Thousands of attendees at Auto-Plus Raceway’s second annual “Will Race for Food” event this weekend helped raise about 3,600 pounds of food for needy families.
“Between paid spectators and those who came for free through the food drive, we did around 7,500 spectators on the weekend,” said Track Manager Rich Schaefer. “We were happy with that.”
Attendees had the option of either buying a ticket for $15 or donating a minimum of 15 nonperishable food items in return for a free ticket.
Marcia Conwell, a Bread of the Mighty representative, said this weekend’s haul was a 2,000-pound increase from last year’s collection.
The event featured 450 racers in 13 classes of competition, as drivers attempted to qualify for larger, national races.
Nate Cross, sales and marketing manager for the track, said the inspiration for the food drive was a “60 Minutes” special on hungry families in Florida. Auto-Plus Raceway partnered with Bread for the Mighty to collect food for those in need.
“It’s sort of a win-win for us as a racetrack because we get to make a food donation to the food bank, and we get a few more people out to the race track,” Cross said.
