NASCAR: Winston Open Race Preview--#37, Jeremy Mayfield
14 May 1997
#37 Jeremy Mayfield, Kmart/RC Cola Ford Thunderbird
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The Winston Open Advance
Charlotte Motor Speedway
JEREMY MAYFIELD NOTES & QUOTES: THE WINSTON OPEN
CONCORD, NC - While much of the NASCAR Winston Cup stock car racing world
will have its attention focused on The Winston and Winston Open, NASCAR's
version of the all-star game, this weekend, several drivers and the Kmart/RC
Cola Ford team will kick off the competition Thursday in a parking lot.
Mayfield, Ricky Rudd, and Kenny Wallace will appear in the parking lot of the
Super Kmart store in Concord, NC (545 US Highway 29 North) as part of the
Kmart Kids Race Against Drugs.
Mayfield, driver of the Kmart/RC Cola Ford and currently 13th in the NASCAR
Winston Cup standings, will have his car sport the Kmart Kids Race Against
Drugs colors - white and yellow - in the Winston Open Saturday night, May
17. The team is using the car to show its support of the Kmart program, a
national effort which tours major U.S. cities throughout the country,
providing a family-oriented racing tour similar to the professional NASCAR
and Indy racing car circuits. Children, ages seven to 12, compete on modified
lawn tractors to win scholarships and other prizes as well as the chance to
compete in the National Championships in January, 1998.
The Kmart Kids Race Against Drugs track opens at 6 pm Thursday, May 15, at
the Concord Super Kmart. Mayfield, Rudd, and Wallace will join the effort
that evening. The track will be open 5-8 pm Friday, May 16, and 9 am-6 pm
Saturday May 17. On Sunday May 18, it will be open noon to 6 pm. The caravan
moves to Charlotte and the Kmart located at 8147 University City Blvd. on
Saturday, May 24 (9 am-6 pm) and on Sunday, May 25 (noon-6 pm).
The thoughts of Kmart Kids Race Against Drugs Ford and Kmart/RC Cola Ford
driver Jeremy Mayfield:
"One on of the benefits to being involved with Kmart is the Kids Race Against
Drugs program. I was at the 1997 National Championships back in January in
Orlando, and that was the first up-close look I got at this program. This is
a first-class effort and I think it's great Kmart is joining with communities
all across the country to help end drug abuse in this country, especially
before it starts with our young people.
"I meet with the winners of the essay contests sponsored by the Race Against
Drugs program, which is part of the U.S. Justice Department, prior to some of
my Kmart store autograph appearances. I really enjoy the chance to talk to
these kids. They are taking the war against drugs very seriously and, in a
lot of cases, are setting a pretty good example for adults as well as their
friends. The only way to end drug abuse is to stop it from happening in the
first place, and programs like this one mean a lot. I've seen how proud these
kids are to have won essay contests and how important that is to them. And
I've seen how seriously they are looking at drugs and how much they want to
get rid of them.
"I'm proud to be a part of that. I'm proud that Kranefuss-Haas Racing is a
part of that, and that Kmart is leading the way in this fight.
"I'm hoping we end up with a great crowd Thursday night in Concord and that
everyone joins us in this. Nothing we do will be more important.
"Sure, we're hoping to follow this up with a great run in the Winston Open
and to work our way into The Winston. We have a brand new car and a brand new
Steve Leaving chassis ready to go, and a brand new paint job. Nobody will
have any trouble finding us on the race track. We just want to make sure
they're looking up front for us."
By Williams Company of America, Inc.