Students Sign Hood of Ragan’s Charlotte Race Car
STATESVILLE, N.C. (October 9, 2014) – Grade school students at Harmony Elementary School got a big surprise Thursday morning as David Ragan, driver of the NASCAR No. 34 Ford, led a “Play It Safe Assembly.”
Joining Ragan were representatives from North Carolina Department of Transportation, North Carolina Operation Lifesaver and CSX Transportation, which operates and maintains nearly 1,800 miles of track in North Carolina alone and is the developer of the “Play It Safe” campaign, which promotes using caution among pedestrians and motorists around railroad tracks.
At the assembly, students learned about rail safety, saw the No. 34 Ford and signed the hood of Ragan’s race car for Saturday’s Sprint Cup Series race stating they promise to stay off railroad tracks.
In addition to the morning assembly, the CSX “Play It Safe” team, along with representatives from North Carolina Department of Transportation and North Carolina Operation Lifesaver, will have a booth with the car and raffle prize drawings at the school’s fall festival Thursday evening.
“We’re so proud to be a part of a ‘Play It Safe’ campaign that helps people to avoid putting themselves into situations where they can harm themselves and others,” says Ragan. “We’re happy to deliver this message to a young, receptive audience.”
“David is here to get their attention so that we can deliver a very important safety message. We do outreach with schools because that’s when we can have the most influence on establishing safe behaviors that hopefully last a lifetime,” says Terry Ludban, CSX Director Community Affairs & Safety. “If it helps save just one life, it’s all worth it.”
Ragan will race the CSX “Play It Safe” Ford Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
About CSX
CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Fla., is one of the nation’s leading transportation companies, connecting customers to ports, distribution centers and markets across the eastern United States. Through grass-roots volunteerism and focused corporate giving, CSX is committed to supporting the communities where it operates. For more information on the company, visit www.csx.com. For more information on CSX Corporate Citizenship, visit www.beyondourrails.org.
About Front Row Motorsports
Front Row Motorsports fields the No. 34 of David Ragan and the No. 38 of David Gilliland in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The team is owned by Bob Jenkins and is headquartered just outside of Charlotte, N.C. In 2012, FRM was named to INC Magazine’s “INC 5000” list, recognizing the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., earning a rank of 800. Its partnership base is representative of more than $200 billion of the U.S. economy and includes organizations such as Ford Motor Company, CSX Transportation, Love’s Travel Stops, McCall Farms, Taco Bell, and Long John Silver’s.
