Blaney at White House to support tire safety

Team Penske sponsor, Discount Tire, and NASCAR’s official tire Goodyear take part

RELATED: Photo gallery from Ryan Blaney‘s visit to the White House

NASCAR, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the country’s tire makers and retailers announced Tuesday at the White House an awareness program regarding tire safety, maintenance and energy efficiency.

Driver Ryan Blaney was among the dignitaries from the stock-car racing community in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday in support of the partnership. Blaney’s Team Penske No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang, which won the NASCAR Nationwide Series owners’ championship, was part of the announcement along with the Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry.

A “Drive for Safety” initiative, scheduled for a rollout during the 2015 NASCAR season, was among the actions the DOT announced Tuesday. The goal for the partnership is to help reduce the approximately 11,000 tire-related crashes that occur in the United States each year and reduce the amount of fuel consumption and pollution through proper tire inflation, balance, alignment and rotation.

NASCAR and the DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have worked for more than 10 years to promote traffic safety, including seat-belt use and tire maintenance. The two organizations entered a five-year memorandum of understanding in June 2013 at Sonoma Raceway.

During Tire Safety Awareness Month, Dec. 9, 2014 to Jan. 9, 2015, NASCAR’s official tire, Goodyear, is committing to tire care education on its website as well as offering free inflation pressure services at its more than 600 company-owned retail stories. It will also make tire care information available to new car buyers and to customers who purchase new tires at Goodyear dealer and retail locations.

Before heading to the White House, Blaney visited the Capitol.

About the afternoon, Blaney replied to a tweet from Will McEvoy, a character on HBO’s “The Newsroom,” which will end its three-year run Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.

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