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Kenseth Kicks Off "Speeding To Read"
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Matt Kenseth helped transform a tranquil and idle Wednesday into a thunderous Chase send-off with more than 3000 local elementary students on hand for the official 2014-15 kickoff of Texas Motor Speedway’s “Speeding To Read” program. The frontstretch grandstands were alive in a sea of colors and littered with numerous hand-made signs by the students wishing Kenseth good luck in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup that kicks off this weekend.
Kenseth was visiting as part of the 16-driver, 16-city NASCAR “Chase Across North America,” promotional tour and served as the special guest for the seven schools competing this year in the educational program created by Texas Motor Speedway to encourage elementary school (K-5) children to read more frequently.
The throng of students was treated to a simulated 10-lap, stock-car race by the Team Texas Driving Experience that featured school administrators riding shotgun followed by the visit by the 2003 Sprint Cup champion. Kenseth, driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, deftly fielded a dozen wide-ranging questions from students on stage and thanked each by providing them with an autographed TMS hat and group photo as mementos.
The event was a natural fit for Kenseth, who just two weeks ago debuted Matt Kenseth’s Race Against Bullying children’s book aimed at educating and empowering children to make good choices if faced with bullying situations. The four-book series, created by Kenseth and his wife Katie, is being produced in partnership with the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.
Kenseth and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation received a huge roar of approval from students and faculty when he announced that the foundation was donating $1,000 and a case of 80 children’s books, including 10 copies of Kenseth’s new book, to each of the seven schools competing in “Speeding To Read.” Since the program began with a one-school pilot program in 2011-12, Speeding To Read has reached more than 8,600 students that have combined to read more than 1.3 million books heading into this year.
“The ‘Speeding to Read’ program is pretty cool, I’ve been learning about it. Reading is important to me and Dollar General and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. It was cool to be part of the event and that was generous of them,” said Kenseth, an avid reader who also has three young children.
“Education is obviously important. It has always been important, but I think it’s really important in the society that we live in with things so technologically driven. It’s easy today with all the advances in technology to not take time and actually grab a book and read when you can play a video game or do something else. It’s cool to see all the kids come out here, all the kids being excited about reading and trying to win for their respective schools. It’s fun to see all that excitement.”
Kenseth was visiting as part of the 16-driver, 16-city NASCAR “Chase Across North America,” promotional tour and served as the special guest for the seven schools competing this year in the educational program created by Texas Motor Speedway to encourage elementary school (K-5) children to read more frequently.
The throng of students was treated to a simulated 10-lap, stock-car race by the Team Texas Driving Experience that featured school administrators riding shotgun followed by the visit by the 2003 Sprint Cup champion. Kenseth, driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, deftly fielded a dozen wide-ranging questions from students on stage and thanked each by providing them with an autographed TMS hat and group photo as mementos.
The event was a natural fit for Kenseth, who just two weeks ago debuted Matt Kenseth’s Race Against Bullying children’s book aimed at educating and empowering children to make good choices if faced with bullying situations. The four-book series, created by Kenseth and his wife Katie, is being produced in partnership with the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.
Kenseth and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation received a huge roar of approval from students and faculty when he announced that the foundation was donating $1,000 and a case of 80 children’s books, including 10 copies of Kenseth’s new book, to each of the seven schools competing in “Speeding To Read.” Since the program began with a one-school pilot program in 2011-12, Speeding To Read has reached more than 8,600 students that have combined to read more than 1.3 million books heading into this year.
“The ‘Speeding to Read’ program is pretty cool, I’ve been learning about it. Reading is important to me and Dollar General and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. It was cool to be part of the event and that was generous of them,” said Kenseth, an avid reader who also has three young children.
“Education is obviously important. It has always been important, but I think it’s really important in the society that we live in with things so technologically driven. It’s easy today with all the advances in technology to not take time and actually grab a book and read when you can play a video game or do something else. It’s cool to see all the kids come out here, all the kids being excited about reading and trying to win for their respective schools. It’s fun to see all that excitement.”
