Jimmie Johnson is Spokesman for Soap Box Derby

When The Levi Strauss Signature(TM) brand became the title sponsor ofthe All-American Soap Box Derby (AASBD), the event gained a spokesmanwho knows a thing or two about racing. Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No.48 Lowe's Chevrolet in Nextel Cup, already had an association with LeviStrauss and says the Soap Box Derby tie-in is a natural for him.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for me," Johnson says. "I was excitedto get involved with the folks from Levi Strauss Signature(TM) brandlast season, and now this is just taking our relationship to anotherlevel. It's a great way to mix three things that are very special to me:family, kids, and racing. Levi Strauss Signature(TM) brand knows howimportant my family is to me and how much (wife) Chandra and I enjoyworking with kids. On top of that, I can also mix in a little racing,which is just a bonus for me."

The 68th AASBD World Championship is scheduled to take place in Akron,Ohio, on July 30, with more than 500 race participants representing 43states and four foreign countries. The event is open to boys and girlsages 8-17. The Soap Box Derby season runs year-round and is comprised of170 local races with the goal of advancing to the finals in Akron, wherethe championship has been held every year since 1934, with the exceptionof the years during World War II.

Participants compete in three racing divisions: Stock, Super Stock, andMasters. Within the Stock division, boys and girls ages 8-17 compete insimplified cars built from kits purchased from the AASBD. Super Stockdivision competitors build a larger model car made from larger bodyshells. The Masters division consists of boys and girls ages 10-17building a more sophisticated car from a kit. The top-three finishers ineach division will earn college scholarship money presented by LeviStrauss Signature(TM).

A Derby car, which is strictly gravity powered, can reach speeds of 30mph in competition, depending on the grade of the ramp or hill.

Participants are required to compete in the Soap Box Derby race closestto where they reside. All local race winners in each divisionautomatically earn the right to compete in the finals. Aside fromparticipating in local Soap Box Derby races, competitors can also earnan opportunity to compete in Akron by participating in AASBD-sanctioned"rally" races held in various cities and towns during the Derby season.Points are accumulated in the rally events, and top earners get tocompete in Akron.

During "Derby Week" (July 25-29), local champions from eachdivision--Stock, Super Stock, and Masters--visit Derby Downs and gettheir first look at the 990-foot track designed especially forcompetition in The All-American Soap Box Derby presented by LeviStrauss. Weeklong festivities include special entertainment, workshops,celebrity appearances, parades, and the traditional Oil Can Trophy Race,where celebrities compete in oversize derby cars.

The Soap Box Derby grew out of a photo assignment of Myron Scott, aDayton, Ohio, newsman. After covering an organized race of boy-builtcars for his local paper in 1933, Scott acquired a copyright for theidea and began developing the program on a national scale. The firstAASBD race was held in the summer of 1934.

The AASBD has partnered with NASCAR for the past three years, where ithas been an official Youth Initiative of NASCAR.

NASCAR has a long connection to the Soap Box Derby. Former driver CaleYarborough, a three-time NASCAR champion, competed in the Derby, as didRichard Childress, a six-time championship-winning team owner. NASCARexecutives Jim France (the sanctioning body's executive vice president)and Mike Helton, president of NASCAR, are former competitors as well.