Bass Pro Shops Puts Conservation Partnership Front and Center at Bristol
Jamie McMurray will pilot special No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet SS with special Bass Pro Shops/National Wild Turkey Federation paint scheme during Food City 500
Bass Pro Shops today announced a special paint scheme that will adorn the Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) No. 1 Chevrolet SS of Jamie McMurray at the Bristol spring race. Noted conservationist and Bass Pro Shops founder/CEO Johnny Morris is donating space on the race car to the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of the wild turkey and the preservation of our hunting heritage. The No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/NWTF Chevy will compete in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) on Sunday, April 23.
McMurray and Bass Pro Shops have celebrated several career milestones together since 2010, including victories in the 2010 Daytona 500, 2010 Brickyard 400 and the 2014 NASCAR All-Star Race, driving the Bass Pro Shops/NWTF Chevy. The Bristol spring race serves as the seventh time that McMurray has piloted the No. 1 Chevy SS with special Bass Pro Shops and NWTF branding.
"We are very proud to partner with our good friends at CGR in this tribute to the National Wild Turkey Federation—one of our all-time great national conservation partners,” said Johnny Morris. “All of us at Bass Pro Shops are honored to donate this special paint scheme as a tribute to this organization’s ongoing commitment to conservation and education, and their thousands of grassroots volunteers who are also NASCAR fans."
Bass Pro Shops and founder Johnny Morris has been a significant conservation partner to NWTF for a number of years. To commemorate this long-standing support, NWTF recently honored Morris with special recognition at its annual Convention and Sport Show in Nashville, Tenn. Morris has significantly impacted every facet of the organization, supporting programs that have conserved and enhanced more than 1.7 million acres of habitat, opened more than 327,000 acres of hunting access, led more than 680,000 hunters to the sport and aided state conservation departments in repopulating turkey habitats through trap and transfers.
Jamie McMurray competes full time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series but owns victories in all three NASCAR national series. He has raced at Bristol Motor Speedway 28 times in his career. McMurray's best start at Bristol Motor Speedway is 3rd and his best finish here is 3rd. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver has seven career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins, including the 2010 Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400—making him one of only three drivers to win those races in the same year.
“Bristol is such a fun track and I can’t think of a better place for Bass Pro Shops to have the NWTF car,” said McMurray. “There are a lot of passionate race fans and outdoorsmen in that area. Bass Pro Shops is also the sponsor of the Bristol Night Race in August, so both Bristol races this season are going to be really special.”
About Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
Chip Ganassi has been a fixture in the auto racing industry for over 30 years and is considered one of the most successful as well as innovative owners the sport has anywhere in the world. Today his teams include four cars in the Verizon IndyCar Series, two cars in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, two cars in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, two factory Ford GT’s in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and two factory Ford GT’s in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Overall his teams have 18 championships and more than 185 victories, including four Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400, seven Rolex 24 At Daytonas, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Pa. For more information log onto: www.chipganassiracing.com.
About the National Wild Turkey Federation
When the National Wild Turkey Federation was founded in 1973, there were about 1.5 million wild turkeys in North America. After decades of work, that number hit an historic high of almost 7 million turkeys. To succeed, the NWTF stood behind science-based conservation and hunters’ rights. Thanks to the efforts of dedicated volunteers, professional staff and committed partners, the NWTF has facilitated the investment of $488 million in wildlife conservation and the preservation of North America’s hunting heritage. The NWTF has improved more than 17 million acres of wildlife habitat and introduce 100,000 people to the outdoors each year. The NWTF Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. initiative is a charge that mobilizes science, fundraising and devoted volunteers to raise $1.2 billion to conserve and enhance more than 4 million acres of essential wildlife habitat, recruit at least 1.5 million hunters and open access to 500,000 acres for hunting. For more information, visit NWTF.org.
About Bass Pro Shops
Bass Pro Shops is a leading destination retailer offering outdoor gear and apparel in an immersive setting. Founded in 1972 when avid young angler Johnny Morris began selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri, today more than 100 retail and marine centers host 120 million people annually. Bass Pro Shops also operates White River Marine Group, offering an unsurpassed collection of industry-leading boat brands, and Big Cedar Lodge, America’s Premier Wilderness Resort. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is known as a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Forbes as “one of America’s Best Employers.”