As Jenny mentioned in her recent blog, Eastman Kodak Company and Universal Pictures partnered with Penske Racing (http://www.penskeracing.com/) at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway (http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/chi/) on July 12th to promote the latest epic adventure in the blockbuster global Mummy franchise, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
Not only did the Kodak No. 12 Dodge feature a bold paint scheme from the movie, but Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman's firesuit and helmet were also specially designed for the race. Click here for full images of the racecar, firesuit and helmet. Best of all though (at least for me), actor Brendan Fraser who plays Rick O'Connell in the Mummy series was on hand, live, and in person, to experience it along with NASCAR fans.
One of Brendan Fraser's first stops of the day was to the Garage area to visit with the crew and inspect the Mummy paint scheme on the Kodak No. 12 Dodge.
Brendan Fraser in the Kodak No. 12 Dodge garage talking with the crew as they are preparing for the race.
Brendan Fraser getting a closer look at The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor paint scheme on the Kodak No. 12 Dodge.
Ryan Newman then hosted Brendan Fraser on pit road where he presented Brendan with an autographed replica of the Mummy racing helmet that he would wear during the race and a personalized "Fraser" Kodak racing shirt welcoming him as part of his pit crew for the day.
Brendan was now ready for his role as Grand Marshal of the race, a role he took seriously.One of his responsibilities as Grand Marshal was to greet and wish all the drivers well during the Driver Introductions.
Brendan Fraser greeting Ryan Newman during the Driver Introductions
The best and what I think is the most exciting responsibility of the Grand Marshal is to recite the most famous words in racing "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!", and Brendan did this in the most resounding way.Here is a clip of these famous words by Brendan that I was able to video from the edge of the track apron. I apologize for the instability of my hands, but I was told that after he was done that I had to RUN FAST across the infield and get behind Pit Road as the cars would quickly enter the track. My hands were shaking as I was taping due to my nervousness about getting out of the way in time (note; I made it, but it took me a while to catch my breath).
After a wild ride in the pace car, Brendan Fraser headed back to pit road where he cheered Ryan Newman and the No. 12 Penske Racing Kodak-Mummy Dodge team on to a 10th place finish.
Brendan Fraser watching the race from Pit Road and talking with the crew
Earlier in the day, Brendan Fraser signed autographs at the No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge merchandise trailer where The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor themed merchandise, such as die-cast cars, t-shirts and hats were available for purchase. Long-time Ryan Newman fan, Brian Billman from Duluth, Minnesota was one of a very few lucky fans who was able to get both Ryan Newman's and Brendan Fraser's autograph on his Mummy die-cast car. Brian is an avid collector of 1:24 die-cast cars and wanted the car and autographs to enhance his collection.
Young Edward Florek from nearby Calumet City, Illinois made his Grandpa get up very early on race day so that he could get to the track and snag one of only 125 tickets that were available for Brendan Fraser's autograph. Even though there were a limited number of autographs available to fans, Brendan made each signing memorable as you can see from this series of photos of Edward with Brendan.
Brendan Fraser took pictures throughout the day on his new KODAK EASYSHARE V1273 digital camera and thanked Kodak for the many memorable moments that he was able to experience and share with NASCAR fans.
Brendan Fraser reviewing the images he captured on his KODAK EASYSHARE V1273 digital camera with Kodakers Mike Houser, Director, Studio Initiatives, Entertainment Imaging and Tom Page, Manager, Motorsports Marketing.
The Kodak-The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Dodge show car will be on display at universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood theme parks throughout July and the movie opens nationwide on August 1st. I hope to see you there!
To see more pictures from the race visit Kodak's Flickr page. You can also see more race videos that were taken with a Kodak Zi6 on Kodak's YouTube page.
