Office Depot and ESPN to Put One Lucky Small Business on the Fast Track to Success

Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services, is offering small businesses the potential for big exposure through its "Official Small Business of NASCAR” promotion. This year’s program includes some new and exciting elements, such as unveiling the "Official Small Business of NASCAR” winner on ESPN’s NASCAR Now, a segment profiling the winning business on NASCAR Now later in the year; a visit from NASCAR star Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion in NASCAR’s Nextel Cup series; along with a $10,000 small business makeover package. The "Official Small Business of NASCAR, courtesy of Office Depot” promotion continues to reach millions of small business owners, small business employees and NASCAR fans. This year, a new Office Depot-ESPN produced commercial featuring Edwards and a variety of small business owners racing to become the "Official Small Business of NASCAR” will air during the promotion period (February 18 through March 31). Another new element in this year’s promotion brings Edwards and the Office Depot show car to the winning business where the small business owner may even decide to put Edwards to work for the day! Edwards, a small business owner himself as the entrepreneur behind a new record label Back 40 Records, fully understands the impact that effective marketing and national exposure can have on the potential success of a business. "I think it’s awesome that Office Depot is continuing to give this type of unique opportunity and tremendous exposure to small businesses,” Edwards said. "It’s the American dream to start a business and grow it and make it work. And there are so many small businesses out there. I think it’s really neat that Office Depot is allowing one of them to get national recognition, be the official small business of NASCAR, come to the races, and have a decal on the back of our race car. That’s pretty cool and judging from the reaction of the winners in the past two seasons, it’s been a lot of fun for them.” The Prize Package The "Official Small Business of NASCAR” winner will have its company logo displayed on the TV Panel of the No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion driven by Edwards during the Coca-Cola 600 race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 27 (Fox TV, 5 p.m.) The logo will remain on the No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion for the final 24 races of the season, located on the B-Post, between the front and rear windows on the car. The prize package includes a $10,000 small business makeover from Office Depot that will help the winning business take full advantage of its status - with a new professional logo designed by the Office Depot Design, Print & Ship Depot as well as new business cards, letterhead and other business materials. The winning small business also receives the right and distinction to use the "Official Small Business of NASCAR" logo for a full year. And finally, the small business owner will attend a VIP weekend trip for four to the Coca-Cola 600 race and take part in a business counseling session with NASCAR personnel. Previous winners of the "Official Small Business of NASCAR” are K&M Storage of Dodge City, Kansas and Fort Bend Lock & Key of Houston, Texas. Enter To Win From February 18 through March 31, employees or owners of small businesses with fewer than 99 employees can enter for a chance to win the "Official Small Business of NASCAR” Sweepstakes by making an Office Depot purchase and then entering their receipt or order number at a kiosk entry site, in-store or online at www.OfficeDepotRacing.com. Purchases can be made at any Office Depot retail store location, online at www.OfficeDepot.com or by calling 1-800-GO-DEPOT (800-463-3768). All purchases and entries must occur between February 18 and March 31, 2007. Winners must be approved by Office Depot and NASCAR in accordance with the sweepstakes rules. For official sweepstakes rules or directions on how to enter without purchase, visit any Office Depot retail location or go to www.OfficeDepotracing.com. About Office Depot Office Depot provides more office products and services to more customers in more countries than any other company. Incorporated in 1986 and headquartered in Delray Beach, Fla., Office Depot has annual sales of over $15 billion, and employs approximately 52,000 associates around the world. Currently, the Company sells to customers directly or through affiliates in 42 countries. Office Depot is a leader in every distribution channel - from retail stores and contract delivery to catalogs and e-commerce. As of December 30, 2006, Office Depot had 1,158 retail stores in North America and another 348 stores, either company-owned, licensed or franchised, in other parts of the world. Office Depot serves a wide range of customers through a dedicated sales force, telephone account managers, direct mail offerings, and multiple web sites. With $4.3 billion in online sales during the last twelve months, the Company is also one of the world’s largest e-commerce retailers. Office Depot’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index. Additional press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com. About NASCAR on ESPN: ESPN2 will be the home of the NASCAR Busch Series all season. For the first time in the history of televised motorsports, all programming will be produced fully in HD. Additionally, ESPN and ESPN on ABC will have comprehensive, multi-platform coverage featuring telecasts of the final 17 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races including the 10-race "Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup” championship on ESPN on ABC. ESPN aired 262 NASCAR Cup Races over a 20-year period starting in 1981. The network's award-winning, live flag-to-flag coverage on ESPN was honored with 17 Sports Emmy Awards, as well as many industry honors. It is widely credited for helping to popularize the sport nationwide. NASCAR races have appeared on ABC for decades, beginning with broadcasts on the award-winning Wide World of Sports program in the 1960s.