NASCAR helps charity

Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- This fall's NASCAR Busch Series race at Kansas Speedway will be the first in the sport's history to bear the name of a charitable organization, track and sponsor officials said Friday.

The race, set for Oct. 8, will be called the ''United Way 300 Presented by Yellow Transportation and Sprint.''

''Not only will the United Way 300 provide unprecedented visibility for United Way at an important time of year, it will help us inject an extra dose of fun and excitement into this year's campaign,'' said Tom Dugard, president of Heart of America United Way.

Yellow Roadway Corp., Yellow Transportation's parent company, and Sprint Corp. are both based in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kan.

William D. Zollars, Yellow's president, chairman and chief executive officer, is also the volunteer co-chairman of this year's Kansas City Area United Way campaign. Michael Fuller, president and chief of operations for Sprint's Local Telecommunications Division, serves on the Heart of America United Way's board.

''Anybody who has ever visited or lived in Kansas City knows that this is a city that really cares about each other,'' Fuller said at a news conference.

Yellow Transportation sponsors a car in the Busch Championship Series. It will be painted with the United Way logo and colors for the race.

''We'll use the car as a focal point for the United Way campaign,'' Zollars said, ''and hopefully raise a lot more money for the United Way campaign.''

Johnny Sauter, who drives the No. 1 Yellow Transportation Dodge, said auto racing's broad appeal makes it ideal for charity sponsorship.

''It reaches a vast audience,'' he said. ''All walks of life come to these races. It gets the message across to hundreds of thousands of people.''

In addition to the corporate sponsorships, the United Way has been given a Ford F150 pickup by the speedway and Midwest Ford Dealers. Officials of the organization said the truck would be a fund-raising incentive, but they had not yet decided how.

With the race scheduled to be televised by NBC, the United Way 300 is also expected to boost the track's national visibility -- and the Kansas City area's bid to land the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

''We think that we're NASCAR's future,'' said track president Jeff Boerger. ''The way we've positioned ourselves at the crossroads of America, we're in the best position for NASCAR's future.''