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The Left Behind Series Goes NASCAR | ||||||
JIMMMY HENSLEY RETURNS TO MARTINSVILLE IN THE #72 LEFTBEHIND.COM CHEVROLET Wheaton, Ill. (April 2, 2001) After impressive positive feedback, leftbehind.com, the official web site of the best-selling Left Behind Series, has renewed its title sponsorship of Randy MacDonald’s #72 Chevrolet for the Advance Auto Parts 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Race at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, April 7 at 2:00 p.m. ET “It will be a big weekend with the Winston Cup teams at the track,” MacDonald says. MacDonald, who was injured in a crash at Daytona earlier this year, has delegated the driver duties at Martinsville to veteran competitor Jimmy Hensley, who previously placed first at that track. “We’re very excited about our chances,” MacDonald added. Fans of the apocalyptic novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins who watched the ESPN coverage of the March 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway had such an excited response to “Read the Future” and leftbehind.com logo emblazoned on MacDonald’s truck that Tyndale House Publishers, of Wheaton, Ill., decided to try it again. Through the message boards at leftbehind.com, Left Behind readers sent MacDonald hundreds of messages of encouragement such as “Go Randy, we’re behind you all the way” and “I think its great that NASCAR and Left Behind got together.” “It’s been a groundbreaking experience for us,” said Dan Balow, Tyndale director of marketing, “We have enjoyed the encouraging reaction to our sponsorship. It was beyond what we expected.” The experience has been equally gratifying for MacDonald, who has been able to share the message of the Left Behind Series in new avenues. “The reaction to leftbehind.com being on my truck has been fascinating,” MacDonald says. “It has opened doors I never could have imagined.” Surprisingly at the Homestead-Miami event, ESPN announcer Dr. Jerry Punch mentioned that he and his wife had read the books. In response author Tim LaHaye’s grandson said, “You know you’ve arrived when your grandfather gets his name mentioned on ESPN during a NASCAR race.” Left Behind is a series of end-times thrillers that has rocked the publishing world by selling more than 37 million copies. In 2000, two titles in the series, The Indwelling and The Mark, hit number one on all the national best-seller lists, including The New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly and The Wall Street Journal. The apocalyptic novels are based on the Bible’s Book of Revelation and follow the lives of those left on earth after the sudden disappearance of millions of believers—an event called the Rapture. Leftbehind.com is the headquarters for information and conversation about the Left Behind Series. With an average of 60,000 visitors per day, leftbehind.com not only provides the first-time visitor with background about the trend-setting series but also offers active message boards that have developed into an on-line community of Left Behind fans. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Advance Auto Parts 250 at the Martinsville Speedway will be broadcast live on ESPN and Motor Racing Network. For more information on MacDonald Motorsports, Jimmy Hensley and leftbehind.com, the official web site of the best-selling Left Behind Series go to www.truckseries.com www.randymacdonald.com and www.leftbehind.com |
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