02/25/07

    SpeedwayEXPO, presented by Town Fair Tire, opens its doors on Friday, March 2, in part to help several racing-themed non-profit groups. Racing Against Cancer™, Laps for Life and Venture Crew Racing each will benefit from their involvement with SpeedwayEXPO. “We regard any opportunity to help these organizations as both an honor and a privilege,” said EXPO’s producer, Silvio Calabi.
    The Racing Against Cancer (RAC) program raises cash and awareness for the fight against cancer, and supports the American Cancer Society, David’s House and other worthy causes. Racing Against Cancer has raised more than $532,000 since its inception in 1997. Several RAC Team cars, including Max Zachem’s INEX Legends car and Steve Pukas’ Sugar Hill modified, will be on display at EXPO.
    NEXTEL Cup ’05 Champion Tony Stewart raised more than $14,000 for RAC by competing on behalf of the Foxwoods Resort Casino in the Whelen Modified Tour event at New Hampshire International Speedway last July. The car that Tony drove, the Chase Racing #94, will be on display in the NHIS booth at SpeedwayEXPO.
    The RAC Team will receive the proceeds of SpeedwayEXPO’s “Anger Management Seminar” at the dunk tank. Other RAC fund-raising at EXPO will include the “Spin to Win” Wheel, for prizes such as T-shirts, M&Ms candy, buffet meals at Foxwoods, subscriptions to Speedway Illustrated and other items, as well as a raffle for two go-karts, courtesy of General Electric.
    Firefighter Brian Blaise of Colchester, CT, who races in the Limited Sportsman division at Thompson International Speedway, will also be at EXPO with his Laps of Hope organization. After contributing to the Children’s Burn Camp through his racing program for several years, Blaise launched Laps of Hope two years ago to help children who suffer traumatic burns and brain injuries.
    Blaise and his team, which includes four emergency service professionals, donates all their racing proceeds to Laps of Hope. In 2005 this was more than $4,000; last year they donated about $10,000 from race winnings and their first golf tournament. “Over time, we see Laps of Hope encompassing many competitive sports,” Blaise said, “and expanding through new chapters in other states. We believe that SpeedwayEXPO will be a huge shot in the arm to our organization and our cause in 2007. We appreciate this opportunity!” The Laps of Hope #51 car will be on display at EXPO.
    Stock car racers aren’t the only ones raising money at SpeedwayEXPO for good works. Another will be Troop 35, of the Springfield/Chicopee (MA) district of the Pioneer Valley Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Troop 35 is one of the BSA’s elite Venture Crews. Troop 35’s Venture Crew Race Team—boys and girls ages 14-21 and their adult leaders—have chosen to tackle the Tecaté SCORE Baja 1000, the most famous of all off-road races. The team is designing and building, and will drive, their own race truck. This courageous group needs help to reach their monumental goal, and SpeedwayEXPO is proud to host them.
    For more information on these worthy causes, log on to www.racingagainstcancer.com and www.lapsofhope.org.
    These three organizations will be joined by hundreds of exhibitors on March 2-4 at the Eastern States Exposition Center in West Springfield, MA. SpeedwayEXPO will feature more than three acres of indoor space dedicated to motorsports, with displays from local and regional race tracks and associations, vendors of performance parts, safety equipment, accessories and the best in apparel and memorabilia. In addition there will be a full schedule of special events, racing seminars and activities at SpeedwayEXPO, including autograph sessions with racing celebrities, the Pit Crew Challenge, pedal-car races and a host of specialty vehicle displays.
    SpeedwayEXPO tickets are $15 for adults, no charge for children ages 10 and under. Coupons worth $5 off EXPO admission are available at all Town Fair Tire stores. A store locator can be found on townfairtire.com.
    For complete information, including the event and seminar schedules, an exhibitor list and driving directions, log on to www.speedwayexpo.com or call 978-465-9099.



 

Source  Dale Wolbrink/racinpr
Posted:  February 25, 2007