New McDonalds ad campaign make US debut tonight.

With NASCAR busily searching for a potential replacement series title sponsor should RJ Reynolds (parent company of 'Winston') confirm that they are stepping down within the next two years, McDonald's are launching what could be a timely series of new TV adverts featuring defending Winston Cup Champion Tony Stewart.

Although the McDonald's chain are currently having a rather rough time at present in their domestic (US) market, the fast food giant is one of the few corporations that could theoretically sustain the kind of dollars that RJ Reynolds has ploughed into the sport since 1971.

The new series of McDonald's/NASCAR commercials debuts in the same year that the company started the McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship. Three different 30-second commercials featuring Stewart and the ever-popular Kyle Petty, will air during FOX's live broadcast of the Auto Club 500 at the California Speedway.

"The new campaign reinforces McDonald's commitment to celebrating and recognizing NASCAR pit crews," said John Lewicki, director of alliances, McDonald's U.S. Marketing. "McDonald's truly understands the importance of a successful pit crew because being fast and being accurate are also the key ingredients of McDonald's restaurant crews when serving our customers."

Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet and the reigning NASCAR Winston Cup champion, has firsthand knowledge of the similarities between a NASCAR crew and a McDonald's restaurant crew. As a teenager, Stewart worked as a McDonald's crew person.

"When I worked for McDonald's it was the crew people that made the difference and it's the same in racing," said Stewart. "McDonald's has always put a heavy emphasis on having quality restaurant crews and it is only fitting that they stepped up to recognize and honour the NASCAR crews."

Petty concurs.

"First of all, I had a lot of fun making the commercials," said Petty, driver of the No. 45 Georgia-Pacific Dodge. "They are neat spots and I am sure race fans will enjoy them. I was proud to be part of the commercials because the focus is on the crew members. And we all know the crews are the backbone of this sport."

The McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fuelled by POWERade will offer prize money in excess of $1.2 million during the 2003 season, making it the largest monetary contingency program in NASCAR history and the first season points championship for pit crew teams.

McDonald's, the official drive-thru of NASCAR, is the world's leading food service retailer with more than 30,000 restaurants serving 46 million customers each day in more than 100 countries. Approximately 80 percent of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent, local businessmen and women.