DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — For the next three weeks, Kids Drive NASCAR will celebrate the next generation of NASCAR® fans by engaging children and their families with fun and interactive social content, kids’ takeovers and at-track events and activities, NASCAR announced today.
Beginning today, kids will go head-to-head with some of the sport’s top drivers in Kids vs. Drivers, a series of timed activity challenges on social media. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series™ driver Kyle Busch kicked off Kids vs. Drivers with the 18-second toss challenge on AccelerationNation.com.
Parents can share their children’s video responses to Busch, Kyle Larson and Joey Logano via Twitter or Instagram tagging #KidsDriveNASCAR and #Promotion, or upload them to the web site for a chance to have the drivers share the content.
“Kids Drive NASCAR is about bringing kids even closer to the sport they love and the drivers they idolize,” said Jill Gregory, NASCAR senior vice president and chief marketing officer. “This year, we’ve expanded the campaign to three weeks and five race tracks — with no shortage of fun events, activities and content for children and their families.”
Beginning this weekend at Iowa Speedway and Pocono Raceway and culminating Aug. 13 at Michigan International Speedway, children attending NASCAR national series races will take part in live Kids vs. Drivers challenges, attend driver and crew chief meetings and autograph sessions, and receive behind-the-scenes garage tours.
Kids will also take over race weekend roles usually reserved for adults. NASCAR and participating tracks — which also include Watkins Glen International and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course — will host children as honorary race officials, green-flag wavers, reporters and photographers.
Leading up to Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, Pocono Raceway will host its 10th annual Lehigh Valley Children’s Hospital Kids Day. Free activities will include face painting, bounce houses, photos booths and other educational activities.
Earlier this season, NASCAR and the tracks rolled out a youth ticketing program offering free tickets to kids ages 12 and under for all NASCAR XFINITY Series™ and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™ events. Parents can visit NASCAR.com/kidstix for information about free and discounted youth tickets.
NASCAR’s social media channels will share Kids Drive NASCAR content throughout the three weeks, including videos and Snapchat takeovers featuring young drivers. In addition to participating in the Kids vs. Driver video challenges, fans are encouraged to share pictures and videos of their families and children enjoying NASCAR races using #KidsDriveNASCAR.
Kids Drive NASCAR is part of the sport’s broader efforts to engage kids at the track, online and in the classroom. Last year, NASCAR launched the NASCAR Acceleration Nation app, the first digital experience created just for kids featuring racing-themed games, activities and fun ways to learn more about NASCAR.
The app can be downloaded for free at the App Store and Google Play. In partnership with Scholastic, NASCAR also developed the industry’s first Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) in-school education program.
For more information about NASCAR Acceleration Nation, visit AccelerationNation.com.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returns to Pocono Raceway for the Overton’s 400 on Sunday, July 30 at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (channel 90) and MRN, with additional coverage on NASCAR.com.
A double-header on Saturday, July 29 begins with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Pocono (1 p.m. ET; FOX, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and MRN) followed by the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Iowa Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SiriusXM NASCAR and MRN).
About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States. NASCAR consists of three national series (Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR XFINITY Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series, one local grassroots series and three international series. The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. Based in Daytona Beach, Fla., with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit http://www.NASCAR.com and http://www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).
