The incoming students and faculty at Turie T. Small Elementary School were not the only ones preparing for the school year last week.
On Friday, Aug. 12, Daytona International Speedway drove one of its eye-catching 2022 Pace
Cars (at the school zone speed limit of course) to the school entrance to surprise students at their ‘Meet the Teacher’ event with cool swag and grandstand tickets for the speedway’s upcoming Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Friday, Aug. 26 (part of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 weekend). The visit was part of a “Back-to-School” partnership between Daytona International Speedway and four local elementary schools.
Around 500 students were at the Turie T. Small event, preparing for the first day of school on Monday, Aug. 15 by meeting their teachers for the 2022-2023 school year. The students also met their new principal, Joy Boyd-Walker, as she greeted the K – 5th graders who seemed just as eager to be back with their peers.
“The kids and their parents absolutely loved seeing the pace car and receiving all those goodies today,” said Principal Boyd-Walker. “We’re excited to get the school year started, and the community support from Daytona International Speedway has been phenomenal.”
Along with the pace car and “swag bags,” which were filled with branded lanyards, sunglasses, stickers, notepads and more, NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway staffers brought 100 tickets to the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola – the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series race.
“We really wanted to do something special for our local community and schools here in Daytona Beach,” said Josh Harris, VP of Client and Event Experience for DIS. “I’m really happy we could be here at Turie T. Small and show our support for the kids as they get ready to start the school year.”
Nearly two weeks ago, the speedway sponsored the Volusia Back to School Bash Presented by Daytona International Speedway at the Volusia Mall. Over 2,700 families attended the event, where DIS provided branded “swag bags” filled with notepads, pens, and other back-to-school materials to several hundreds of children and families.
As part of that same initiative, Daytona International Speedway is teaming up with the school principals to present the “Drive Your Future” Award. Principals will honor one student per month, based off performance or behavior, and with the award, those students will receive four passes to tour the historic World Center of Racing 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.
Tomorrow morning, Friday, Aug. 19, the track’s pace car is set again to make the trip from International Speedway Boulevard to Palm Terrace Elementary, to congratulate their kindergarten class on completing their first week of school. In addition, the track will be delivering 100 Wawa 250 tickets, 600 backpacks with back-to-school supplies, PLUS an ice cream party for one classroom.
As Daytona International Speedway welcomes the students in the local community back to school, it’s also preparing to welcome NASCAR drivers and fans back to the iconic 2.5-mile, trio-oval track.
The Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola is set to get the green flag on Friday, Aug. 26 at 7:30 p.m. ET, and will feature seasoned veterans and “young guns” of the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The following day, on Saturday, Aug. 27 at 7 p.m., it’s the Coke Zero Sugar 400, the last-chance race in the regular season to gain a spot in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
For more information about Daytona International Speedway and the upcoming race weekend, visit www.
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.
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