NASCAR Teams Up With Hispanic Scholarship Fund as Part of National Heritage Month 2013

NASCAR recently partnered up with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund to commemorate National Heritage Month through a new dollars-per-lap donation program, in which $5 will be donated for every lap completed by a Hispanic or Latin American driver.

The drivers, ranging from the Sprint NASCAR Series to the Nationwide Series to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, includes Aric Almirola, Juan Pablo Montoya, Nelson Piquet Jr., German Quiroga, Miguel Paludo, Bryan Ortiz, Jack Madrid, and Daniel Suarez.

The funds will go towards students in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) program.

"The Hispanic Scholarship Fund is excited about this opportunity to partner with NASCAR and to showcase, through film, outstanding Latinos in the sport of racing," said Fidel Vargas, President and CEO of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, in a statement. "We are pleased that NASCAR shares our commitment to higher education, while inspiring the best in each individual. And we welcome our growing partnership with NASCAR to increase scholarships for talented STEM students."

NASCAR Productions has also teamed up with director Danny Hastings to do a five-part series of film shorts highlighting the contributions Latinos have made to the sport. The film shorts will feature drivers as well as pit crew member Pedro Martinez, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Co-Owner Felix Sabates, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Official Kim Lopez and Chevrolet Racing Program Manager for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Alba Colon.

Hastings, who is known for his music videos for musical acts like Raekwon, Dead Prez, Don Omar, and Jeru da Damaja, directed film shorts featuring drivers - starting with The Future, showcasing up-and-coming drivers in NASCAR's regional and touring series - as well as pit crew member Pedro Martinez, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Co-Owner Felix Sabates, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Official Kim Lopez and Chevrolet Racing Program Manager for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Alba Colon.

Brands such as Otterbox see the potential opportunities on the horizon, recently signing on with Quiroga - Rookie of The Year candidate in NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series - to sponsor his vehicle for the 2013 season.

NASCAR recently worked with Kate Del Castillo - recently voted one of the most powerful women of 2013, according to People en Español - and Univision Productions to produce a NASCAR-themed Web Series - 'Arranque de Pasión', in hopes of attracting new fans. The seven-minute web episodes were filmed at the Homestead-Miami Speedway and starred Del Castillo, who played a NASCAR driver juggling her career and a love triangle between Christian Meier and Carlos Ponce.

"Hispanic Heritage Month not only gives us the opportunity to celebrate the contributions Latinos make on and off the track, but also to show our support for the Latino community across the nation," said Steve Phelps, NASCAR's chief marketing officer, in a statement. "Through our partnership with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund we hope to introduce more students to the many STEM opportunities that exist within our sport."

Expanding NASCAR's fan-base has been a huge part of Vice President of Brand, Consumer and Series Marketing at NASCAR Kim Brink's initiative plans since joining the race series' front office in 2011.

Brink has laid down a foundation for NASCAR's Five-Year Plan, designed to increase the sport's appeal to youth, Generation Y, and Hispanic markets. As part of their Five-Year Plan, NASCAR has been using Phoenix, Arizona as a test market city for a 12-month pilot program aimed at finding ways to connect with Hispanic fans.

The Mexico-based NASCAR Toyota Series, which has been sanctioned by NASCAR since 2007 and holds 14 to 15 races a year in Mexico, made their U.S. debut holding their March 1 season opener at the Phoenix International Raceway.

NASCAR has also been aggressive in expanding their Spanish-language programming, signing a 15-race telecast deal with Fox Deportes that included six live races - including the Daytona 500 and nine live-to-tape telecasts late last year, and expanding their coverage on ESPN Deportes, who will televise the 10 races that make up the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup "playoffs" which determine the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion.

Their biggest move may have been their recent 10-year deal with NBCSports, which includes live broadcasting of races on Telemundo and Mun2, including airing the NASCAR Mexico Toyota Series live in the U.S. for the first time, beginning 2015.

"The reason reaching a Hispanic audience was so essential to us was not just about size and spending power,"  Brink told Hispanic Market Weekly. "But that they have passion points very much similar to our fans."