Innovative Family , Food, Fun and Finances at Lowes Motor Speedway

Speedway Lowers Cost of Bank of America 500 Race Experience
Through Ticket, Hotel, Souvenir and Concession Savings

CONCORD, N.C. (July 22, 2008) - Building on Benjamin Franklin's
simple concept of, "a penny saved is a penny earned," Lowe's Motor Speedway
has developed a multi-faceted program to lower the cost of attending a
NASCAR race despite rising fuel costs during these difficult economic
conditions.
Working with area hotel operators, its souvenir and concession
vendors and corporate sponsors, Lowe's Motor Speedway has reduced the
overall cost for fans to attend the Bank of America 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series race on Saturday night, Oct. 11.
"Consumers are constantly faced with very difficult economic
decisions and we've worked hard to make attending our race a more affordable
entertainment opportunity. It should be about fun, not finances," said
Marcus Smith, president and general manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway. "We've
been able to make this a group effort. Not only have we put together a
ticket package that will save race fans 30 percent, they will also enjoy
reduced prices on hotel rooms, concession items and souvenirs."
In an unprecedented move for a NASCAR race market, 35 hotels located
within approximately 30 miles of Lowe's Motor Speedway have agreed to reduce
their nightly race week room rates by 15 percent and waive their minimum
stay requirements.
"Collaborative efforts such as this are the essence of the Charlotte
region," said Tim Newman, chief executive officer of the Charlotte Regional
Visitors Authority. "We are proud to represent the hospitality industry in
this unique promotion. The hotels understand the importance of NASCAR here
in Charlotte, and truly embrace it by giving fans the extra incentive to
enjoy the fantastic sport that helps define this region."
"Lodging is a major expense for race fans and we greatly appreciate
the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority working with its member hotels to
roll back prices and eliminate minimum stay requirements," said Smith. "The
CRVA is truly setting an example for other NASCAR markets around the
country."
In conjunction with Circle K and Coca-Cola, Lowe's Motor Speedway
has introduced the Circle K Family Four-Pack for just $159.
The unique race-day experience includes four reserved Diamond Tower
seats for the Oct. 11 Bank of America 500 along with four hot dogs and four
20-ounce Coca-Colas. The $159 price represents a savings of 30 percent if
the same tickets and concession items were purchased separately.
In addition, each person purchasing the Family Four-Pack will
receive a coupon for a free 12-pack of Coke Zero that may be redeemed at a
participating Circle K store.
The savings will continue when fans arrive at the speedway for the
Bank of America 500, round five of the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint
Cup. A special souvenir package, featuring a Lowe's Motor Speedway T-shirt
and hat that would normally sell for $48, will be available for just $20. At
concession stands, fans will find four new combination packages reflecting
10 to 25 percent savings on their favorite items.
Race fans are reminded that Lowe's Motor Speedway offers 160 acres
of free parking and numerous affordable camping options are also available.
Coolers, limited to 14 inches in any direction, are also permitted in the
grandstands.
Bank of America 500 Week also includes the Dollar General 300 NASCAR
Nationwide Series race on Friday night, Oct. 10; Bojangles' Pole Night
qualifying on Thursday night, Oct. 9; and the Vienna Sausage Southern
Showdown World of Outlaws Late Model Series race on Wednesday night, Oct. 8,
at The Dirt Track.
To take advantage of these savings, fans should call the Lowe's
Motor Speedway ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS or visit
www.lowesmotorspeedway.com.


The following Charlotte area hotels have reduced nightly room rates by 15
percent and waived minimum stay requirements for the Bank of America 500
Week races at Lowe's Motor Speedway. In order to obtain the discounted rate,
race fans must request the Speedway Special when making reservations.

Ballantyne Resort (704) 248-4000
10000 Ballantyne Commons Park Way, Charlotte, N.C. 28277

Bed & Bike Inn (704) 463-0768
15750 Matton Grove Church Road, Gold Hill, N.C. 28071

Best Western Airport Charlotte (704) 394-4111
2625 Little Rock Road, Charlotte, N.C. 28214

Charlotte Airport Comfort Suites (704) 971-4400
3425 Mulberry Church Road, Charlotte, N.C. 28208

Charlotte Marriott Center City (704) 333-9000
100 West Trade Street, Charlotte, N.C. 28202

Comfort Inn at Carowinds (803) 548-5200
3725 Avenue of the Carolinas, Fort Mill, S.C. 29708

Courtyard by Marriott - Charlotte/Airport (704) 319-9900
2700 Little Rock Road, Charlotte, N.C. 28214

Courtyard by Marriott Arrowood (704) 527-5055
800 Arrowood Road, Charlotte, N.C. 28217

Courtyard by Marriott Ballantyne (704) 341-0041
15660 John J. Delaney Drive, Charlotte, N.C. 28277

Courtyard by Marriott Gastonia (704) 852-4411
1856 Remount Road, Gastonia, N.C. 28054

Courtyard by Marriott Matthews (704) 846-4466
11425 East Independence Boulevard, Matthews, N.C. 28105

Courtyard by Marriott Southpark (704) 552-7333
6023 Park South Drive, Charlotte, N.C. 28210

Doubletree Hotel Charlotte Gateway Village (704) 347-0070
895 West Trade Street, Charlotte, N.C. 28202

Duke Mansion (704) 714-4400
400 Hermitage Road, Charlotte, N.C. 28207

Fairfield Inn by Marriott Gastonia (704) 867-5073
1860 Remount Road, Gastonia, N.C. 28054

Hampton Inn - Monroe (704) 220-2200
2368 Roland Drive, Monroe, N.C. 28110

Hampton Inn & Suites SouthPark at Phillips Place (704) 319-5700
6700 Phillips Place Court, Charlotte, N.C. 28210

Hampton Inn University Place (704) 548-0905
8419 North Tryon Street, Charlotte, N.C. 28262

Hilton Center City (704) 377-1500
222 East 3rd Street, Charlotte, N.C. 28202

Hilton Charlotte Executive Park (704) 527-8000
5624 Westpark Drive, Charlotte, N.C. 28217

Hilton Garden Inn Ayrsley (704) 499-9493
1920 Ayrsley Town Boulevard, Charlotte, N.C. 28273

Hilton Garden Inn Pineville (704) 889-3279
425 Towne Centre Boulevard, Pineville, N.C. 28134

Holiday Inn Airport (704) 394-4301
2707 Little Rock Road, Charlotte, N.C. 28214

Holiday Inn University Executive Park (704) 547-0999
8520 University Executive Park Dr, Charlotte, N.C. 28262

Hyatt Summerfield Suites Charlotte Airport (704) 525-2600
4920 South Tryon Street, Charlotte, N.C. 28217

Microtel Airport (704) 398-9601
3412 Queen City Drive, Charlotte, N.C. 28208

Morehead Inn (704) 376-3357
1122 East Morehead Street, Charlotte, N.C. 28204

Ramada Airport South and Conference Center (704) 525-8350
212 West Woodlawn Road, Charlotte, N.C. 28217

Residence Inn by Marriott University (704) 547-1122
8503 North Tryon Street, Charlotte, N.C. 28262

Sleep Inn Lake Norman (704) 766-2500
16508 Northcross Drive, Huntersville, N.C. 28078

SpringHill Suite by Marriott - Charlotte/Airport (704) 405-6061
3055 Scott Futrell Drive, Charlotte, N.C. 28208

Staybridge Suites Ballantyne (704) 248-5000
15735 John J. Delaney Drive, Charlotte, N.C. 28277

Staybridge Suites Charlotte Arrowood (704) 527-6767
7924 Forest Pine Drive, Charlotte, N.C. 28273

VanLandingham Estate (704) 334-8909
2010 The Plaza, Charlotte, N.C. 28205

Wingate Inn Charlotte South (704) 523-3366
6057 Nations Ford Road, Charlotte, N.C. 28217
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Some Coffee with Your Networking

Link to Charlotte had its 2nd coffee "meet and greet" at Caribou Coffee today. We had conversation about how we can make Link to Charlotte even better and how we can get more people to join the network.

We are looking forward to putting together another event in August. We are planning to have an "after work" event. We will be working on the location.

Some of you could not make the coffee this morning, but expressed interest in working in an advisory capacity to LinktoCharlotte.

We have already have had about 25% of our members meet each other, so far and I would encourage each of you to make plans to come to our next event.

Andrew Kaplan
Moderator, LinktoCharlotte.com

Link to Charlotte Tops 70 members

As of June 30th, in less than two months, LinktoCharlotte has reached 70 members. We have not officially announced anything to the public, but have grown via word of mouth to our associates and friends and those on a global network called LinkedIn.

As I reflect back on the goals, here are the top 10 we met:

1. Have business leaders form diverse companies in the community join
2. Have well known civic and sports organizations join
3. Have a kickoff meeting to meet and receive feedback from our members
4. Establish a regular low cost event for members to meet
5. Learn the administration tools needed to operate the site.
6. Bring in paid sponsors or members.
7. Have members post of news of interesting events or places to visit
8. Fill out their "visual space" and keyword profiles
9. Find a passionate core of early adopters who will help propel this forward.
10. Grow at an average of 1 to 2 new people per day.

As we start the third quarter our goal is to invite the media to join and learn about our site and social networking. This would include newspaper, magazines, radio and television. Having a background in media (see www.mediamensch.com I believe that the real core of social networking is "communications". The goal of this site is to "connect" individuals who may not otherwise ever meet. For example, how does a public relations professional meet an organic gardening expert. (yes, we do have one). They typically don't go to the same industry networking groups. On a personal side as we get more isolated from each other, our visual space area can help you find people of similar interests and let you know, through a visual bubble map or clould that you may want to connect.

This is exciting stuff.

Also exciting is that our other sister networks in New York City, Chicago and Nashville continue to grow as well. We also have trade groups for the wireless and "Relationship Networking" industries as part of platform which linktocharlotte runs on. This gives our development team the funding needed to propel this platform forward and create awareness as we cross promote between cities and industry groups.

Thanks for all your support during our initial launch.

VIP Kickoff a success

On June 14th, we had a very successful VIP kickoff of LinktoCharlotte sponsored by the Carolina Panthers. The following members were in attendance

Patrick "Hutch" Hutchinson
Candy Stone
Stephen Young
Rory Brady
Diane Stewart
Brandon Rosenthal
Erica Singleton
Patrick Chang
Robert Bramwell

We were welcomed by Mike Mahoney of the Panthers and provided with a car magnet and refreshments. We had a chance for introductions and then had an overview of LinktoCharlotte and the idea of localized networking on the web. We discussed how this is "our site" and the more people we invite in, the more opportunites to find trusted friends and business associates.

Some of the discussion led to areas on how to use the "visual space" area, how to post video blogs, and the concept of groups. This was a wonderful start with a great group of individuals.

Our next steps are to:
1) Invite more friends
2) Have a "hands-on" education program for members
3) Plan a calendar of "monthly" events

Thanks to our sponsor level member:
Candy Stone, MyTownHomeRealty-Maison Properties
Andrew Kaplan, eWarrior LLC and MediaMensch Networks

Trying an RSS Feed of news

I am going to work on creating an RSS feed of information coming from LinktoCharlotte.com

Welcome to LinktoCharlotte

This is our first post for LinktoCharlotte.com's blog. I decided to create an associated blog, so we can post up articles and questions and see if this can also become more searchable for Google, Yahoo, etc.

Please go to www.linktocharlotte.com
to learn about the power of localized business to business networking on the web.