Firestone Racing Auction Benefits United Way
11/07/2008
For most people, the chance to wave the green flag at the start of an IndyCar Series race would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But for one generous Nashville resident, Patrick McKennon, that opportunity will happen twice, as he has placed the highest bid in Firestone Racing's online auction to serve as the Honorary Starter for the Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Superspeedway for the second consecutive year. McKennon's bid - a whopping $3,150 - will go straight to the United Way of Metropolitan Nashville as part of Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc. (BSA)'s annual "Racing to Help" United Way campaign.
"The IndyCar Series is the fastest open-wheel racing," said McKennon. "I love the speed and the class of drivers. And now with the unification [between the IndyCar Series and the Champ Car World Series], there is more promise for the future both in sponsorship and recognition. And my kids absolutely love how close you can get to the cars and the drivers.
"It's just a great opportunity that Firestone has made available," he continued. "I mean, how often in a lifetime are you ever able to wave the green flag for a major event? To be able to do this again and give to United Way, it's the best of both worlds. I feel strongly it is everyone's responsibility to give back in some way to the community, and this has been one of the best ways for me."
The Firestone Indy 200 will take place on Saturday, July 12, at Nashville Superspeedway in Gladeville, just outside Lebanon, Tenn. McKennon will have the honor of waving the green flag to signal the start of the race while IndyCar Series stars such as Danica Patrick, Helio Castroneves, Graham Rahal and Scott Dixon go thundering past the start/finish line on the 1.33-mile concrete oval.
"Firestone Racing would like to extend our most sincere thanks to Mr. McKennon and his family for their generous contribution to the United Way, and for being such enthusiastic supporters of our motorsports program and of the IndyCar Series," commented Al Speyer, Executive Director, Firestone Racing. "He and his family were such a pleasure to host as our guests last year, and we were thrilled to learn that they enjoyed the experience enough to want to do it all again! The passionate support of fans like the McKennons is one of the things that makes the IndyCar Series so great and all the hard work Firestone Racing puts into developing its world class race tires that much more worthwhile."