In 2005, the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and The Coca-Cola Company's POWERade brand enter their fourth year as partners in presenting the world's fastest motorsports attraction: The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

POWERade was named only the second series sponsor in the 51 year history of the world's largest motorsports sanctioning organization on Dec. 3, 2001. The five-year, multi-tiered worldwide exclusive agreement also includes several NHRA official sponsorship programs, including POWERade as the Official Sports Drink; Coca-Cola classic as the Official Soft Drink; and Dasani as the Official Bottled Water of the NHRA.

NHRA and POWERade's total payout to competitors in 2005 will be more than $3 million, including the NHRA POWERade championship points fund and NHRA POWERade Top 10 bonus program.

NHRA professional category drivers will compete for their share of the $1,828,750 NHRA POWERade points fund. That total includes the following bonuses for the four champions of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series: $400,000 to the NHRA POWERade champions in Top Fuel and Funny Car; $200,000 to the NHRA POWERade champion in Pro Stock; and $50,000 to the NHRA POWERade champion in Pro Stock Bike.

Drivers in Top Fuel and Funny Car categories who finish in the top 10 in the 2005 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series point standings will receive bonuses ranging from $100,000 for finishing second, to $15,000 for finishing 10th. In Pro Stock, the second place driver will earn $50,000; while the second place finisher in Pro Stock Bike will claim $15,000.

In addition, NHRA and POWERade provides season-long bonuses totaling $1,187,500, paid to drivers who are in the NHRA POWERade Top 10 of their respective categories entering each event in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. The NHRA POWERade Top 10 in Top Fuel and Funny Car receive $2,000 each, while the top 10 drivers in Pro Stock earn $1,000 each. Another$2,500 is paid at each of the 15 races that feature the Pro Stock Bike category.

Besides marketing and promotional support on both a local and national level, POWERade will provide advertising support during NHRA's 23 national event television shows, aired exclusively on ESPN and ESPN2, and within other shows and programs on a variety of networks.

NHRA's partnership with POWERade also includes a major commitment and involvement from Coca-Cola Enterprises, the world's largest marketer, producer and distributor of products of The Coca-Cola Company, to provide series sponsorship support at the consumer distribution level.

POWERade is one of the key brands of The Coca-Cola Company. In July 2001, Coca-Cola launched an improved formula for POWERade featuring vitamins B3, B6 and B12, which play a role in energy metabolism. In addition, the brand recently added POWERade Light to its lineup, a new beverage with 50 percent fewer calories than the leading sports drink and also featuring B vitamins. These beverages are the first in what will be an expanding array of POWERade products that fuse the benefits of hydration and energy.