ATLANTA, May 23, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Aaron Rents, Inc., the nation's leader in the rental, sales and lease ownership, specialty retailing and rental of residential and office furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories, today announced that three-time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion Darrell Waltrip (D.W.) will unveil his version of the No. 99 Aaron's Dream Machine NASCAR Busch Series entry this Saturday at Lowe's Motor Speedway's media center at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. Waltrip is scheduled to race the car with a special paint scheme in the Goody's 250 at Martinsville Speedway on July 22.
After a 14-year hiatus from racing in the series, the elder Waltrip will make his return this time behind the wheel of the Dream Machine. Waltrip has been the focus of a longstanding storyline in Aaron's marketing campaigns, where he consistently asks his brother Michael to drive the Dream Machine. Michael always found some way to deny D.W.'s request until recently.
Two months ago, Michael, along with Darrell's wife Stevie, surprised him with his own Dream Machine helmet complete with their permission to drive the Aaron's car in a NASCAR Busch Series race at Martinsville Speedway this July, proving that the Aaron's marketing campaign was no gimmick.
"Well, I guess Michael got tired of me bothering him about running the No. 99 Aaron's Dream Machine," said Waltrip. "He finally gave in and I'm going to be able to drive it after all. I've never driven a Busch Series car in Martinsville. In fact, I think the last time I drove a Busch car anywhere was in 1992. It's been a long time - does that mean I'm a rookie and I'll get rookie practice?"
Despite D.W.'s lack of NASCAR Busch Series experience at Martinsville Speedway, he has recorded 11 of his 84 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series career wins on the track's .526-mile oval. It was the depth of his success at Martinsville that prompted him to push even harder for a chance to drive the Dream Machine.
According to his brother, "Once D.W. learned a Busch Series race was planned for Martinsville his persistence increased ten-fold. I finally gave in and so did his wife Stevie. It's one of Darrell's favorite tracks. Just this October he raced his No. 12 Toyota Tundra NASCAR Craftsman truck at Martinsville. I'm happy for him to get back in a car. He'll have a lot of fun and so will I just by watching him. Aaron's is great to let D.W. take the wheel. But I guess I'm most happy about the fact that I'll never be asked again when I'm going to let D.W. drive the Aaron's Dream Machine!"
Aaron's Sales & Lease Ownership's Ken Butler said, "We are just thrilled to see this marketing campaign come to life in such an exciting way for the Waltrips and for everyone involved with Aaron's. Michael and D.W. are two of the best guys in racing and we could not be more proud to have them represent our company in this way."
Aaron's plans to make limited edition 1:24 scale and 1:64 scale die-cast models of D.W.'s No. 99 Aaron's Dream Machine. The cars will be available late July at select Aaron's Sales & Lease Ownership locations across the country.
Aaron Rents, Inc. (NYSE:RNT), based in Atlanta, currently has more than 1,225 Company-operated and franchised stores in 46 states, Canada and Puerto Rico for the rental and sale of consumer electronics, computers, residential and office furniture, household appliances and accessories. The Company manufactures furniture, bedding and accessories at 12 facilities in five states.
Aaron's stores offer customers access to high quality furniture, appliances, electronics and computers for sale or on a lease-ownership arrangement. Customers have the option of buying their merchandise for an attractive cash price, or opting to lease their merchandise for even greater flexibility. With a lease option, customers make modest monthly payments and have the immediate use of the items they need without waiting for credit checks or other delays. Plus, Aaron's will take care of delivery, set-up, repairs and more for the duration of a customer's lease.
CONTACT:
Aaron's Sales and Lease Ownership
Michele Vance
(913) 205-8958
www.shopaarons.com