DAYTONA BEACH, Florida – September 26, 2013 – (HISPANICIZE WIRE) – NASCAR will partner with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund to commemorate National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15) through a new, dollars-per-lap donation program and five new film shorts highlighting Latino contributors to the sport.
“The Hispanic Scholarship Fund is excited about this opportunity to partner with NASCAR and to showcase, through film, outstanding Latinos in the sport of racing”
In partnership with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, NASCAR will donate $5 for every lap completed by a Hispanic or Latin American driver in one of the U.S. series. The drivers included in the initiative are: Cuban-American Aric Almirola, Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, Brazilian Nelson Piquet Jr., Mexican German Quiroga, Brazilian Miguel Paludo, Puerto Rican Bryan Ortiz, Mexican and Spanish-American Jack Madrid as well as Mexico-born Daniel Suarez. The funds will benefit Latino students pursuing an education in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs.
“The Hispanic Scholarship Fund is excited about this opportunity to partner with NASCAR and to showcase, through film, outstanding Latinos in the sport of racing. We are pleased that NASCAR shares our commitment to higher education, while inspiring the best in each individual. And we welcome our growing partnership with NASCAR to increase scholarships for talented STEM students,” said Fidel Vargas, President and CEO of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.
To highlight the contributions Latinos are making to the sport both on and off the racetrack, NASCAR Productions partnered with Latino director Danny Hastings on a five-part series of film shorts. Hastings is best known for his music videos and documentary-style filmmaking. Aside from featuring drivers, the films also highlights industry personnel, including pit crew member Pedro Martinez, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Co-Owner Felix Sabates, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Official Kim Lopez and Chevrolet Racing Program Manager for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Alba Colon. One new film will premiere on NASCAR.com every week during Hispanic Heritage Month, starting with the first one, titled “The Future” that features up-and-coming drivers in NASCAR’s regional and touring series.
Video can be seeing here: http://viva.nascar.com/
“Hispanic Heritage Month not only gives us the opportunity to celebrate the contributions Latinos make on and off the track, but also to show our support for the Latino community across the nation”, said Steve Phelps, NASCAR’s chief marketing officer, “and through our partnership with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund we hope to introduce more students to the many STEM opportunities that exist within our sport.”
Fans can join the conversation online at http://www.NASCAR.com/Español and on Twitter @VivaNASCAR.
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 (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series), four regional series, one local grassroots series, three international series and GRAND-AM Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón, both known for competition on road courses. 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 follow NASCAR at http://www.facebook.com/NASCAR and Twitter: @NASCAR.
About Hispanic Scholarship Fund
Founded in 1975, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund provides scholarships to Latino students, as well as related support services. HSF seeks to give students all the tools they need to apply to college, do well in their course work, graduate, enter a profession, excel, help lead our nation going forward, and mentor the generations to come. As the nation’s largest not-for-profit organization supporting Hispanic-American higher education, HSF has awarded over $400 million in scholarships and provides a range of ancillary programs for students, scholars, and their families. HSF further strives to make college education a top priority for every Latino family across the nation and to mobilize our community to proactively advance that goal – each individual, over a lifetime, in every way he/she can. For more information about the Hispanic Scholarship Fund please visit: http://www.HSF.net.
