06/07/08 Apples & NASCAR

Washington Apples and NASCAR tie-in. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. Yakima, Washington based Sage Fruit Company has signed a licensing deal with NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Kasey Kahne. Kahne is one of the hottest drivers on the ciruit and his face is showing up everywhere  even on People magazine's "America's Top 50 Bachelors." Chuck Sinks, President of Sales and Marketing for Sage Fruit says Kahne is excited about the deal. SINKS: I met him in January in Tulsa, OK and we got talking and I asked him if he'd be interested in coming back to the hort show. He said absolutely he would be. He said he wanted to help the growers from Washington State. One thing led to another and he owns this sprint car. You know it costs a fortune to be on a NASCAR, so we decided to participate with him and sponsor the sprint car and utilize him in grocery stores around the NASCAR circuit. We're going to promote Kasey Kahne to kind of help sell additional apples and tree fruit. Kahne is a native of Enumclaw, Washington. Kasey Kahne Racing also is running a Sage Fruit-sponsored No. 9 car in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, driven by Joey Saldana. The car will feature the Sage Fruit and Washington Apple logos, and will run for several races this season. Look for Washington tree fruit products with Kahne's image starting this fall in local grocery stores. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.