Ky. Highway Safety to sponsor Nationwide event
By Associated Press
Apr 16, 2014 11:47 AM CDT

SPARTA, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky's Office of Highway Safety will be the title sponsor for Kentucky Speedway's June 27 NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

The John R. Elliott HERO Campaign 300 is the middle event of a tripleheader weekend at the 1.5-mile track including the 225-mile Camping World Truck Series race on June 26 and the Sprint Cup Series' 400-mile headliner on June 28.

Wednesday's announcement continues a partnership between the speedway and the department's HERO program intended to promote the use of designated drivers.

Speedway general manager Mark Simendinger says "it's good to know that peoples' lives are being saved with this program."

The race is named for Elliott, a Navy Ensign and U.S. Naval Academy graduate who was killed in a head-on collision with a drunken driver in July 2000 while traveling home to New Jersey from Annapolis, Md. Elliott's family established the national HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers.