Leather Center to Sponsor ALMS Season Opener at Texas Motor Speedway

INDIANAPOLIS (January 29, 2001) -- Leather Center, the nation's leading manufacturer of quality leather seating, will become the title sponsor of the 2001 American Le Mans Series season opener at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Tex. The March 4 event will be known as the Leather Center Grand Prix of Texas.

As part of its sponsorship, Leather Center will partner with Audi to give consumers the opportunity to win a new Audi Allrod. Consumers will be able to register for the contest during March at any of the 11 Leather Center stores in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

The third season of the ALMS begins with a two-hour, 45-minute sports car endurance race on the 2.323-mile Texas Motor Speedway road racing circuit. The course combines part of the speedway's high-banked superspeedway with a twisting, turning infield section.

Sponsorship of the event marks the first motorsports venture for Leather Center, which operates more than 100 stores in 32 states. However, the Carrollton, Tex., firm has had a previous relationship with the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League and is embarking on a new venture with the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball in 2001 to install the first-ever section of leather recliners at a major sporting venue. The Leather Center will be promoting the Leather Center Grand Prix of Texas in its advertising.

The 19-year-old company offers factory-direct delivery of made-to-order handcrafted leather furniture in a broad range of styles and leather. More information is available at www.leathercenter.com.

"Furniture manufacturers don't typically sponsor major sporting events, but part of our success is due to our willingness to use out-of-the-box marketing to create a brand relationship with our customers," said Fernando Sanchez, Leather Center's executive vice-president of marketing. "In fact, the American Le Mans Series gives us a great opportunity to expose our brand of high-quality leather furniture to a tightly-defined audience. But while the race will give us great exposure on national television, most of the ticket buyers will come from the Dallas/Fort Worth region, where is where almost 10 percent of our stores are located."

"We welcome the participation of Leather Center in our event at Texas," said Scott Atherton, President and COO of the Panoz Motor Sports Group, which includes the American Le Mans Series. "We plan to continue to aggressively pursue other enthusiastic marketing partners that will help us meet the lofty goals we have for the American Le Mans Series."

The Leather Center Grand Prix of Texas will get the green flag at 1 p.m. (CST) on Sunday, March 4. Ticket information is available online at www.texasmotorspeedway.com or by telephone at (817) 215-8500.

The race will be televised live on the Speedvision network, and can be heard on the ALMS Radio Web at www.americanlemans.com.

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NOTE TO MEDIA:  A color event logo is available by request to andy@4pmg.com

MEDIA CONTACT:  Andy Hall, American Le Mans Series Director of Media & Communications (317) 295-3500, ext. 31; Charles Hodges, Marc-USA (972) 776-8088.