TILLAMOOK, OREGON -- When Carl Jardevall hits the trail of the Oregon Trail ProRally 2001 (April 7-8, 2001), he'll be driving a "Jacked-up" Volvo 740T to help attract attention for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and its youth mentoring program. Atop his car's two-way antenna will be a clown-headed antenna topper from Jack in the Box restaurants, and accompanying him and co-driver Amity Trowbridge in the car will be a 4.5-inch-tall toy from the popular hamburger chain, Race Car Jack.

Wearing goggles and dressed in a colorful firesuit with a pointy, yellow hat tilted atop his racing helmet, the third member of Jardevall's onboard team will head to the auction block after the race, along with several of the hamburger chain's other adventure-seeking bendable toys, with all proceeds benefiting BBBSA. According to BBBSA, the nation's largest and oldest children's mentoring program, at least 15 million U.S. children are considered at risk from drugs, violence and academic failure. BBBSA currently provides about 180,000 new adult mentors to children at risk each year, and their goal is to serve one million children annually by 2010.

Race Car Jack's 325-mile trek along the coast range of northwestern Oregon is one of several real-life adventures that Jack in the Box is pursuing for its line of bendable toys, which were created in the image of Jack, the company's fictional founder. Nearly two dozen different toys have been produced, reflecting Jack's wide range of interests, from hockey and mountain climbing to skydiving and auto racing. Other recent adventures had Surfer Jack riding Hawaii's Banzai Pipeline with surfing legend Rob Machado, Dogsled Jack mushing to a 9th place finish with Dr. Sonny King in the 2001 Iditarod, Hockey Jack tending goal for the WCHL's San Diego Gulls, and Astronaut Jack orbiting earth aboard the space shuttle Discovery (STS-102). Astronaut Jack is not destined for the auction block, however. Instead, he will be displayed at the San Diego Aerospace Museum and participate in lectures on the international space station and its role in human space exploration.

"Boys and girls dream of becoming astronauts or famous athletes when they grow up, but only a few actually achieve those dreams," said Jody Sawyer, product manager at Jack in the Box. "We have those same aspirations for our Jack bendables. Fortunately, he takes up very little room, and he's such a loveable character that his heroes like Carl Jardevall are willing to bring him along on their adventures and at the same time help Big Brothers Big Sisters of America." Before heading to the auction block, the bendable toys will be displayed at the San Diego Automotive Museum in San Diego, Calif. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Jack in the Box, an exhibit of memorabilia from this drive-thru pioneer will be displayed from Aug. 1 through the Labor Day Weekend. Visitors to the exhibit will be greeted by an authentic clown head atop a reconstructed drive-thru speaker box and menu along with a vintage, five-foot-tall clown head that once topped the roof of a Jack in the Box restaurant. Other exhibit highlights will include old restaurant photographs, uniforms from the 60s and 70s, and decades of promotional give-aways, including a cardboard predecessor of the popular foam antenna topper decorating Jardevall's Volvo.

Founded in 1951, Jack in the Box is the nation's first major drive-thru hamburger chain. The San Diego-based company operates or franchises more than 1,670 quick-service restaurants in 16 states and has more than 40,000 employees.