Relief and awareness of victims in Tennessee and Virginia from the recent devastating storms are the focus as Bristol Motor Speedway and Dragway aid efforts of the American Red Cross this Friday and Saturday with a variety of activities during the BMS Race To Relief.
From 5–8 p.m. Friday, for a $25 donation to the relief efforts, fans may make laps around the famed Bristol Motor Speedway in their own cars. For those who cannot make it Friday evening, anyone interested can take part in track laps from 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, May 7.
While some take laps on the Speedway, others who happen to be driving by the Speedway may help as well. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, at the North Entrance of the Speedway, BMS employees will be on hand to collect monetary donations of any amount from people wanting take part in the “drop in the bucket” fundraiser.
“Many times when something of this magnitude happens, people want to help but often say ‘anything I could do would just be a drop in the bucket,’ ” said BMS General Manager Jerry Caldwell. “Well, on any given Saturday, an estimated 16,000 cars travel Volunteer Parkway in front of our facility. If they just stop for a few seconds and drop something in the bucket, just what they have in their change trays in their cars, we can raise a lot of money for the relief efforts.”
In addition, 25 percent of every ticket sold Saturday for any event during the August NASCAR IRWIN Tools Night Race weekend will be donated to the Red Cross.
Additionally, BMS is a designated collection site for the area Red Cross chapters for anyone wishing to donate supplies for those affected by the tornadoes. The most needed items are baby supplies (diapers, powered formula, etc.), cleaning supplies (inside and outside), 55-gallon drum liner trash bags, and non-perishable food items – in cases, if possible. The Red Cross has asked that clothes not be donated at this time.
“When you have the type of devastation that we saw throughout the South last week, and have it hit so close to home in the Glade Spring and Greeneville areas in particular, it’s very important that our communities do all we can to help.” said Caldwell. “The folks in our area have always been very generous when it comes to helping those in need and we wanted to create several ways for us and others to do all we can to aid the relief effort.”
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