Food City and Bristol Motor Speedway officials have made an unprecedented announcement.

The two companies unveiled a new joint venture that will make Food City 500 tickets available to area fans for the first time in the event's history. The program kicks off the new year and the 2009 NASCAR racing season in style, with a caravan that hits nearly one-third of Food City's retail supermarkets in a little more than a month.

The Food City 500 Fan Appreciation Caravan Tour makes its first stop today at the new Piney Flats location, followed by 28 additional destinations before the second week of February, on a schedule that stretches from eastern Kentucky to the coalfields of Virginia to middle Tennessee, and right here in Newport.

The Caravan Tour will stop at Food City West in the Western Plaza on Saturday, Jan. 17 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Along the way, fans will have a chance to register for Food City and Bristol Motor Speedway prizes, as well as the rare opportunity to purchase tickets to one of the most sought after venues on the NASCAR circuit, the March 22 Food City 500. As the official soft drink of Bristol Motor Speedway, Pepsi is also co-sponsoring the promotion.

"Our area has some of the most loyal fans in all of motor sports and many of them are also loyal Food City customers. Over the years, they have expressed interest in purchasing tickets or becoming season ticket holders. We felt they deserved an opportunity to experience such an exciting event right here in their own region and we've been working with Bristol Motor Speedway to make that possible," said Steven. C. Smith, Food City president and chief executive officer. "For the first time ever, Bristol Motor Speedway is allocating tickets, along with some of our own to make them available to our loyal Food City shoppers for purchase. It's our way of saying thank you for the generous support and loyalty they have shown throughout the years."

The caravan will remain at each scheduled Food City location for a four-hour period, from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. The fun-filled events will also feature exciting prize giveaways, including tickets to the Nationwide Scotts Turf Builder 300 on March 21, Pole Day tickets on March 20, hats, t-shirts, two $50 Food City Gift Cards and a chance to win a special grand-prize racing package.

Speedway president and general manager Jeff Byrd looks forward to hitting the road. "Food City has been a trusted partner of ours for nearly 15 years, the second-longest Cup race sponsorship in NASCAR," said Byrd. "The chance for our employees to spend a few days at some of their stores saying thank you is exciting. Many loyal Food City customers are race fans and BMS tickets holders as well. Many others would like to be and now have that chance."

The Caravan Tour will also be making stops at Food City stores on Snapps Ferry Road in Greeneville on Friday, Jan. 9, in Dandridge on Jan. 30 and on Andrew Johnson Highway in Morristown on Feb. 6.