ATLANTA, June 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Beginning today, Holiday Inn(R) Hotels and Resorts, the world's most recognized hotel brand, will rev-up race fans' creativity with the launch of its second annual online "Design A Car" contest. Through July 31 consumers can log on to http://www.holidayinn.com/designacar to design a new paint scheme for Richard Childress Racing's No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS and submit their design for online voting by visitors to the site. Jeff Burton, driver of the No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet, will then select the winning paint scheme from among the fans' favorites. The winning design will be featured on Burton's car during the NASCAR Busch Series finale in Homestead, Fla., on November 17. Winners of this year's "Design a Car" contest will also receive a trip for two to the race with V.I.P. treatment that includes a meeting with Burton.

"We are excited to host this contest for the second year in a row to further engage with the Holiday Inn customer through activities and partnerships they are passionate about," said Mark Snyder, senior vice president of Brand Management for Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts in the Americas. "Last year's contest drew nearly 24,000 entries and we look forward to seeing what Jeff will be driving this year."

Holiday Inn expanded its winning 2006 NASCAR Busch Series program with Richard Childress Racing in 2007 to a full 35-race season of competition with co-drivers Jeff Burton and Scott Wimmer. This expansion follows last season's 10-race program with Burton behind the wheel of the No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS.

About Holiday Inn

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts is part of the InterContinental Hotels Group family of brands with global headquarters in the U.K. and Americas headquarters in Atlanta. With nearly 1,400 properties worldwide and nearly 1,000 in the U.S., Holiday Inn is the most recognized lodging brand in the world and certainly the most iconic. Since 1952 full-service Holiday Inn hotels have provided the services that business travelers need, while also offering a comfortable, casual atmosphere where vacationing guests can relax and enjoy amenities such as restaurants and room service, swimming pools, fitness centers, and comfortable lounges. Additional features such as meeting space and onsite business centers, KidSuites(R) rooms, Holidome(R) recreation centers, the Kids Eat Free and Kids Stay Free programs and Priority Club Rewards memberships have helped to establish the Holiday Inn brand as "America's Hotel." Call 1-800-HOLIDAY or log onto http://www.holidayinn.com/ for more information or to book a reservation.

About Richard Childress Racing

Richard Childress Racing (http://www.rcrracing.com/) has earned more than 160 victories and 10 NASCAR championships, including six in the NEXTEL Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. It was the first organization to win championships in the NEXTEL Cup Series, Busch Series and Truck Series. Its 2007 NEXTEL Cup Series lineup includes Clint Bowyer (No. 07 Jack Daniel's), Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell) and Jeff Burton (No. 31 Cingular Wireless). Its Busch Series lineup includes Clint Bowyer (No. 2 BB&T), Harvick and Timothy Peters (No. 21 AutoZone) and Burton and Scott Wimmer (No. 29 Holiday Inn).

Notes to Editors:

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG) of the United Kingdom [LON:IHG, NYSE: IHG (ADRs)] is the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms. IHG owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries, over 3,700 hotels and more than 558,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world. IHG owns a portfolio of well recognized and respected hotel brands including InterContinental(R) Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza(R) Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn(R) Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express(R), Staybridge Suites(R), Candlewood Suites(R) and Hotel Indigo(R), and also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty program, Priority Club(R) Rewards with over 33 million members worldwide.

The company pioneered the travel industry's first collaborative response to environmental issues as founder of the International Hotels and Environment Initiative (IHEI). The IHEI formed the foundations of the Tourism Partnership launched by the International Business Leaders Forum in 2004, of which IHG is still a member today. The environment and local communities remain at the heart of IHG's global corporate responsibility focus.

IHG offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at http://www.ihg.com/ and information for the Priority Club Rewards program at http://www.priorityclub.com/.

For the latest news from IHG, visit our online Press Office at http://www.ihg.com/media

CONTACT: Brad Minor of Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts, +1-770-604-5271,
Brad.Minor@ihg.com; or Jennifer Tolchin of Weber Shandwick, +1-212-445-8336,
jtolchin@webershandwick.com, for Holiday Inn

Web site: http://www.ihg.com/
http://www.holidayinn.com/designacar
http://www.holidayinn.com/
http://www.rcrracing.com/