NASCAR

Speedway volunteers kick into high gear

Local organizations work at the races to raise funds

Kellie Abernethy kellie.abernethy@news-jrnl.com
An Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Army ROTC cadet in a florescent vest helps with crowd control during the races at the Daytona International Speedway. For the past several years the Army ROTC cadets have worked at the races to raise funds for their program, oftentimes raising enough funds to support their program an entire year. [Photo provided]

As swarms of NASCAR fans filter into the Daytona International Speedway, DeLand resident Michael Ricciardelli will be standing at his post next to an escalator, armed with the only tool required for his job — a big grin.

“We get to be part of it and say ‘Hey welcome, we’re glad you’re here,’” Ricciardelli said. “My wife said that at the 500 there are so many people coming at you at the same time that you almost feel like your face hurts from smiling so much."

Ricciardelli and his wife, Maggie, are part of the Fan Crew who work at the Speedway during the races. But the Ricciardellis aren’t working to add income to their own bottom lines. Along with their peers from the Journey church in Orange City, the couple work at the races every year to raise money for their mission trips.

“By volunteering, the race track sends money to our church and that is directed to our mission trips," Ricciardelli said. "The race track affords us the opportunity to raise funds to go on mission trips, to Haiti in particular, and at the same time we help them by helping people have a fun time.”

For more than 20 years, the Speedway has partnered with local organizations — ranging from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Army ROTC to nonprofits and church groups — to raise funds for their organizations by working during the busiest races of the year. The groups work various jobs around the stadium such as ticket takers, ushers, and elevator attendants, in turn extending the local economic boost of the races beyond that of just the hospitality industry.

“The volunteers get paid per hour and all of that goes back to the organization,” said Andrew Booth, director of public relations for the Daytona International Speedway. “It mutually benefits both parties.”

The Speedway pays groups $8.25 per hour and requires a minimum of 20 staff for each shift, but there is no maximum. Consequently, groups of 50 who work 12-hour shifts for the full seven days can earn up to $35,070 – not a bad haul for a week of work, and often the entire yearly budget for smaller organizations.

“We raise all of our money through the races,” said Denise VanLaarhoven, the ERAU Army ROTC’s track liaison for the program. VanLaarhoven added that the cadets work four days during the Rolex and five days during Speedweeks, raising their program funding in just nine days.

ERAU Army ROTC senior Jason Whitman had never seen a NASCAR race before, let alone attended one. But during his freshmen year, the Pennsylvania native found himself smack dab in the middle of a mass of NASCAR fans during the 500, working crowd control.

“I never expected to see that many people,” Whitman said. “The sheer amount of people that are present at those events is unreal.”

As a cadet in the program, Whitman understands the benefit of having steady annual funding, but he sees value beyond the economic boost — time.

“Some of the other ROTC programs have to work football games to fund raise, which can take hours and hours on Sundays” throughout the season, Whitman said. “It’s a high workload for that short amount of time, but after that we don’t have to do anything else the rest of the season.”

Kaleb Conley, a 29-year-old youth pastor for the Harvest Assembly of God in Lakeland, has worked for the church at the races on and off since he was 16. Now Conley and the youth in his program work the races together to raise funds to support the church's fine arts discipleship program.

"Our fine arts program more or less is contingent on Daytona. A lot of our students couldn’t afford to do fine arts without the money we raise through Daytona," Conley said. "It pays for them to be able to participate in a lot of events throughout the year."

In the past year alone the Speedway has doled out more than $168,000 to local charitable organizations qualified to work during the February or July races. For the February races, Booth says the program is already at capacity with several organizations already committed.

“This year we have about 30 groups participating," he said, noting that the program is full for Speedweeks, though groups can still apply to work during the Coke 400 in July. "On the day of the 500 we will have 500 volunteers.”