The 2007 EA SPORTS Craftsman Nascar Challenge encompassed in-store and online tournaments across 11 U.S. cities, offering gamers and Nascar fans from across the country the opportunity to compete against some of the best. Last weekend the semi-finalists from the online and in-store qualifying rounds were flown to Miami to compete in a virtual head-to-head racing competition at the Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, November 18, and Brandon Coppinger emerged victorious.

“I’ve been playing video games since the first Nintendo came out, probably when I was about five years old, and the Nascar Challenge has given me the chance to compete against the best,” said 2007 EA SPORTS Craftsman Nascar Challenge winner, Brandon Coppinger. “After all my practice, I’m excited to be named number one and of course to be bringing home 10,000 bucks! I can’t wait to repeat my success again next year.”

Brandon Coppinger, a 21 year-old college student from Goodlettsville, TN, combines his love of Nascar with his love of video games. Growing up, he went to countless Nascar events and has transferred that passion into video games. He loves the challenge of playing Nascar 08 and competes against his friends on all the tracks that the game offers. He plans to apply the $10,000 prize money towards the purchase of a real-life Legends Car so that he can race at the Nashville Fairgrounds. Coppinger, who hopes to become a sportscaster one day, was especially thrilled that the 2007 EA SPORTS Craftsman Nascar Challenge was announced by ESPN host Brent Musberger.

The 2007 EA SPORTS Craftsman Nascar Challenge Finals took place during the Ford 400, the season-ending Nascar Nextel Cup Series event in which Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart (the Nascar 08 cover athlete) and other celebrated Nascar drivers raced at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. On the same day that Jimmie Johnson was awarded the 2007 Nextel Cup, Brandon Coppinger was named EA’s #1 Nascar 08 player in the country.

“This year was the debut of the new EA SPORTS Nascar Challenge, and we’re thrilled it was such a huge success,” said Brian Movalson, EA SPORTS Marketing Director. “We were fortunate enough to host the finals at Homestead-Miami Speedway in conjunction with the Nascar Nextel Cup Series and it was even more exciting to see our sixteen finalists share the Nascar experience with the real race car drivers they look up to.”

“The virtual racing we saw at Homestead-Miami Speedway was a dramatic show and a microcosm of what it takes to compete and win in Nascar—commitment, passion, practice, nerves of steel, and as Brandon Coppinger demonstrated, patience and consistency on the race track,” said Blake Davidson, Managing Director of Licensed Products at Nascar. “We want to congratulate EA SPORTS and Craftsman for pulling off an exciting and competitive tournament, as well as all the competitors who participated.”

The EA SPORTS Nascar Challenge is one of four Challenges from the EA SPORTS Challenge Series that also included regional tournament competitions for Madden NFL 08, NBA Live 08 and NCAA Football 08, and have been taking place across North America over the last four months.