Industry-Wide Effort Drives NASCAR Race To Green Initiative For Second Straight Year - Speedway Digest

As part of the NASCAR Race to Green™ campaign celebrated in the month of April, NASCAR announced that more than180,000 trees are being planted in areas across the country, including those affected by natural disaster, a 20 percent increase from last year. NASCAR Race to Green is an annual month-long initiative that galvanizes teams, tracks, drivers, Official NASCAR Partners, and fans to take action steps toward preserving and protecting the environment.

“Building on last year’s success, the industry’s coordinated effort to amplify sustainable practices played a major role in helping us exceed the number of trees being planted across the country,” said Dr. Mike Lynch, NASCAR vice president, NASCAR Green Innovation. “While our dedication to positively impact the environment is a year-long affair, the NASCAR Race to Green initiative serves as reminder that our collective efforts can make a powerful impact on the health of our planet.”

This cross-platform campaign encouraged fans to engage online by sharing their own green efforts by using #NASCARGreen. Highlights of the industry’s efforts during April were featured on a social hub that lived on NASCAR.com/Green. #NASCARGreen was used more than 10x the amount it was used in 2013.

As part of the NASCAR Green Clean Air Tree Planting Program Delivered by UPS, a number of NASCAR-sanctioned tracks planted trees in their local communities and helped spread awareness about sustainable behavior including Darlington Raceway, Daytona International Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Richmond International Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway.

At several race tracks, NASCAR drivers including Dakoda Armstrong, Austin Dillon, Dylan Kwasniewski, Elliott Sadler, and Reed Sorenson, participated in ceremonial tree plantings. NASCAR teams and drivers across its three national series also did their part by featuring the NASCAR Green logo on the A-Post of their vehicles throughout the month and the color green across the top of their windshields at Martinsville Speedway and Richmond International Raceway. NASCAR sanctioned tracks, including tracks across NASCAR’s three national series, as well as its U.S. and international touring series, went “green” throughout the month, prominently displaying the color green in a variety of ways in support of the initiative.

The Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) partnered with NASCAR to help offset the carbon footprint of fans attending all NASCAR-sanctioned races across the Commonwealth of Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, Richmond International Raceway, Motor Mile Speedway, Langley Speedway and South Boston Speedway. These efforts were part of a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was signed in 2013. Additionally, NASCAR Green and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched the second annual NASCAR Green / E3 Challenge encouraging local businesses in Virginia to operate in a green and sustainable fashion.

In coordination with these efforts, The NASCAR Foundation forged a partnership with the MathScience Innovation Center (MSIC) in Richmond, Va. The Foundation sponsored field trips to the MSIC, where students had a hands-on learning experience planting trees and learning about the importance of clean air, tree health, and the overall impact of trees on the environment

NASCAR Official Partners were among the main contributors to NASCAR Race to Green, rallying around the initiative through a series of unique activations, a commitment to pledge trees, and participation in a number of events that took place throughout the month of April. Partners taking an active role included:

· 3M – Donated a tree for every lap run in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Additionally, 3M wrapped Toyota pace cars and 21 Air Titan 2.0 vehicles with Eco-Friendly 3M Envision film for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in April.

· 5.11 Tactical – Produced NASCAR Green patches that were placed on NASCAR Officials Uniform

· ACORE – Announced 2015 summer fellowship program at USA Science & Engineering Festival focusing on STEM initiatives

· American Ethanol – Donated a tree for every green flag waved across NASCAR national series races

· Chevrolet – Hosted Darlington County students in the Team Chevy display to build wood duck nesting boxes out of scrap Chevrolet Volt battery covers.

· Coca-Cola – In addition to executing their year-long at-track recycling program, brought their Reimagine Recycling Showcase vehicle to Texas educating fans on recycling and providing chances to win prizes made from recycled plastic bottles

· Coors Light – Miss Coors Light encouraged fans to plant trees and recycle at track

· Featherlite Trailers – Donated hundreds of trees for every Featherlite Trailers driver that won a race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race

· Ford Motor Company – A Ford Fusion Hybrid donning NASCAR Green decals paced the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway. Additionally, Ford ran NASCAR Green decals on all driver intro trucks during the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Darlington Raceway.

· Freightliner Trucks – Donated hundreds of trees for every Freightliner driver that won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race

· Goodyear – Launched “Goodyear Fuel Strategy Sweepstakes” and provided Fuel Max tires for Toyota Camry Hybrid pace car at Richmond International Raceway

· Liberty Tire Recycling – Provided GroundSmart Mulch™ to enhance the landscaping of trees that are donated to areas of need throughout the country

· Mobil 1 – ExxonMobil converted NASCAR’s fleet-and-service vehicles to Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy and Mobil Delvac 1 LE 5W-30 to increase fuel efficiency

· Sprint – Miss Sprint Cup attended tree plantings and donned her green uniform throughout the month

· Sherwin-Williams – Promoted the positive benefits of low volatile compound paints with initial applications for select teams in the sport

· Sunoco – Coined April 15 Sunoco Green E-15 day

· Toyota – Toyota Camry Hybrid paced NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway

· UPS – Donated thousands of trees to areas impacted by natural disasters

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