Lowe's to sponsor #5 Busch team.

Lowe's and Hendrick Motorsports today announced a multi-year agreement that will feature Lowe's as primary sponsor of the No. 5 Chevrolet driven by Kyle Busch in the 2004 NASCAR Busch Series.

In addition, four Lowe's vendor partners, including Shop-Va (r), Gladiator(tm) GarageWorks, Briggs and Stratton(r) and Pella(r), will rotate associate sponsorship of the No. 5 Chevrolet throughout the season.

"The success of Team Lowe's Racing, with Jimmie Johnson and the talented 48 team led by Chad Knaus, has resulted in an unprecedented level of interest and excitement from our customers, our employees and our vendor partners," said Dale Pond, Lowe's senior executive vice president of merchandising/marketing. "We're honoured that our vendor partners view the Team Lowe's Racing programmr as an effective way to raise awareness of their products.

"This expansion of our relationship with Hendrick Motorsports gives our vendor partners exposure for their brand with one of the most respected and successful organisations in motorsports while giving the most loyal fans in all of sports, our customers and employees a second championship-caliber team to root for at the track."

The move combines Busch, who signed with Hendrick Motorsports in February 2003, with a team that won the 2003 Busch Series championship with driver Brian Vickers. Vickers moves to the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series in 2004.

"This team is very close to my heart, so I'm excited that Lowe's and its vendor partners are enthusiastic about joining us in the Busch Series," said Ricky Hendrick, team owner. "They have been an integral part of Hendrick Motorsports' success over the past few years and we look forward to continuing that in 2004."

Busch, 18, posted two runner-up finishes and five top-10 qualifying efforts in seven Busch Series starts last season. The Las Vegas native also earned two victories and three pole positions in ARCA Series competition.

"As a young driver, I just couldn't ask for a better situation," said Busch. "With a sponsor like Lowe's and the resources at Hendrick Motorsports behind me, I know this is a special opportunity to learn and develop on and off the race track."

Lance McGrew, the 2003 Busch Series championship crew chief, returns to lead the team in its third season.

"I'm looking forward to the upcoming season for a lot of reasons," said McGrew. "We have a talented young driver in Kyle Busch and a great sponsorship programme with Lowe's and their vendors. It should be another fun year for us."