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TOOELE VALLEY-- The fourth annual "Drive Away Hunger" charity event will take place at Miller Motorsports Park on Wednesday, September 7.
Drive Away Hunger allows fans who always wanted to drive their street cars on a world-class racetrack a chance to do just that, and help families in need at the same time. The event will benefit the Tooele Food Bank, which has been struggling in recent weeks to remain open due to a lack of food donations.
In years past, Drive Away Hunger allowed fans to drive at low speed on the racetrack behind a pace car. This year, Drive Away Hunger is being combined with MMP's final Wide Open Wednesday event of the year, which will provide more excitement for participants and help to increase the amount of donations to the Tooele Food Bank.
"We are happy to host the Drive Away Hunger event again this year," said John Larson, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Miller Motorsports Park. "Now more than ever, the Tooele Food Bank needs our help to feed those in need, and we feel that combining Drive Away Hunger with our Wide Open Wednesday program will be a win-win for everyone involved. We hope everyone will come out and have some fun on the racetrack while helping a very worthy cause."
"The Tooele County Food Bank is very pleased to be in partnership with Miller Motorsports Park to ‘drive away hunger' in our community," said Lori Sandoval, director of the Tooele County Food Bank. "This program is a fun way for people in our community to help those who are less fortunate and in need of food for their household."
Wide Open Wednesday benefiting Drive Away Hunger will take place from 4-8 p.m., and each donation of $25 or an equivalent amount of food will allow a car (which can have multiple drivers) to take part in the Wide Open Wednesday program. Under the Wide Open Wednesday rules, drivers are allowed to drive on the racetrack at whatever speed they are comfortable. Cars are released one at a time and the laps are not timed, so it is not a racing event and it is not a competition of any kind. Cone "chicanes" will be set up at strategic places along the track to keep overall speeds to a reasonable level. Drivers will be able to take as many laps as time and the number of other participants allow until the event ends. All drivers must have a current, valid driver's license and every driver must wear a helmet; MMP will have a limited number of helmets available for use. Reckless or dangerous driving will not be allowed, and drivers not operating their cars in a safe manner will be asked to leave. Both the 2.24-mile East Course and the 2.18-mile West Course will be utilized, and participants can switch back and forth between the two. Due to safety regulations, no passengers will be allowed and all convertible cars must have roll-over protection (either factory-installed roll-over protection or aftermarket roll bar).
Food donations should be high-protein, non-perishable food items. Cash donations are also welcome. Miller Motorsports Park is also seeking sponsors to help support this event, and will provide space for display tents to be set up onsite during the event. All profits from this event will be donated to the Tooele Food Bank.
For information regarding Miller Motorsports Park, call 435-277-RACE (7223) or visit the track's website at www.MillerMotorsportsPark.com. For information on Drive Away Hunger sponsorships and donations, contact Hollis Hebdon at 435-277-8044 or email hhebdon@MillerMotorsportsPark.com. Information on the Tooele County Food Bank is available at the Tooele County website, www.co.tooele.ut.us.
