This is Great! I got four tips from three different readers, and a bunch of info from another that I hadn't had a chance to research and document 'till now. Don't be afraid to let me know about something "you didn't see on the website". If I got a tip more than a few days ago, it'll be in an Alert (except the lengthy one at the end of this one - sorry Ron, thanks, and keep checking those sponsor sites). I'll also try to keep the "Index" page current once it's up, that way you'll see all mentioned Promos at a glance. My goal is at least 3 sorts and 3 categories - by car number, driver's last name, and by major sponsor; the categories I plan are, Winston Cup, Busch Series, and "Other" for the likes of the Craftsman Truck, Indy and stock rods. They will have links to the Alerts and Articles they appear in, and with luck, directly to the paragraph! (the things I do for my friends!)

OK - on to business. Sparkle paper towels and napkins is a Georgia-Pacific company, sponsor of the #44 Dodge (the old Petty Enterprises from the last Alert - 7 cars inside HN Cheerios). If you're a Buckshot fan, mail-In one UPC, with $2.79 S&H, before next season starts (02/28/02) and you'll own this Promo. Make the check or money order out to: Georgia-Pacific/Petty #44 Dodge Hot Wheels Offer and send it to the above long name P.O. Box 5559, Clinton,IA 52736-5559. (Thanks to Harold Maloney, from Mo. too)

Harold is planning on retiring next year, at 66, he's obviously just a kid at heart like the rest of us. Here's another one he told me about. We don't have Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits here, but he says I can find the car at www.richbickle.net. I think I'll have to qualify this as an exclusive (see below). It's the #91 Popeye's BGN car, as a matter of fact, the majority of these offers are not Winston Cup cars. One Craftsman truck, the #16 Tim Steele/HS Die is an ARCA and except for #44 and #6, the rest are BGN.

Quaker Oats is getting into the Cereal Wars. The October Issue of DCD will have the G. M. and Countdown to Daytona Promos. November, I plan on the Kellogg's, and now, Quaker Oats allies. Cap'n Crunch has Mark Martin's #6 Pfizer Pford included in the box. I've been looking at him on those Life boxes, I'm glad I can finally add him to my collection now. It's not a bad car, but for a Team Caliber, I expected a little better. It has the new Pfizer paint job vs. the old Viagra logo, and it follows the scheme very well. Except the little decals again, they got the Goodyear on the fender and tires, and Mark's autograph over the windows. Speaking of windows, they're "black window" models, no interior. (Ron Lagman told me about this one first.)

I was told the Kleenex Promo has been around for awhile, first I heard of it! - and I still haven't found it. I guess you have to send in a lot of UPCs by 12/15/01 to get a Randy Lajoie #7 Kleenex BGN Chevy. Thanks for the heads-up Bette and Joe, thanks for emailing me the info.

Finally, some info I've had for 2 or 3 weeks. I have to qualify most of these as Exclusives, since they are merchandise found "Exclusively" on the race team websites. I can't check out all these to see if they're found in stores, or if the graphics or packaging is unique, so - caveat proco (promo collector beware).

Thanks too, for getting me to look at www.jayski.com, the "NASCAR Silly Season" you see on a search engine hit, didn't convince me to click on it. You saved me alot of work, I was planning on a page with links to each WC, BGN and Craftsman truck team, Jayski is even better, with news, results, and pictures - including news and rumors all the way back to '97!

Here is another dedicated collector of promos - that he simply defines as "any car that cannot be purchased through normal retail outlets". So website offers by teams and sponsors are OK as long as you won't find it at the local diecast store. He won't do all the legwork for us because he's a dyed in the wool Ford Fan (which, at least is a majority - unless you include BGN). It is easy enough (but time-consuming, even with a hi speed Internet connection) to use Jayski to visit a bunch of sites and check for a Merchandise page, and see if they have an exclusive diecast. To be thorough, you'd have to check for a Driver site, Sponsor(s) site, and maybe even team or manufacturer site(s) - i.e. Roush Racing, Petty Enterprises, or Dodge. There are even secondary sponsors or race products sites to check. For instance, I know Federal Mogul has (at least) 4 1:24 scale cars, but they're NHRA.

Well, here's a list of recent Exclusives:

#77 Robert Presley/Jasper Engines
1/24 car, 1/64 car and hauler
Order from Jasper Motor Sports (800) 827-7455

#38 Christian Elder/Great Clips
1/24 and 1/64 car
Order on-line www.akinsmotorsports.com

#71 Kevin Lepage/State Fair Corn Dogs
1/24 and 1/64 Corn Dogs car
1/24 and 1/64 Mini Corn Dogs car
Order on-line www.kevinlepage.com

#14 Rick Crawford/Milwaukee Tool
1/24 and 1/64 2000 Truck
1/24 and 1/64 2001 Truck
Order on-line www.mil-electric-tool.com

#90 Hills Brothers Racing
1/64 car
Order Blank on-line www.hillsbrothersracing.com

#16 Tim Steele/HS Die
1/24 car and 1/64 hauler
Order on-line www.timsteele.com

If anyone else has the time and wants to check out the Chevy, Dodge and Pontiac sites, please do, and report back to me so I can let other folks know. As a matter of fact, if you will (in the next couple weeks) definitely do this, let me know, I'll broadcast which ones you'll check so someone else won't duplicate your effort.

Many thanks to the recent participants, and new subscribers. Don't keep this site a secret, tell your friends and relatives. Thanks also for swaps and donations, I now have an Oreo car as well as several others I missed. Don't forget to check out the Swap Meet page, and watch for the Glossary and Index page!

Keep your eyes peeled - they're out there!

Ask the Editor for more information.