(Stafford Springs, CT)—Stafford Motor Speedway has again lined up an
impressive field of current and former open wheel champions for its CARQUEST
Champions For Charities Event as part of CARQUEST Super Saturday on June
30th. During the coming weeks, SMS will offer a profile on each of its
championship winning drivers and the charity they will be racing for and
this week’s CARQUEST Champions For Charities spotlights falls on 2-time
Pro-4 Modified Limited champion Stan Mertz, who will be racing to support
the Connecticut chapter of Autism Speaks.
For Mertz, the 2012 CARQUEST Champions For Charities race will be his second
go around representing the CT Chapter of Autism Speaks. Last year, Mertz
was selected for the race as a last minute fill in for Donny Lia, meaning
that Mertz only had a few days in which to raise enough money to earn
himself a good starting spot for the feature event. This year, Mertz is
looking forward to having all the time he needs to raise money and he has
his sights set squarely on raising enough money to start in the front.
“I’m honored to be invited to participate in the CARQUEST Champions For
Charities race again this year,” said Mertz. “Last year we only had a short
amount of time in order to raise money, so while it was encouraging that we
were able to raise the money we did last year, we’re looking forward to
having more than a couple of days to raise money for Autism Speaks. We’re
working on a couple of fund raising ideas and we started 7th last year, but
we’re hopeful that we can raise enough money this year to start as close to
the number one spot as we can.”
In the vein of raising money, Mertz has himself off to a great start. Mertz
is making a personal $500 donation to Autism Speaks and he is the current
leader in the clubhouse in the race for pole position. Mertz is also
looking forward to having a better race experience than last season, when he
lost a motor in a practice session.
“I’m going to make a $500 personal donation to match the first $500 that we
are able to raise,” said Mertz. “I know it’s very early on, but so far we’
re on pole. I’d like to start as close to the front as we can so we can
give it a good run in the feature. Last year, we broke a motor in practice
and the car didn’t really go anywhere in the feature because the backup
motor wasn’t quite up to par. I’m really looking forward to the race. I
had such a blast at last year’s event and I thought it was going to be a
one-time deal to be able to race against the other champions, but now I get
to do it all over again. The biggest thing is I get to work with folks from
Autism Speaks again. Even though we didn’t have a lot of time last year, I
was able to make some contacts and I’m looking forward to working with them
again this year.”
While Mertz looks to have everything planned out to a T with his fundraising
efforts, he has one final trick up his sleeve should he need to utilize it
for the CARQUEST Champions For Charities feature event.
“I think I’m one of the largest guys that will be racing, so I might have to
secretly go around and add weight to my competitor’s karts to level the
playing field a bit,” said Mertz. “But in all seriousness, the race should
be a lot of fun and I can’t wait to get out on the track.”
Can you imagine hearing the words, “Your child has autism”? In a split
second, life – as you know it – has changed. For a different family every
20 minutes, tomorrow will never be the same. By donating to Autism Speaks,
you are helping to change the future for all who struggle with autism.
Donations help get one step closer to finding what causes autism, how to
prevent and treat it, and ultimately a cure so no family ever hears those
words again. Until then, Autism Speaks continues to strive to find answers
and raise awareness about the devastating toll that autism has had on
families.
To make a donation to the Connecticut chapter of Autism Speaks and for more
information on the event, please refer to Stan Mertz’s CARQUEST Champions
for Charities donation page located at www.staffordspeedway.com. Stay tuned
to www.staffordspeedway.com for more driver spotlights and exciting
information regarding the CARQUEST Champions for Charities event.
CARQUEST Extreme Tuesday will take place on Saturday, June 30, 2012 and will
feature the ISMA Super Modifieds, NEMA Midgets, and Pro-4 Modifieds in
addition to the Senior Outlaw Wild Thing Karts. Tickets for CARQUEST
Extreme Tuesday are on sale now at the Speedway Box Office and are priced at
$33.00 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14,
and children ages 5 and under are admitted free of charge when accompanied
by an adult. Reserved seating is priced at $35.00 for all ages. All ticket
prices include 10% CT Admission Tax. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway
offers free parking with overnight parking available.