HANSON TO SING NATIONAL ANTHEM FOR USG SHEETROCK® 400

(Joliet, Ill. – July 11, 2007) The three brothers who make up the band HANSON will be on hand to sing the National Anthem for the USG SHEETROCK® 400, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race, at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday, July 15.

As part of the pre-race festivities, HANSON will sing the anthem a cappella style, fulfilling a long standing tradition of NASCAR and racing events throughout the country. Their performance will be punctuated with an overhead flyby of F-16’s out of the 176th Fighter Squadron.

“We are thrilled to be a part of the USG Sheetrock 400 on Sunday and are honored to be singing our National Anthem before what we're sure will be an exciting race,” said band member Zac Hanson.

HANSON is scheduled to perform the National Anthem at approximately 2:45 p.m. CT from the start-finish line of the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway. The USG SHEETROCK® 400 is slated to start at approximately 3 p.m. CT.

“HANSON’s creativity and ability to write and produce quality music has enabled them to accomplish a great deal already in their career,” said Matthew Alexander, president of Chicagoland Speedway. “We are very excited to have them be a part of our pre-race ceremonies for the USG SHEETROCK® 400, and we’re excited to hear them perform our National Anthem.”

The band’s new CD, entitled The Walk (in stores July 24th) builds on the success of their last album, Underneath, which debuted on the Billboard Independent Chart at #1 and on Billboard's Top 200 at #25, making it one of the most successful self-released albums in history. Taking the reins both artistically and as entrepreneurs, the band came up with an innovative approach to rolling out their new CD. Each week leading up to the album's release date, HANSON will podcast an episode of a docu-series they've titled “Taking The Walk.” Fans will be treated to an inside look at the making of the album and the building of an independent label.

HANSON’S first single “MmmBop,” became a worldwide number one hit in 1997. Their pop-Motown flavored major label debut, “Middle Of Nowhere,” pierced the gray fog of 1990’s grunge and earned the band three Grammy nominations. Their sophomore effort, “This Time Around,” leaned toward rock, blues and gospel, while 2004’s “Underneath” was a more richly textured and organic twist on the band's signature brand of pop-rock, as heard on the album’s lead single “Penny and Me,” which made it to #2 on the Billboard Singles Chart and notched the band a top 10 in the UK Singles Chart. New York’s Village Voice recently called them, “the finest straight-up rock band in America.”

For more information about the July 13-15 USG NASCAR weekend, visit www.chicagolandspeedway.com.

Chicagoland Speedway and Route 66 Raceway are wholly-owned by International Speedway Corporation (“ISC”), a leading promoter of motorsports activities. ISC owns and/or operates 13 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities, including Daytona International Speedway (home of the Daytona 500), as well as owns or has interest in a number of other motorsports-related businesses.