Speedway Motorsports Inc. announces 2013 food donation commitment to Drive to End Hunger

LAS VEGAS – Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, Speedway Motorsports Incorporated (SMI) President and Chief Operating Officer Marcus Smith, and AARP Foundation President Jo Ann Jenkins today announced SMI’s commitment to donate food through the 2013 race season on behalf of Drive to End Hunger, a national initiative to address the problem of older adult hunger in America.

“Working with Drive to End Hunger is an important way to help people in our communities across NASCAR nation,” Smith said. “We’re excited to gear up for a whole season of helping people provide food for themselves and their families.”

Levy Restaurants, SMI’s food and beverage concessions operator, is donating extra food items from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races it services to local food banks on behalf of Drive to End Hunger. AARP Foundation helps identify and works with local food banks to receive the donations, which are expected to include bread, produce and other food items. Following this weekend’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, SMI and Levy Restaurants will donate extra food to Three Square Food Bank in Las Vegas.

“Drive to End Hunger is working to help the nearly nine million Americans age 50+ who face the risk of hunger,” Jenkins said. “We are proud to have committed partners like SMI and Levy Restaurants, who help make this work possible.”

SMI and Levy Restaurants began working with Drive to End Hunger in May, 2012. In only seven races, SMI and Levy donated more than 9,000 pounds of food – equivalent to approximately 7,000 meals – to local food banks.

“Too many older Americans struggle putting food on the table across the country,” Gordon said. “That’s why it feels great to be part of something that helps people from here in Las Vegas to where my family lives in Charlotte (N.C.), and everywhere in between.”

Since AARP and AARP Foundation launched Drive to End Hunger, the multi-year initiative has donated more than 16 million meals and driven individual and corporate donor commitments with an expected value of $19 million.

To get involved or learn more, please visit www.DriveToEndHunger.org.