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LAWRENCE -- The Kansas Jayhawk will be roaring around the Kansas Speedway track later this month aboard the Phillips 66 Racing Team's No. 66 Dodge Intrepid, driven by Casey Mears.
For the first time, Phillips 66 has repainted its racing car, switching from its usual black-and-cherry-red color scheme to a crimson-and-blue palette for the Sept. 28 NASCAR Busch Series Mr. Goodcents 300 race at the Kansas City, Kan., motorsports palace. Powered by nearly 700 horsepower, the No. 66 Intrepid can exceed 180 mph.
Mears, 24, a rising star on the NASCAR circuit and the nephew of four-time Indy 500 champion Rick Mears, will unveil the Jayhawk-adorned car at a 1 p.m. ceremony Monday, Sept. 9, in front of the Kansas Union. He also will sign autographs. Car owner Wayne Jesel also will be present.
"I think the car turned out great," said Mears. "The special paint scheme is really going to turn some heads and provide some added excitement when we race at the Kansas Speedway.
"It's neat to have the additional support of the university behind us. With the help and support of everyone at the University of Kansas, we're going to give the students and faculty something to cheer about."
A limited edition 1/24 scale model of the KU car -- only 1,250 will be made -- will be sold along with Phillips 66 Rock Chalk Jayhawk T-shirts and other gear. T-shirts will be available Monday at KU Bookstores or at www.jayhawks.com; the scale model will be available for sale a week later.
As the official sponsor of the Big 12 basketball and baseball tournaments, Phillips 66 decided to honor the Jayhawks after Mears caught NCAA basketball fever this spring while attending the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
"I had a lot of fun and I met a lot of great people while I was at the tournament," said Mears. "Now all we need is to have all of the Jayhawk fans who attended the tournament to come to the Kansas Speedway and cheer us on."
The Kansas Speedway, the most elaborate motorsports facility in the world, was built last year on 1,200 acres at the intersection of interstates 70 and 435, just minutes from KU's Lawrence campus and medical facilities in Kansas City, Kan. KU Med, the university hospital, is the speedway's official health care provider.
• Learn more about Casey Mears
• Learn more about the Phillips 66 Racing Team
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