Schwan's to back Schrader, BAM.

A company that grew from 'one man and one truck' into an American food-industry powerhouse will join forces with NASCAR's fastest-growing Nextel Cup team this season, as Schwan's Home Service sponsors BAM Racing's #49 Dodge, driven by veteran driver Ken Schrader.

News of the deal was broken by Beth Ann Morgenthau, owner of BAM Racing, and M Lenny Pippin, president and CEO of The Schwan Food Company.

"We are very excited to have one of the best-known names in the food industry join us as we work towards our first pole, our first race victory and our first championship as a team," Morgenthau said, "Schwan is a well-known and highly respected name in the American and European food industry, and we're extremely pleased to be partnering with them.

"The fact that The Schwan Food Company grew from a small dairy home-delivery business in 1952 to what it is today is not lost on us. Their faith in a race team that began small and is building into what we feel will become a powerhouse within NASCAR means a great deal to us. We are excited about the marketing possibilities for Schwan, as well as the competitive possibilities for BAM Racing."

Morgenthau, whose initials make up the name of the team, owns the #49 Schwan's Dodge, along with her husband Tony. The couple are successful investors who built the BAM team from the ground up, and Morgenthau is the only female in major league motorsports to start a team without becoming involved because of family connections.

"The Schwan Food Company is thrilled to join forces with BAM Racing," Pippin added, "We are also excited to be associated again with NASCAR and Ken Schrader, who drove Schwan's #90 Red Baron Thunderbird in the late 1980s. We believe this partnership will generate a groundswell of excitement among millions of Schwan's Home Service customer families across the United States and our employees. I'm confident the partnership between Schwan, BAM Racing and Ken Schrader has the potential to be a major force in the Nextel Cup Series."

Forty-eight-year old Schrader is one of just a few active Cup drivers to have won races on all types of speedways. The busiest driver in major league motorsports, he has raced on virtually every type of speedway in virtually every type of race car, and continues a career that has seen him win over $20 million.

General manager Eddie Jones is a veteran of the NASCAR Winston Cup wars, enjoying a championship career as a crew chief, mechanic and team leader. Crew chief Scott Eggleston is one of the few active crew chiefs in the business to have won a Daytona 500. Business manager Gus Larkin is a successful veteran motorsports marketer, and leads the corporate sponsorship activities.