For the first time,
fans will be able to take a realistic ride around the historic half-mile oval
in a real Sprint Cup car for a $25 donation. They will be dressed in full
racing gear; fire suit, helmet and Hans Device during the ride along.
Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell, who competes in several NASCAR
divisions, will be behind the wheel.
“We’ve been giving
pace car rides for several years now, but we wanted to do something totally
different, something that would really excite race fans and help us help the
families in need in our area,” said Campbell.
Fans will still be
able to drive their personal vehicle around the track if they donate a toy or
make a $10 donation. Pace cars will lead the personal vehicles around the track.
All toys and monetary donations from the day will go to the Grace Network,
which will distribute toys to families in need for Christmas.
It will be a busy two
days for Campbell. On Friday, December 7, he will once again sit atop the
track’s entrance sign to raise funds for the Martinsville Speedway Children’s
Foundation.
Campbell will be
lifted to his perch some 40 feet in the air at 8 a.m. on Friday, December 7 and
remain there until he raises $20,000 for the Martinsville Speedway Children’s
Foundation. Last year Campbell spent over eight hours suspended above the
ground before he came down with a total that topped $25,000.
Clay Campbell will climb again |
“We’ve got a bright,
shiny new state-of-the-art entrance sign this year, but it’s not going to make
my job any easier,” said Campbell. “I’m still going to have to sit up there in
what are normally pretty cold temperatures for most of the day. But it’s for a
good cause, so I’ll do my best to make it fun.”
The Martinsville
Speedway Toy Drive will be held the following day, Saturday, December 8, from
10 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the infield of the track.
There will be plenty
other options for those not interested in the drive around or the ride along. As
has become a tradition, the Martinsville Speedway staff will be manning the
infield concession stand on Saturday, making and serving the Famous
Martinsville Speedway Hot Dogs™. Hot dogs and Pepsi products are $1 each, with
proceeds going toward purchasing toys.
Santa Claus will be
making his annual appearance at the track at noon and will listen to the wishes
of boys and girls.
Anyone who would like
to donate a toy, but cannot make it to the Toy Drive, can drop them off at the
Martinsville Speedway ticket office Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Grace Network, a
local group comprised of almost 100 churches, will distribute the collected
toys to families in need. The monetary donations will be used to purchase
additional toys. All of the toys will remain in the Martinsville and Henry
County area.
The car used for the
ride-alongs is an authentic NASCAR Sprint Cup car, supplied by Andy Hillenburg’s
Fast Track High Performance Racing School.
Unsprung weight is a measurement of the weight of everything outboard of the wishbones or suspension links, plus 1/2 of the weight of the wishbones or links and spring/shock. It has a great effect on handling.
ReplyDeleteTo make sense of it, define a budget, and then create a prioritized list of the desired racing cars and memorabilia.
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