NASCAR Legends Jeff Gordon And Ray Evernham Restore Iconic Stock Car For Charity; Car To Be Featured At Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale On Velocity

NASCAR Legends Jeff Gordon And Ray Evernham Restore Iconic Stock Car For Charity; Car To Be Featured At Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale On Velocity

Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham's 1999 No.24 Pepsi Chevrolet to Benefit Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Velocity, Barrett-Jackson and Jeff Gordon, Inc. announced this morning during VELOCITY LIVE at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas that NASCAR racing legends, Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham will auction off a 1999 No. 24 Pepsi Chevrolet Monte Carlo used in their final season working together during the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction in 2015. The duo reunited to restore the Busch Series car to its former glory to benefit Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation, and for a special episode of Evernham's hit series "AmeriCarna" on Velocity. The car is scheduled to cross the block at the Barrett Jackson Scottsdale auction on January 13 on Velocity.

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"The heart of 'AmeriCarna' is uncovering long lost 4-wheeled treasures that played a large part in a person's past," said Evernham. "The No. 24 car has been an unmistakable artifact of my career, and holds a unique spot in NASCAR history. Reviving the car's championship glory with my long-time friend, Jeff Gordon, has been a labor of love. We're proud to revisit its history in an all-new episode of 'AmeriCarna' in 2015."

As the host of Velocity's AmeriCarna series, Ray Evernham traverses the country in pursuit of telling America's love affair with cars. Unlike any other automotive-focused series, AmeriCarna sheds light on the profound impact automobiles, of every make and model, have played in American culture.

Among the featured cars crossing the block during the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction is Gordon's 1999 No. 24 Pepsi Chevrolet Monte Carlo, which won the inaugural Busch Series event at Phoenix International Raceway in 1999. Earlier that year, Gordon/Evernham Motorsports (GEM) was founded to compete in that year's NASCAR Busch Series season. The team's Pepsi-sponsored cars ran six races with Gordon as driver and Evernham as crew chief. The last of these six came at Phoenix International Raceway, which was the penultimate race for the driver/crew chief duo, bringing an end to an era in NASCAR competition that was dominated by Gordon and Evernham.

In 2014, the two NASCAR icons reunited to bring this historic race car back to life, exactly how it was set up for their final race and win together at Phoenix International Raceway. The car features the original race-used chassis (#RHE1298573), a 358 C.I. V8 Hendrick Motorsports powerplant and 4-speed manual transmission.

"It was fun to create a new team with Ray and forge a stronger relationship with Pepsi," said Gordon. "It was cool to work with Ray in that capacity, and that car was so memorable. And to think that was our final race win together. I've had the pleasure of being associated with past charitable cars that have been auctioned off at Barrett-Jackson, and I can't wait to be there in January when this car is on the block."

The Barrett-Jackson 2015 Scottsdale auction will be among the most anticipated in the auction's history. The famed Ron Pratte Collection will be among the stars of the auction. Pratte, a Chandler, Arizona, developer and philanthropist, built the majority of his collection at Barrett-Jackson auctions. His collection, featuring cars, trucks, motorcycles and other rarities including the Futurliner, will be on the docket at Barrett-Jackson's 44th Annual Scottsdale Auction taking place January 10-18, 2015 with television coverage on Velocity and Discovery.

"Our Scottsdale auction has become the ultimate destination for car collectors, gearheads and motorsports enthusiasts," said Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson. "We're especially excited that our 2015 Scottsdale auction will premiere on Velocity in January. Discovery is a fantastic addition to the Barrett-Jackson team and will allow us to bring the thrill and excitement of our auction to enthusiasts worldwide."

About Velocity
Velocity, a division of Discovery Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), is the only upscale men's cable network that focuses on thrilling automotive for its viewers. Velocity programming is diverse, intelligent and engaging; capturing the best of the human experience as told by the top experts in the field. Formerly HD Theater, the fully HD network is available in 58 million homes. For more information on Velocity, please visit Velocity.tv, on Facebook at facebook.com/VelocityTV or on Twitter @VelocityTV.

About Discovery Communications, Inc.
Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world's #1 pay-TV programmer reaching nearly 3 billion cumulative subscribers in more than 220 countries and territories. Discovery is dedicated to satisfying curiosity, engaging and entertaining viewers with high-quality content on worldwide television networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery and Science, as well as U.S. joint venture network OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Discovery also controls Eurosport International, a premier sports entertainment group, including six pay-TV network brands across Europe and Asia. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools, including an award-winning series of K-12 digital textbooks, through Discovery Education, and a digital leader with a diversified online portfolio, including Discovery Digital Networks. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.

About The Barrett-Jackson Auction Company
Established in 1971 and headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Barrett-Jackson, The World's Greatest Collector Car Auctions(TM), is the leader in collector car auctions and automotive lifestyle events. Barrett-Jackson specializes in providing products and services to classic and collector car owners and automotive enthusiasts around the world. The company produces auctions in Scottsdale, Arizona; Palm Beach, Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Reno Tahoe, Nevada. Barrett-Jackson also endorses a one-of-a-kind collector car insurance for collector vehicles and other valued belongings. For more information about Barrett-Jackson, visit http://www.barrett-jackson.com or call 480-421-6694.

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SOURCE Velocity; Barrett-Jackson Auctions

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141110/157687
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Velocity; Barrett-Jackson Auctions

CONTACT: Brittany Whiteford, for Velocity, 1-240-662-6089, brittany_whiteford@discovery.com; Megan Jones, for Barrett-Jackson, 480-306-8278, MJones@Barrett-Jackson.com


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