XYIENCE Energy Drink to Sponsor Ryan Preece in Texas and Phoenix Sprint Cup Races

MOORESVILLE, NC (October 29, 2015) - XYIENCE Energy Drink, a subsidiary of Big Red,Inc.,  is proud to announce its sponsorship of Ryan Preece and his No. 98 Chevrolet with Premium Motorsports.  The zero-calorie energy drink will serve as Primary Sponsor for the 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion for the Sprint Cup Series events at Texas Motor Speedway on November 8th and Phoenix International Raceway on November 15th.

"I am extremely excited to be able to team up with XYIENCE for the Texas and Phoenix races," said Preece.  "I tend to drink energy drinks on a regular basis and after trying XYIENCE it has become my go to drink when I need that extra bit of energy or focus.  I am pumped to be representing this brand and doing all I can to make this program a success for them both on and off the track."

In addition to the Texas and Phoenix races, the 25-year old native of Connecticut will be behind the wheel of the No. 98 Sprint Cup Series ride for the last four races of the 2015 season starting with this weekend's event at Martinsville Speedway and concluding at Homestead-Miami Speedway.  The XYIENCE brand will also join Preece in the season finale as an Associate Sponsor.

"We look forward to sponsoring a young talented driver such as Ryan," said Gary Smith, CEO of Big Red.  "The XYIENCE team is excited for the opportunity to showcase our brand in NASCAR with a talented young driver who is a perfect fit.  We have cool things planned for these races and will have a group of guests at each of them to root on Ryan and the No. 98 team."

Preece has one previous NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start to his credit earlier this season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway where he earned a 32nd place finish.  The 2013 & 2014 NASCAR NEXT member also has three starts in the NASCAR XFINITY Series to his credit to go along 123 starts in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour - including the Series Championship in 2013.

 "These last 4 races will be a new challenge for me that I can't wait to get at," added Preece.  "I have always wanted to race at the larger tri-ovals and look forward to that at Texas and Homestead.  I really appreciate the opportunity given to me by Premium Motorsports and the support of longtime friend Tommy Baldwin.  I am just a guy who races the weekly/touring series a few times a week and trying to move up the ladder in this sport.  I am focused on doing a great job for the XYIENCE folks and everyone associated with this No. 98 effort."

About Big Red Inc.:  Big Red, Inc. is one of the top 10 beverage companies in North America with a history dating back to 1937. Along with Big Red®, recognized as the number-one selling red soda, Big Red, Inc. also markets beverage brands Big Blue®, Big Peach®, Big Pineapple®, HYDRIVE®, XYIENCE®, All Sport®,  Thomas Kemper®, NuGrape®, and Nesbitt's® products. Distributed widely throughout the Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Independent Bottlers and Pepsi Bottling Group, consumers across the country enjoy Big Red, Inc.'s beverages.