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Mystique Salon and Spa Named 'Official Small Business of NASCAR, Courtesy of Office Depot'

DELRAY BEACH, Fla.-(Business Wire)-September 26, 2008 - Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services, announced today that Mystique Salon and Spa of Boise, Idaho, will be the “Official Small Business of NASCAR, courtesy of Office Depot” for the remainder of the 2008 NASCAR® Sprint Cup Series™ season.

Mystique Salon and Spa owner Julie Catalano — the first female business owner to be named as the Office Depot “Official Small Business of NASCAR” since the annual promotion began in 2005 — was introduced by Office Depot during a press event this morning at Kansas Speedway. Catalano was joined by Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion; Jack Roush, owner of Roush Fenway Racing; and Steve Phelps, Chief Marketing Officer of NASCAR.

Catalano, who opened Mystique Salon and Spa in 2000, helped Edwards unveil the special edition No. 99 Office Depot Ford featuring her company’s logo. The winning business logo will make its on-track debut during the Kansas 400 race (Sunday, Sept. 28, 1 p.m. EST, ABC).

“This is an amazing opportunity for any small business owner, and I am thrilled to have the Mystique Salon and Spa logo featured on the No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion,” Catalano said. “Office Depot helps me take care of my business every day and having that kind of support, along with hard work, has been very important in expanding my business during the past eight years.”

Edwards, who also created his own small business, Back 40 Records, said he was impressed by the hard work and dedication Catalano had put into her company.

“As an entrepreneur myself, I know how hard it is to run a small business,” Edwards said. “It takes a lot of time, effort and creativity to build and operate a successful small business, and Julie (Catalano) has done an incredible job — Mystique Salon and Spa truly deserves to be the Office Depot ‘Official Small Business of NASCAR.’”

‘Connect with Carl’

This year, entrants in the fourth annual “Official Small Business of NASCAR, courtesy of Office Depot” promotion were able to support their entry by utilizing a new online viral component. Once a small business owner entered the sweepstakes at www.officedepotracing.com, they could spread the word to co-workers, friends and family by sending out a customizable e-mail audio message featuring Edwards.

The message encouraged recipients to support their favorite small business entered in the promotion with a nomination. Each nomination received counted as an additional entry, with the winning small business being selected at random from among all entries.

Catalano — who said she typically visits her local Office Depot store in Boise, Idaho, at least once a week to handle a wide range of business needs — sent out 11 “Connect With Carl” e-mails, resulting in 165 nominations from her family, friends and clients.

Prize Package

As the “Official Small Business of NASCAR, courtesy of Office Depot,” Mystique Salon and Spa (www.mystiquesalonandspaboise.com) will receive invaluable exposure on national television, and the company’s logo will be featured on the No. 99 Office Depot Ford’s TV panel (the rear panel on a NASCAR race car) during this weekend’s Kansas 400 at Kansas Speedway. Throughout the rest of the race season, the logo will be on the car’s b-post (located between the front and rear windows).

In addition to logo placement on the No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion, the “Official Small Business of NASCAR courtesy of Office Depot” prize package includes the following:

$10,000 Small Business Makeover
VIP race experience at the September 26-28 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekend at Kansas Speedway
Company logo, Web site design by Logoworks™, plus business stationery courtesy of Office Depot Design, Print & Ship Depot™
A private coaching session with NASCAR executives, including an insider’s look at the business of NASCAR
Two-year membership to Lifelock® Identity Theft protection service for 10 employees

“Small business owners like Julie Catalano represent Office Depot’s core customer and their passion is contagious,” said Chuck Rubin, President of North American Retail for Office Depot. “The Office Depot ‘Official Small Business of NASCAR’ promotion is a great way for us to recognize and reward an outstanding small business owner, and we are excited to provide Julie – who is also a great NASCAR fan – with a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Steve Phelps, Chief Marketing Officer of NASCAR, also spoke about the significance of this year’s promotion winner.

“The Office Depot ‘Official Small Business of NASCAR’ promotion has proven to be one of the most creative and effective initiatives among our partners,” Phelps said. “Women make up approximately 40 percent of NASCAR's fan base as well as an increasing proportion of America's entrepreneurs. It was only a matter of time before a passionate NASCAR fan and successful business owner like Julie Catalano got her company's name on Carl Edwards' Office Depot Ford Fusion.”

During their VIP experience in Kansas, Catalano and her family will experience the thrill of participating on-stage at driver introductions for the Kansas 400, where Catalano will be presented with a life-size rendition of her new “Official Small Business of NASCAR” business card from Office Depot. The group will also be able to watch the race from the No. 99 Office Depot team pit box and from a VIP suite above the grandstand.

About Office Depot

Every day, Office Depot is Taking Care of Business for millions of customers around the globe. For the local corner store as well as Fortune 500 companies, Office Depot provides products and services to its customers through 1,680 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs and a $5.0 billion e-commerce operation. Office Depot has annual sales of approximately $15.4 billion, and employs about 49,000 associates around the world. The Company provides more office products and services to more customers in more countries than any other company, and currently sells to customers directly or through affiliates in 44 countries.

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 Roush Fenway Racing

Roush Fenway Racing operates 13 full-time motorsports teams, five in NASCAR Sprint Cup with drivers Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; four in the Nationwide Series with Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, McMurray, Ragan, Erik Darnell and Colin Braun; three in the Craftsman Truck Series with Darnell, Braun, Kvapil, Bobby East and John Wes Townley; and one in the ARCA RE/MAX Series with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR), celebrating 60 years in 2008, is the sanctioning body for one of North America's premier sports. NASCAR is the No. 1 spectator sport – holding 17 of the top 20 highest attended sporting events in the U.S., and is the No. 2 rated regular-season sport on television. NASCAR races are broadcast in more than 150 countries and in more than 30 languages. NASCAR fans are the most brand loyal in all of sports and as a result more Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport.

NASCAR consists of three national series (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series), four regional series and one local grassroots series, as well as two international series. NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races at 100 tracks in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico. Based in Daytona Beach (Fla.), NASCAR has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Charlotte (N.C.), Concord (N.C.), Conover (N.C.), Bentonville (Ark.), Mexico City and Toronto.

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