Memphis Busch race to benefit local hospital.

Memphis Motorsports Park and Sam's Town Tunica are designating St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as the beneficiary of the Sam's Town 250 NASCAR Busch Series event.

Beginning with this year's event, scheduled for October 18-19, the event title will become the "Sam's Town 250 benefiting St. Jude."

The association with Memphis Motorsports Park and the Sam's Town 250 aligns St. Jude with another of the Mid-South's major sporting events. The PGA Tour's FedEx St. Jude Classic, the Kroger St. Jude Tennis Tournament, the St. Jude Memphis Marathon and the AXA Liberty Bowl Football Classic are among other area sporting events with which St. Jude is partnered.

"St. Jude is honoured to be the beneficiary of one of the most prestigious sporting events in the Mid-South," said John Vranas, vice president of ALSAC/St. Jude, the hospital's fund-raising arm. "The partnership between St. Jude, Memphis Motorsports Park and the Sam's Town 250 will support the life-saving mission of St. Jude and help to make a difference in the lives of thousands of children suffering from cancer and other deadly diseases."

The partnership between St. Jude and the Sam's Town 250 is believed to be the only NASCAR race that directly benefits a national charity. Through the partnership St. Jude will receive proceeds from ticket sales and other activities scheduled around the event.

"The Sam's Town 250 has quickly become one of the top sporting events in the Mid-South, and to be able to associate it with an organization as reputable at St. Jude is just another step forward," said Jason Rittenberry, Vice President and General Manager of Memphis Motorsports Park. "What a great feeling it is knowing that all the hard work and long hours that go into an event of this magnitude will now be making a difference in the work and the mission of St. Jude."

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, in Memphis, Tennessee, was founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas. The hospital is an internationally recognized biomedical research centre dedicated to finding cures for catastrophic diseases of childhood. The hospital's work is supported through funds raised by ALSAC. ALSAC covers all costs not covered by insurance for medical treatment rendered at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Families without insurance are never asked to pay. For more information, please visit www.stjude.org.

"Our charitable association with St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital is another step in making each Sam's Town 250 racing weekend more memorable than the last," says Dan Stark, Director of Marketing for Boyd Gaming Corporation, the parent company of Sam's Town Tunica. "The incredible work being done by St. Jude's deserves acknowledgment and reward and we are extremely proud to be included in the group of major activities and events in the Memphis area that can help contribute to the Hospital's success."

In addition to the new partnership with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis Motorsports Park and Sam's Town Tunica have agreed on a new multi-year extension for the Tunica, Miss., based facility to continue as the title sponsor of the NASCAR Busch Series event. Sam's Town Tunica will also continue as the official Weekend Destination of Memphis Motorsports Park.

The Sam's Town 250 benefiting St. Jude will be televised live on NBC. The 250-lap race is the 30th of 34 events on the 2002 NASCAR Busch Series schedule. The Busch Series is the nation's second-richest and most popular stock car racing series, exceeded only by the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.

Tickets for the Sam's Town 250 are on sale at the Memphis Motorsports Park ticket office, or by calling (888) 82-SPEED.