Fort Worth Mayor Proclaims Friday as “Go Green Day” In honor of Race Weekend

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Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief proclaimed Friday as “Go Green” Day to support the opening of Texas Motor Speedway’s 2011 race season that commences this weekend with the running of the Samsung Mobile 500 NASCAR double-header weekend.

Moncrief is encouraging Fort Worth residents, businesses as well as city employees to wear a green-colored item of clothing Friday and show support for the Fort Worth-based speedway that delivers the largest attended, single-day sporting event in the State of Texas with Saturday evening’s Samsung Mobile 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. The proclamation was made during the weekly city council meeting at City Hall.

Moncrief also presented Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage with a framed proclamation that touts the speedway as a huge economic engine that has contributed $2 billion of economic opportunity for area businesses since the speedway’s opening in 1997.

Gossage, in turn, presented Moncrief and all the city council members with green Texas Motor Speedway polo shirts to support “Go Green” Day. The polo shirts are identical to the ones that the entire speedway staff will wear to celebrate “Go Green” Friday at the track.

“NASCAR’s series – the Sprint Cup and Nationwide – are some of the most exciting and popular spectacles in the world!” Moncrief said. “Close to 400,000 fans will show up for this weekend’s races and experience all the fun and excitement that Texas Motor Speedway and Fort Worth has to offer. This year, we are delighted to proclaim Friday, April 8, as ‘Go Green’ Day in honor of the races.”

Gossage, along with special guests NASCAR driver David Starr, of Flower Mound, and Miss Sprint Cup Paige Duke, arrived in style to the city council meeting. They pulled up to City Hall in a NASCAR-themed Molly The Trolley and were greeted by Mayor Moncrief upon their arrival.

The trolley was outfitted with a giant NASCAR spoiler on the rear deck that read, “Follow Me To The Samsung Mobile 500,” had decals of various NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stars in the passenger windows, a window net decal on the driver’s side and tire rub decals on the sides of the vehicle.

Gossage, along with Starr and Duke, then gave the media a ride in the trolley over to the nearby Fort Worth Water Gardens to officially kick off the “Go Green” theme. The Fort Worth Water Gardens commemorated the start of race season by dyeing the water in the aerated water garden green with Gossage, Starr and Duke assisting in the festivities.

In addition to the Water Gardens honoring race week, Fort Worth’s Avenue of Light will help commemorate the opening of Texas Motor Speedway’s race season by going green beginning Thursday. Avenue of Light is a series of six soaring, stainless-steel, lighted sculptures by Cliff Garten Studio that are located on Lancaster Avenue between Lamar and Main/Commerce Streets in downtown Fort Worth. Energy-efficient, programmable LED light fixtures illuminate the sculptures by night, making it possible for the Avenue of Light to mark important civic events by changing the color of the light, including going green this week.

Texas Motor Speedway also produced 300 “Go Green” race flag lapel decal stickers in which the Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau distributed to area businesses, including all the employees for the historic Stockyards.

“We greatly appreciate Mayor Moncrief, the city council, Fort Worth CVB and all the entities involved for the awareness and stirring of civic pride for the opening of the 2011 race season at Texas Motor Speedway,” Gossage said. “This type of collective effort truly makes the NASCAR community – from drivers to crew members to the sanctioning body – and the sport’s fans feel welcome and appreciated in such a great city like Fort Worth. It’s truly a celebration of the largest-attended, single-day sporting event annually in the state of Texas.”

Texas Motor Speedway PR

Speedway Digest Staff
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