Have you ever found yourself sitting in the grandstand, at a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, wondering what it would be like to drive around one of those massive speedways? Even just the opportunity to drive your personal street car around one of these tracks would be a genuine thrill and a great story for the Monday morning water cooler when you returned to work.
The opportunity to drive your personal vehicle on a 1.5 mile paved oval will be available at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and at the same time, will allow you the opportunity to support a very worthy charity.
Speedway Children’s Charities (SCC) will present its annual Laps for Charity event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, January 26 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
NASCAR fans and auto enthusiasts will have the unique opportunity to drive their personal vehicle around the 1.5-mile super speedway at speeds up to 75 miles per hour (behind a pace car).
“Drivers will feel the rush as they drive their vehicle three times around our track for a $30 donation to SCC.” The $30 entry fee is per vehicle; not per person.
You can register for Laps for Charity online or by calling 702-632-8242.
Speedway Children’s Charities mission “remains true to the ideals it was founded upon in 1982: To care for children in educational, financial, social and medical need in order to help them lead productive lives.”
“SCC is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and provides funding for hundreds of non-profit organizations throughout the nation that meet the direct needs of children. Their vision is that every child has the same opportunities no matter what obstacle they are facing.”
The charity was founded by “Bruton Smith, Chairman of Speedway Motorsports and Sonic Automotive, as a memoriam and legacy to his son, Bruton Cameron Smith, who passed away at a very young age. Given his experience, Smith became passionate about wanting to help children in need and Speedway Children’s Charities was created focusing on communities surrounding SMI speedways.”
“Our sole concern at SCC is to help a child in need,” says Smith.
In 1982, SCC went national and now funds thousands of organizations throughout the country “that help children directly with everything from educational support to the basic need of a coat or a simple meal.”
They describe themselves as “more than just a fundraiser.”
“Our local chapters are partners in change, working with a broad range of people and organizations to identify and resolve pressing issues dealing with children in their communities.”
Each community’s needs are assessed locally. “Challenges ranging from learning disabilities, broken homes, and childhood cancer are on the agenda for the local chapters of SCC and the numerous non-profit organizations they support. Although priorities for Speedway Children’s Charities are set locally, we have one common goal – to ensure every child in need be given the tools to build a better, brighter and healthy future.”
The reference to the SCC’s priorities being set locally was generated by a brilliant idea from Speedway Motorsport’s founder and Chairman Bruton Smith who set up local chapters at each of the speedways owned by SMI.
Those local chapters are located at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, the Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kentucky Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Sonoma Raceway, the Texas Motor Speedway and the aforementioned Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Over the years, each SCC location has been extremely successful in presenting very creative fundraisers while interacting with charitable organizations, in the communities where the speedway’s are located, to address the needs of children.
In its three decades plus years in existence, Speedway Children’s Charities has more than earned the title “NASCAR Good Guys.”
