Jul 29, 2018; Long Pond, PA, USA; NASCAR fans walk on pit road prior to the Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Before kids go back to school, NASCAR is giving their younger fans a chance at doing something great. Starting last week at Pocono and Iowa and continuing over the next two weeks, some kids are going to get some experience doing some of the race event jobs that adults do at every race.

“Kids Drive NASCAR” is a program that will put kids at work all around the track. Such positions include being national anthem singers, green flag wavers, media members and honorary pit crew members among other positions. In addition, NASCAR launched the NASCAR Ignite Series, a youth development racing series on iRacing that is geared toward developing 13-16 year olds, giving them a chance to learn the skills that could be translated to the track for a potential career.

This entire program is really great for the kids and it’s the second consecutive year NASCAR has done this. Personally, I was in Pocono covering the race last week and there were some kid reporters and they seemed to have a great time. In some instances, they asked better questions than us adults.

More importantly, Kids Drive NASCAR gives these kids an experience they’ll never forget. Maybe being a reporter or an official helps shape their future but it’s also a next level experience. NASCAR already provides free tickets at Camping World Truck and Xfinity Series races to kids 12 and under as well as sell discounted tickets for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races and something like Kids Drive NASCAR is a way to make someone a permanent NASCAR fan. I went to local dirt tracks when I was a kid and I was immediately hooked on racing.  The same thing can happen with these kids and that can only help with the long-term health of the sport.

 

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.

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