Blog

The heat is on for ten municipalities in Northwest St. Louis County to sell the most raffle tickets to put their mayor in the pole position for this year’s 6th annual Mayor’s Challenge Cup. Raffle tickets are available for a $1 donation. The event will be one of several charity benefit races held at NASCAR SpeedPark in Hazelwood on Friday, Sept. 18, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

This is part of the “Mingle at the Mills” event being hosted by the Northwest Chamber of Commerce (NWCC), in conjunction with St. Louis Mills and NASCAR SpeedPark. It’s an outdoor, family-friendly affair featuring “live” band music, charity benefit races, recreational activities, food and beverages.

Mayor’s Challenge Cup

The “Mayor’s Challenge Cup” will be one of 10 major charity benefit races run throughout the evening. Starting time for the Mayor’s Challenge Cup” race is 9:30 p.m. Hazelwood Mayor Matt Robinson and Florissant Mayor Robert Lowery are joined in the competition with mayors from Bridgeton, Overland, St. Ann and other NW County towns.,

They will be putting their pedal to the metal for a 20 lap go-kart race on NASCAR SpeedPark’s Family 500 Track at St. Louis Mills. Individuals can obtain raffle tickets for a $1 donation to show support for their mayor and city by calling the NWCC at (314) 291-2131 or contacting their respective municipalities. Those who buy tickets will have their names entered into a random sweepstakes drawing for a chance to win two round-trip tickets to anywhere in the Continental United States, Canada or Mexico, courtesy of American Airlines. Also, they will be eligible to win drawings for attendance prizes during the entire event.

Charity Benefit Races

Prior to the Mayor’s Challenge Race, there will be 9 other charity benefit races for individuals and businesses who want to compete. The first one begins at 4 p.m. with the others scheduled to begin every half hour. A field of 10 charity race drivers will be posted for each race. Individuals interested in competing as a charity race driver must be at least 48″ tall. The entry fee per driver is $100. Race winners are awarded 50 percent of the entry fees collected from each driver, totaling up to $500, which is donated to their charity of choice. Businesses can also sponsor an entire race to help enhance their cause-related marketing efforts and build name recognition among prospective customers.

Individuals and businesses interested in participating should contact the NWCC ahead of time at (314) 291-2153 or visit www.northwestchamber.com. Charity race drivers will be contacted by telephone for the starting time of their race.

A portion of the event proceeds will benefit NWCC’s Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships to one graduating senior from each of the following six high schools in the Northwest County area: Christian Academy; Hazelwood West; Lutheran North; North Technical; Pattonville; and Ritenour.

“King of Wings 500”

Something new has been added to this year’s event to give guests an opportunity to taste and then cast their vote for the “People’s Choice” Best Wings award. It’s the 1st annual “King of Wings 500,” a chicken wing cook-off competition involving eight restaurants. The event will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. to coincide with the on-going program of charity benefit races.Tickets purchased in advance are $10 each. To order them, contact the NWCC or stop by any of the competing restaurants. In addition, there will be a “King of Wings 500” charity race between the participating restaurants. The winning team will receive half of the entry fees for the race as a donation to its designated charity.

All-Day Wristbands

A special price of $15 is being offered on pre-purchased All-Day Wristbands for use at NASCAR SpeedPark through the end of the year. This is a 50 percent discount off the regular daily price of $30. These wristbands will give guests unlimited use of all rides and attractions at NASCAR SpeedPark. To order All-Day Wristband Tickets in advance, contact the NWCC at (314) 291-3131 or NASCAR SpeedPark at (314) 227-5600.