NASCAR College Tour enters eighth season

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The 2008 NASCAR College Tour delivered by UPS will begin its fall schedule this week, when it visits the Bank of America Atlanta Football Classic and the Midwest Hispanic Leadership Institute.

Laura Kouns, UPS manager for motorsports marketing, said, "UPS is proud to partner with NASCAR for the second year on this important initiative. Delivering the message of diversity and inclusion to talented students is a great way to interact with the communities we serve."

Other partners supporting this important initiative include EA Sports, Kodak, and Fathead. The tour, in its eighth year, will participate in events at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute Midwest Regional Conference, and the Hispanic Association for Colleges and Universities' (HACU) National Conference. The goal of this initiative is to raise awareness about the NASCAR industry and the career opportunities available, and create new fans.

"The NASCAR College Tour delivered by UPS builds greater awareness of NASCAR among minority students, and alumni of all of the institutions we visit," said Marcus Jadotte, NASCAR managing director of public affairs, who oversees the NASCAR's diversity department. "We are excited about the addition of the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute to the NASCAR College Tour delivered by UPS and look forward to visiting the campuses of HBCU's and HACU's National Conference. They are all great venues to educate students about NASCAR. The College Tour has also helped recruit students for the NASCAR Diversity Internship Program and the Wendell Scott Scholarships."

NASCAR will have a presence in 'Fan Fare' areas at the Atlanta and Florida Classic Events. Fans will be able to find out more information about the sport of NASCAR, NASCAR's Diversity Internship Program, which employs students every summer, as well as full-time employment opportunities. During the HACU National Conference, NASCAR will also introduce the sport to conference patrons via the use of the ThinkFast Trivia game.

The NASCAR College Tour delivered by UPS will continue in October 2-4 at Clark Atlanta University's 20th Homecoming Celebration. After that, trips will be made to HACU's 22nd National Conference in Denver, Colorado, October 10-13 and the Florida Classic (Florida A&M University vs. Bethune-Cookman University) November 22. Earlier this year, the NASCAR College Tour delivered by UPS made a stop to the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) basketball tournament. By year's end, the NASCAR College Tour delivered by UPS will have reached an estimated 200,000 college students and alumni.