plus 3, Jamie McMurray secures win at Daytona - Raleigh News & Observer

Jamie McMurray secures win at Daytona - Raleigh News & Observer
Tjones & Associates Announces Mobile Marketing Availability - PRLog (free press release)
Cary Rotary Club Raises $31,000 at 7th Annual Chili Dinner Fundraiser - Carolina Newswire
Latest News - dBusinessNews.com

Jamie McMurray secures win at Daytona - Raleigh News & Observer

Posted: 15 Feb 2010 12:25 PM PST

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McMurray led once for just two laps, a record low for the race. He was the last of a record 21 leaders. Fifty-two lead changes were third-most all-time in the race.

Ironically, it was a push from a friend and former teammate that helped him squirt past and hold off Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer on the second attempt at a green-white-checkered finish. Greg Biffle pushed McMurray and kept his No. 1 Chevrolet steady through Turn 1 and again on the backstretch when McMurray spun his tires, then held on to finish third.

"I was trying to get both of us out front so I could try to make a move on him on the last lap," Biffle said. "I just made my move too soon."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. blitzed through the field from 10th to finish second, .119 seconds behind.

"When I saw [Earnhardt Jr.] behind me, I said, 'Oh, no,' " said McMurray, who lost his place at Roush Fenway when the team had to downsize to four teams to comply with NASCAR rules.

Earnhardt Jr. was at the same time eager to pass for a second Daytona 500 and happy that a driver for a team with direct lineage to the one his late father founded was about to win the sport's biggest race.

"I was happy for him. He's been through a lot," he said. "That team has been through a lot."

An odd Speed Weeks culminated with Sprint Cup finally becoming the primary focus and then a target of scrutiny and scorn.

While the first 11 days were defined by Danica Patrick's emergence as a ready-made NASCAR star - and a serviceable work in progress as a Nationwide Series driver - the last was about the most prestigious race of the NASCAR season.

Her absence made room for old racing heroes and country music acts and politicians injecting themselves into the festivities, but also a realization that the season could be another challenging one.

NASCAR tweaked rules and announced a recommitment to its burlier past to stoke a fan base that watched less on television and at racetracks last season. Grandstands were mostly filled - DIS reported all "single-day" tickets sold - after capacity was reduced by 22,000 seats this offseason, but the effects of a flat economy were still evident in the scores of open RV spots.

Those grandstands bled patrons after a first 100-minute repair delay and lost even more as the day wore on and the value of an earlier 1 p.m. start time was lost. A second red-flag period to redo a failed fix lasted 44 minutes.

The race began with enough hope, with 19 leaders through the first 122 laps. Among them were crowd favorite Earnhardt Jr. and A.J. Allmendinger, driving the legendary No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports entry that has not been to Victory Lane since 1999 at Martinsville with John Andretti.

But this race was consumed by a hole.

The race was red-flagged for 1 hour, 48 minutes on Lap 122 of 200 when a hole some drivers described as 18 inches long and 8 inches wide was discovered between Turns 1 and 2 after Andretti crashed into the wall to draw a caution. Bowyer led, followed by David Ragan and Kasey Kahne, as crews began patching two spots.

The first 50 laps passed uneventfully except for a blown right rear tire that sent Brad Keselowski - a restrictor-plate race winner at Talladega last spring - to the garage with Penske teammate Sam Hornish Jr. and others caught in the aftermath.

Fresh tires became a commodity as several of the early challengers, among them Earnhardt Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya, struggled at the end of pit cycles on the warmest day of Speed Weeks.

After a green-flag pit cycle that concluded on Lap 50, Kurt Busch - a three-time Daytona 500 runner-up, Allmendinger - who finished a surprising third last season - and 2006 winner Jimmie Johnson broke a dozen car lengths ahead of the field.

The pace increased markedly after the delay - much like last season when rain was imminent - and word began filtering among drivers and spotters that the first fix was not holding.

Kevin Harvick led after the second delay and held the lead seven times for 41 laps. Bowyer led eight times for 37 laps.

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Tjones & Associates Announces Mobile Marketing Availability - PRLog (free press release)

Posted: 15 Feb 2010 11:49 AM PST

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PR Log (Press Release) – Feb 15, 2010 – (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) February 15, 2010 – Tjones & Associates announces mobile marketing is now available for new car, independent, RV, and motorsports dealers. Dealers can now use SMS/MMS messaging to send vehicle information, targeted promotional offers, mobile coupons, surveys, and contests to attract new customers or promote to existing customers.

Through this program, dealers will now have a portal that will allow them to capitalize on an increasingly popular marketing medium. Dealers who enroll in this program will see greater returns on advertising dollars spent as compared to traditional advertising channels. They will also enjoy greater customer loyalty. Additionally, the ability to have accurate advertising analytics will help dealers assess where to spend future advertising dollars for maximum returns.

"We've become a global, mobile society," says TJ Kirgin, CEO and founder of Anchor STL Advertising Agency in St. Louis. "With over 4 billion mobile users worldwide, sending trillions of text messages a year, it is clear that mobile has gone mainstream. In fact, in the US, mobile subscribers send over 4 billion texts a day, and according to Nielsen, texting has become the primary mobile communication channel in the U.S. The average mobile user now sends more text messages per month than they use voice minutes."

Kirgin adds, "SMS is the workhorse of Mobile Marketing; it is everywhere and always on. It's timely and it's interactive allowing customers to engage immediately. Mobile marketing, if implemented properly, allows businesses large and small to develop meaningful conversations with their customers."

"We are excited to be able to bring this program to the auto industry," says Tami Jones, President of Tjones & Associates. "We are making this program the centerpiece of our business, and will be focused on teaching dealers how to maximize use of this marketing medium." The program is available exclusively through Tjones & Associates beginning February 15, 2010.

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Cary Rotary Club Raises $31,000 at 7th Annual Chili Dinner Fundraiser - Carolina Newswire

Posted: 15 Feb 2010 07:31 AM PST

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Latest News - dBusinessNews.com

Posted: 15 Feb 2010 06:27 AM PST

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Triangle -

Cary, N.C. (February 15, 2010)- The Cary Rotary Club held its 7^th annual Chili Dinner fundraiser on Friday, January 29. An estimated 1,350 meals were served at lunch and dinner at Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Church in Cary. The club raised just over $31,000 in gross proceeds. After expenses the club expects net income to be $26,500-27,000. The majority of donations came from sponsors, including Atlantic Tire and Service in the new category of Event Sponsor.

The Cary Rotary Club started the hunger relief fundraising effort seven years ago and has donated over $152,000 from the previous six Chili Dinners. Funds have been distributed locally through the Interfaith Food Shuttle and Urban Ministries. International funds have been distributed through Stop Hunger Now and used for hunger relief in Africa, Southeast Asia, and this year in Haiti to provide food and medical supplies after the devastating earthquake.

Funds are raised from local businesses that purchase sponsorships and individuals buying tickets. 2010 Presenting Sponsors were Cary Magazine, Garmon's Auto, Boat & RV Storage, Harold K. Jordan & Co, Inc., Howard, Stallings, From, & Hutson, P.A., Paragon Commercial Bank, and Pat and Sue Brown. Over 100 businesses participated as Coprorate, Business, and Table Sponsors. The MacGregor Draft House and Harrison's Bar & Grill provided chili, pasta salad and cornbread.

Nearly all of the 100 members of the Cary Rotary Club participated in the Chili Dinner. The event requires extensive planning to coordinate the sale of sponsorships, preparation of over 1300 meals, delivery of lunches to sponsors, and serving of lunch and dinner at the church. Jim May and a team of employees from MacGregor and Harrison's prepared the food and coordinated the kitchen functions for the event.

About the Cary Rotary Club

The mission of Rotary International is to assist and guide Rotarians and Rotary clubs to help build a better world, emphasizing service activities by individuals and groups that enhance the quality of life and human dignity. The Cary Rotary Club, established in 1964, is Cary's original Rotary Club. The Club is involved in multiple projects that are designed to enrich the community, the district and the world.

Media Contact: Eric Schmidt, Winfield & Associates, 919-861-0620, x106, erics@winfieldandassociates.com

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