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The No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet, driven by Bobby Labonte will sport a special paint scheme featuring the movie The Passion of The Christ at the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15. The movie, produced and directed by Mel Gibson, is a vivid depiction of the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ’s life. It opens in theaters on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 25. Gibson has starred in movies such as Lethal Weapon and The Patriot and won two Oscars for his production and direction of Braveheart. James Caviezel, the actor who plays Jesus, will attend the Daytona 500 as a guest of Interstate Batteries Chairman Norm Miller.
“This outstanding movie factually portrays the most important 12 hours in history,” said Miller. “We are privileged to be a part of its promotion to the world. Besides that, it may well be the number one box office attraction of the year. I certainly hope so!”
The $25 million project,
which was financed, co-written and directed by Gibson, has some
controversy surrounding it. Some
are concerned that it may be too graphic, and others that it may be
anti-Jewish. A booklet entitled “Is
The Passion of the Christ Anti-Semitic?” provides viewpoints
from Jewish and Christian people who have seen The Passion and is available at
http://www.mastermediaintl.org/guest/index.htm . Filmmakers say The Passion is intended
to inspire, not to offend.
Labonte, 2000
Winston
Cup champion, will be competing in his
12th Daytona 500 and scored a career-best second-place finish in 1998
behind Dale
Earnhardt.
“I know
Norm
Miller is a big supporter of the film, so it’s
very exciting for him to have the Passion paint scheme on the Interstate
Batteries car,” Labonte said.
“Jim
Caviezel will be in our pit on race day, so
hopefully we can bring him a win in the Daytona
500.”
Caviezel is no stranger to auto
racing. In 2002, he drove the
50th Anniversary Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car at the beginning of the
86th Indianapolis 500
race.
The paint scheme featuring “The
Passion of The Christ” will help kick off the 13th year that
Interstate Batteries has served as primary sponsor on the No. 18 Joe Gibbs
Racing car. JGR won the 1993
Daytona 500 with Dale
Jarrett as the driver, and the team has scored
40 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup wins.
The 2004 Daytona 500 starts at
1:30 p.m. ET, Sunday, Feb. 15, and
will be broadcast live on NBC and MRN.
Interstate Batteries was
founded in 1952 and is based in Dallas,
Texas, and today is the top-selling
replacement automotive brand battery in North America,
selling approximately 12 million units annually. Customers can call 1-800-CRANK IT or
visit http://www.interstatebatteries.com to find the nearest Interstate
Batteries dealer.
Contact:
Charles
Suscavage
VP of Public
Relations
Interstate
Batteries
972-715-6637
SOURCE Interstate
Batteries
Web Site: http://www.interstatebatteries.com
http://www.mastermediaintl.org/guest/index.htm
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