 11 at 11:59 p.m. CT, following the race event at Richmond International Raceway. The 10 drivers with the most votes will be announced as finalists and the vote count will reset to zero.

Fans will then have 10 race weeks to cast their vote once a day to determine the 2010 NASCAR® NMPA Hamburger Helper Most Popular Driver winner from the final field of 10 drivers. Voting will conclude Nov. 22 at 11:59 p.m. CT and the winner will be announced at the NASCAR® NMPA Myers Brothers Luncheon in December in Las Vegas.

"It's been a lot of fun for Hamburger Helper to get involved with the Most Popular Driver award this year," said Jeff Fuller, marketing manager for Hamburger Helper. "It's pretty impressive to know that fans have come to our voting page a million times to vote for their favorite driver. It will be interesting to see who makes it into the top 10 or if there will be any drivers from the outside pushing their fans to vote them in."

Last season, Earnhardt Jr. earned his seventh consecutive Most Popular Driver Award. Only Earnhardt Jr. and Bill Elliott have won the award seven consecutive times since its inception in 1953.

For more information and to vote on the NASCAR® NMPA Hamburger Helper Most Popular Driver Award, visit www.HelpersMostPopularDriver.com.

Release courtesy of Helpers Most Popular Driver website

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NASCAR Most Popular Driver voting begins

Fans can vote for drivers in NASCAR Nationwide Series, Camping World Truck Series and regional tours

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Online voting is underway for the Most Popular Driver of the Year awards in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, as well as NASCAR’s regional touring series.

Fans can visit www.nascar.com and vote for their favorite driver for the 2010 Most Popular Driver of the Year Award in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

In addition, www.nascarhometracks.com will host balloting for each of NASCAR's regional touring series -- the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, NASCAR Mexico Series and NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.

Again this year, fans also may write in their favorite driver who is not among the nominees for a specific series. Fans can send an e-mail to fanfeedback@nascar.com and submit their write-in vote.

Fans may vote or submit a write-in candidate once per day and are encouraged to vote throughout the season. Voting continues for each series until the following dates:

• Sept. 24 for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
• Sept. 25 for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series
• Oct. 14 for the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour
• Oct. 17 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
• Nov. 12 for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
• Nov. 13 for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West
• Nov. 13 for the NASCAR Nationwide Series
• Nov. 21 for the NASCAR Mexico Series

Last year's winners were: Brad Keselowski (NASCAR Nationwide Series), Ricky Carmichael (NASCAR Camping World Truck Series) Steve Park (NASCAR K&N Pro Series East), Moses Smith (NASCAR K&N Pro Series West), Ted Christopher (NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour), Andy Seuss (NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour), Jorge Arteaga (NASCAR Mexico Series) and Andrew Ranger (NASCAR Canadian Tire Series).

Results will be announced at the respective series' postseason banquets. The combined awards banquet for the NASCAR Nationwide and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will again take place in South Florida at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel on Monday, Nov. 22. The NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards Gala will be Saturday, Dec. 11, at the Charlotte Convention Center's Crown Ballroom in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

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