The Outrageously Dependable Blog » Events

Interstate’s Gale Kimbrough Hits the Airwaves

admin — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 21:59:48 +0000

While we cross our fingers and hope to see the Dallas-Fort Worth area’s triple-digit weather streak end this Saturday morning, tune into WBAP Radio (820AM or 96.7FM) between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. to hear Interstate Engineering and Technical Services Manager Gale Kimbrough. He’ll speak with Amy Chodroff about how the summer heat affects car batteries and why you need to get them checked often.

You will also hear Kimbrough invite everyone to the Interstate All Battery Centers of Euless and McKinney next week on Tuesday, Aug. 2, to receive free battery checks. If listeners’ batteries need replacement, the ABC stores will offer a 10 percent discount toward the purchase of a new one.

And The Stars & Stripes (and Batteries) Grand Prize Winner Is…

admin — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 01:14:22 +0000

Congratulations to Daniel C. of Shawnee, Kansas — the winner of our very limited edition No. 18 Interstate All Battery Center die-cast car, autographed by Kyle Busch.

Thank you to everyone who entered. We have more contests up our sleeves, so check back here at blogbattery.com and on our Facebook page for more exciting opportunities. Here’s one now: Get $3 off when you buy two 24-packs of our Workaholic Gold AA or AAA batteries at Interstate All Battery Center. Just visit our Facebook page for the coupon.

Stars & Stripes (and Batteries) Giveaway – July 4

admin — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Happy Independence Day! Our Stars & Stripes (and Batteries) Giveaway wraps up today with the grand prize: a very limited-edition 1:24 scale die-cast of the No. 18 Interstate All Battery Center Toyota, autographed by Kyle Busch!

Enter now. Drawing takes place tonight.

Stars & Stripes (and Batteries) Giveaway – July 3

admin — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 13:00:00 +0000

What a race last night! That Interstate All Battery Center car sure looked great under the lights, didn’t it?

Although the race is over, our Stars & Stripes (and Batteries) Giveaway continues through tomorrow. You can enter once each day on our Facebook page.

No thresholds to meet today; only one prize, but it’s a big one: An iStart portable jump starter.

Come to your own rescue with the iStart portable booster. It’s easy to use, easy to carry, and it will get you out of a jam. The personal jump pack includes its own jumper cables and features a built-in flashlight and 12V DC plug for cellphones and other accessories. The iStart sells on interstatebatteries.com and at Interstate All Battery Center for $49.99, but it could be yours should you win today’s drawing. Enter now!

Stars & Stripes (and Batteries) Giveaway – Day Five

admin — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Several prizes are on the table in our Stars & Stripes (and Batteries) Giveaway today, but we have to get enough entries to unlock them all.

1. Hospitality Swag Bag

Enjoy race day like the guests in our Interstate Batteries hospitality events. Our fabulous bag o’ swag includes a pit-crew style Interstate Batteries hat, a keychain featuring our “White-Hot” car design, a pack of AA batteries, earplugs, a Joe Gibbs Racing 20 years sticker, a pen, a refrigerator magnet with the 2011 NASCAR® schedule, bottles of sunscreen and hand sanitizer, lip balm and a 1:64 scale die-cast Interstate All Battery Center car. Whew!

One will be given away for sure. 50 unique entries unlocks another, and 100 unique entries unlocks a third.

2. Kyle Busch Autographed Flashlight

If we receive 150 unique entries today, we’ll give away a flashlight autographed by Kyle Busch. Yes, a flashlight. Not pictured here because we don’t know which one we’ll get him to sign. But sign it he will, or we’ll give you something of equal or greater value.

3. Kyle Busch Autographed Hat

If we receive 200 unique entries, someone will win an autographed Interstate Batteries hat. Yep, that’s Kyle Busch’s signature there on the brim. And if you invite enough friends to enter, too, we may just unlock one more hat.

Don’t forget to tune into TNT tonight as Kyle drives the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota in Daytona. Green flag drops at 7:30 p.m. ET. Go Kyle!

Stars & Stripes (and Batteries) Giveaway – Day Four

admin — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Our Stars & Stripes (and Batteries) giveaway continues on our Facebook page, and today we’d like to feature just one prize: A 1:64-scale die-cast version of the No. 18 Interstate All Battery Center car. It’s a limited-edition die-cast (fewer than 5,000 have been made), so it’s definitely something you want in your collection. Estimated retail value: $10 or so.

So there’s only one prize, but we want to give out several of them. For every 25 unique entries we receive today, we’ll unlock another car. For example, if 50 people enter, we’ll give away two cars. If 100 people enter, four cars. And so on.

Remember, you can only enter once per day, so if you want more cars available, get your friends to enter, too. Maybe you and your friends will all win cars and you can race each other around the house. Go now!

2008: Kyle Busch Returns Interstate Batteries to Winner’s Circle

admin — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:00:08 +0000

Editor’s Note: In honor of Interstate Batteries’ and Joe Gibbs Racing’s 20th anniversary together in NASCAR, a series of press releases highlighting 20 big moments will be distributed throughout 2011. This is the eighth of the 20 releases.

From 1992 through 2003, the No. 18 Interstate Batteries car for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) amassed 23 victories in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition with drivers Dale Jarrett and Bobby Labonte.

Jarrett, who drove for JGR from 1992 through 1994, scored the first and perhaps biggest win for the famous green machine by capturing the 1993 Daytona 500 and followed that up by winning at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in fall of 1994. Bobby Labonte, who took over for Jarrett at JGR in 1995, took the Interstate Batteries car to 21 victories in eight years, including the 1995 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, the 2000 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 2000 Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

He also delivered JGR’s first championship in 2000 while driving for Interstate Batteries.

But for all the success Interstate Batteries enjoyed in its first 12 years of Sprint Cup competition, it would be five years before the famous green Interstate Batteries car would again roll into victory lane.

Labonte had several near-misses en route to winless seasons in 2004 and 2005 before departing JGR before the 2006 season. J.J. Yeley took over the Interstate Batteries machine for 2006 and 2007, but also failed to find victory lane.

For 2008, talented Kyle Busch was brought into the JGR fold. Interstate Batteries, meanwhile, scaled back the number of races where the Dallas-based company served as the No. 18 car’s primary sponsor. Nonetheless, it was only a matter of time before Busch returned Interstate Batteries to victory lane – and he nearly did it in his first race.

Driving the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for JGR in the season-opening NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Busch finished just .259 of a second behind former JGR driver Tony Stewart.

Two months later, Busch delivered Interstate Batteries’ first Nationwide Series victory by beating Carl Edwards to the stripe by .241 of a second at Phoenix International Raceway.

But it was a victory in one of the premier races on the Sprint Cup tour that finally returned Interstate Batteries to the mountaintop. Busch led 31 of 162 laps and beat Edwards to the checkered flag under caution to win the 2008 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. Ironically, Daytona was the site of Interstate Batteries’ first Sprint Cup victory in 1993 with Jarrett.

“I remember watching Bobby Labonte drive the Interstate Batteries car as a kid growing up,” Busch said. “He and Dale Jarrett made that car famous, so to return it to victory lane at a place like Daytona was special to me.

“We were able to get Interstate Batteries a victory earlier in the year in the Nationwide Series race at Phoenix, but I know how bad Norm (Miller, chairman of Interstate Batteries) and everyone at Interstate wanted to get back to victory lane in the Sprint Cup Series. It was a night I’ll remember for the rest of my career, for sure.”

Since that victory in Daytona, Busch helped Interstate Batteries accomplish the NASCAR “trifecta,” as he also delivered a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory with Interstate Batteries as a primary sponsor on his Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra in November 2010 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. The win gave Interstate Batteries a victory in all three of NASCAR’s top divisions, and also gave the No. 1 replacement brand battery in North America a long awaited win at its home track.

“Interstate has been such a great supporter to me since I came to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008,” Busch said. “Every once in a while I still see someone with a ‘Smile with Kyle’ button that Norm gave out during my first season. Norm and everyone at Interstate Batteries has become much more than a sponsor to me and Samantha (wife). They’re great friends to us, and it’s always fun when we get to put on the Interstate Batteries colors.

“When I do hospitalities or appearances for Interstate, it’s amazing to me how supportive not only their employees are, but all their dealers and distributors. They’re so loyal. You meet people that have worked for Interstate Batteries for 25 years, or they’ve been a dealer or distributor for 40 years and they’re so proud of their association with Interstate. It’s really, really cool, and just knowing the history of the No. 18 car and Interstate Batteries, it’s a privilege for me to continue on with the legacy that was built before me.”

Stars & Stripes (and Batteries) – Day Three

admin — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Have you entered our Stars & Stripes (and Batteries) giveaway on Facebook yet? If not, you’re missing out on some really neat prizes. Yesterday, we awarded an extending LED flashlight, a power failure flashlight and a 1:64 scale die-cast Interstate All Battery Center car. All three items can be purchased at most Interstate All Battery Center locations.

You can enter once per day through July 4, and the grand prize is a very limited-edition 1:24 die-cast Interstate All Battery Center car autographed by Kyle Busch. In the daily drawings, every 50 unique entries will unlock an additional prize. Today, here’s what you’re playing for:

1. Flood/Spot Work Light with Magnetic Mount

This combination light is perfect for working on the car or camping out in the wilderness. The worklight function sports a 60-LED element for bright light wherever you go. The 17-LED spotlight helps you see quite a ways ahead. The work light comes with a rechargeable NiMH battery and charger and will go strong for four to 10 hours. Normally $39.99, this light can be yours if you win the drawing.

2. Kyle Busch autographed Interstate Batteries hat

Show your elite Kyle Busch fan status everywhere you go with our handsome Interstate Batteries® Outrageously Dependable® hat, autographed by Busch himself. Although there are a few places to buy Interstate Batteries hats, you can’t buy one that comes autographed, so you’ll just have to win it here.

3 & 4. Cap light

Keep your hands free while shining a bright light on your work with this cap light. Its 5 LEDs provide plenty of illumination, and the device just clips onto the bill of your hat. Normally $9.99 at Interstate All Battery Center and online at interstatebatteries.com, this cap can be yours if you win the drawing.

5. 24-pack of AA Batteries

Everyone needs batteries, and chances are you have several devices that run on AAs. What luck! Our next prize is a 24-pack of Interstate Batteries® Workaholic® Gold AA batteries. This pack usually sells for $14.99 at Interstate All Battery Center and online at interstatebatteries.com, but it can be yours if you win the drawing.

6. Mystery prize

What’s coming next? You’ll find out when we receive 50 more unique entries today. Get your friends to enter.

Stars & Stripes (and Batteries) – Day Two

admin — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 20:03:45 +0000

As we count down the days to July 4 (and to Saturday’s big race), we continue our daily prize drawing on the Interstate Batteries Facebook page. And here’s an incentive to invite your friends: For every 50 unique entries we get today, we’ll unlock another prize. Today’s prizes:

1. Extending LED Flashlight

Our extending LED flashlight includes a magnetic pickup tool so you can easily see and reach dropped items. The handle extends from 7.6 inches to 22 inches, and the magnet is capable of lifting 5 pounds. Our regular price is $14.99 at Interstate All Battery Center and interstatebatteries.com, but you could win one for free in today’s drawing.

2. Power Failure Flashlight

Be prepared for any power outage with this convenient power failure flashlight. Leave it plugged in to any standard power outlet. When the power goes out, the flashlight is ready for action; just grab and go! Our regular price is $8.99, but you could win one for free in today’s drawing.

3. 1:64 Die-Cast Interstate All Battery Center car

The all-new green and gold Interstate All Battery Center Toyota will debut in Daytona this week, and you can win this limited-edition 1:64 die-cast version. Miniature Kyle Busch not included.

4. Mystery Prize

What’s coming next? You’ll find out when we receive 50 more unique entries today. Get your friends to enter.

Win a 21-Piece Battery Organizer

admin — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:28:12 +0000

We all have that one drawer in our kitchen or garage where we keep random stuff like old receipts and user manuals, out-of-date medications and batteries. Interstate Batteries can help you take control of that drawer, at least when it comes to the batteries. Our 21-piece home battery organizer comes stocked with plenty of alkaline batteries: one 9V, six AAAs, six AAs, four Cs and four Ds. And it includes a convenient battery tester so there’s no more worrying about whether that long lost AA still has a charge.

You can find this battery organizer at your local Interstate All Battery Center or online at interstatebatteries.com. Or you can win one in our Stars and Stripes (and Batteries) Giveaway on the Interstate Batteries Facebook page. The organizer is the Tuesday prize, so enter now. Then come back tomorrow for another chance to win.