Charlotte Motor Speedway this week signed a "three-year contract with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina that puts the insurer's name" on the track's annual fall NASCAR Nationwide Series race, according to Erik Spanberg of the CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL. The Oct. 10 race "becomes the Drive for the Cure 300 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina." Dollar General "held naming rights for the fall race" from '05-13. BCBS Dir of Brand Marketing Reagan Greene Pruitt offered no specific figures but said that the company "would use its sponsorship to heighten awareness of breast cancer and early detection." She added, "We want to keep driving that rate up and build on that awareness and prevention. We saw this as a good opportunity to connect with the female audience and to reach women in a unique and authentic way" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 10/1). In Charlotte, Steve Lyttle reports dozens of breast cancer survivors yesterday "joined track officials in applying pink paint to the pit wall on the home stretch of the speedway." A variety of breast cancer awareness events "will take place at the track as part of the race." CMS Marketing Dir Scott Cooper said that this marks "the third year for the pink pit wall at the track." He added that many of the approximately 60 breast cancer survivors who gathered at the track yesterday "have been there each year" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 10/2).
