My friends at  Atlanta Motor Speedway are giving you a chance to help the American Red Cross relief efforts while also enjoying the season opener of Friday Night Drags and MCR Safety Show-N-Shine tonight. Atlanta Motor Speedway will donate one dollar from each grandstand ticket sold at the Speedway’s summer drag racing series season opener.
“With our facility having been damaged by a tornado in recent years, we know first-hand what it’s like when disasters like the one many in the Southeast have experienced strike,” said Atlanta Motor Speedway and General Manager Ed Clark. “At the same time, we also know how it feels to see others helping in times of need. We’re happy to be able to provide an opportunity to assist those in need.”
The American Red Cross is helping thousands of people after Wednesday’s deadly tornadoes destroyed neighborhoods throughout the South, and is operating shelters in nine states including Georgia and Alabama. Red Cross volunteers are also providing meals, basic health and emotional support and relief supplies for their neighbors in need. They will continue to be there in the weeks to come, helping disaster survivors get back on their feet again. The Red Cross depends on financial donations to meet the immediate emergency needs of families affected by disasters such as the recent storms.
Friday Night Drags is one of the Atlanta area’s highest-attended summer sporting events, with more than 60,000 fans attending in 2011 with more than 245 cars drag racing and over 100 show cars each week.
Tickets for Friday Night Drags are $8 and kids ages 5 and under get in free. Friday Night Drags, street-style drag racing which takes place on Atlanta Motor Speedway’s pit road, features drag racing from a vast array of competitors, including street-legal models of cars, imports, motorcycles, trucks and many more vehicles.
Also included in Friday Night Drags is MCR Safety Show-N-Shine, an opportunity for car enthusiasts to show off their car and participate in a parade lap around Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Practice drag runs begin at 6:15 p.m. and grandstand gates open at 6:30 p.m. MCR Safety Show-N-Shine car show judging begins at 6:30 p.m. with the drag eliminations starting at 9:19 p.m.
All racers ages 16 and 17 must have a fully-executed minor's release form on file at the speedway prior to competition and forms are available at the Speedway or at www.atlantamotorspeedway.com. Competitors must wear a DOT-approved helmet and have operational seat belts in their vehicle and pass a pre-race safety inspection.
Entry to drag race or for the MCR Safety Show-N-Shine is $20 or competitors can enter both for $30. Spectator admission is only $8 and exterior parking is free, while infield parking is $20. For more information about Friday Night Drags and Atlanta Motor Speedway, contact the Atlanta Motor Speedway ticket office at (770) 946-4211 or visit www.atlantamotorspeedway.com.