As Kids Return to School, Fans, Teams and Drivers Get Ready to Return to the World Center of Racing for the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola and the Highly Anticipated Coke Zero Sugar 400
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 19, 2022) — One of the Daytona International Speedway‘s pace cars made its way to Palm Terrace Elementary School today, along with employees of The World Center of Racing, to congratulate kindergarten and Pre-K classes on completing their first week of school.
As part of the track‘s “Back to School” program, students were given Daytona International Speedway branded white flags, and waved them happily as the Chevrolet Camaro engine revved, bringing bright smiles to everyone‘s faces.
The students were also gifted 600 Daytona International Speedway backpacks filled with back-to-school supplies, as well as an ice cream party for one lucky classroom. Staffers from DIS and NASCAR also presented 100 tickets to the Vice Principal Karen Troutman for the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola next Friday, Aug. 26. Daytona Beach City Commissioner Dannette Henry also joined in the fun, greeting students and faculty.
“We‘re always excited to partner with Daytona International Speedway, especially when it comes to education,” said Commissioner Henry about the city‘s partnership with the iconic Speedway, which will also host the regular season finale — the Coke Zero Sugar 400 – for the NASCAR Cup Series in just eight days on Saturday, Aug. 27. “Any time we can give students unique experiences outside the classroom, because we know that life is so much more than just those four walls, we want to make sure we seize those opportunities for the kids and their families.”
The visit to Palm Terrace is a part of a “Back to School” initiative in which Daytona International Speedway is partnering with four local elementary schools, providing students and faculty with various gifts and experiences. Just a week ago, a visit occurred at Turie T. Small Elementary School. Two additional schools will be a part of the program in the near future
“This is the second school visit we‘ve made to kick off the 2022-2023 school year, and we couldn‘t be prouder to support our local communities,” said Daytona International Speedway‘s Josh Harris, VP of Client and Event Experience. “Seeing the delighted looks on all the kids‘ faces as the pace car pulled up was an amazing feeling, and I hope to see their smiling faces at the track for the race next Friday.”
The Speedway has supported other educational efforts. Earlier this month, the 2.5-mile iconic venue sponsored the Volusia Back to School Bash Presented by Daytona International Speedway at the Volusia Mall, where over 2,700 families in attendance were provided DIS branded “swag bags” filled with notepads, pens, and other classroom materials.
As part of that same initiative, Daytona International Speedway has teamed up with school principals to present the “Drive Your Future” Award. Principals will honor one student per month, based off performance or behavior. With the award, those students will receive four passes to tour the historic track along with other gifts. All award-winning students will also be offered breakfast with their principal, joined by Daytona International Speedway President Frank Kelleher at the end of the 2022-2023 school year.
As The World Center of Racing continues to welcome the students in the local community back to school, it‘s also preparing to welcome NASCAR drivers and fans back to racing on the track.
The Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola kicks next Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET but will see action on the track earlier in the day during qualifying sessions for both the Wawa event and the Coke Zero Sugar 400, starting at 3:05 p.m. Saturday‘s “last-chance” Coke Zero Sugar 400 to make the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs gets underway at 7:00 p.m. ET.
For more information about Daytona International Speedway and the upcoming race weekend, visit www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com.
Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as the all-new NASCAR Tracks App, for the latest speedway news.
