In spite of gray and threatening skies over Daytona International Speedway, the green flag dropped at the 55th Daytona 500 right on time on Feb. 23. David Ragan, driving the Front Row Motorsports No. 34 Detail Doctor/CSX Play It Safe Ford Fusion, started from the 22nd position, “feeling confident” about his racecar, which sported the now-familiar “I BRAKE FOR TRAINS” decal on the right-hand side of its tail panel.
The freight railroad industry’s first venture into a key sponsorship with a race team in NASCAR’s top-tier Sprint Cup Series has concluded for this year on a positive note.
Railroaders and racers have many characteristics in common. Two of them are teamwork and tenacity. When trouble strikes, they rise to the occasion and band together, working safely and efficiently to recover and keep going.
Regan Smith, No. 78 running strong for Monster Mile Regan Smith, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/CSX Play It Safe Chevrolet Impala, heads into Sunday’s FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks
For the fourth time in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, Regan Smith’s Furniture Row Racing no. 78 Chevrolet Impala will carry the CSX Transportation “I BRAKE FOR TRAINS” bumper sticker, and the team’s pit box and crew uniforms will carry that same theme.
It may be called “stock car racing,” but the racecars running in today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series are anything but stock. They may look a little like their production namesakes, but that’s where the similarity ends.
CSX’s “Play It Safe Around Railroad Tracks” public safety program and its sponsorship of Regan Smith and Furniture Row Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series are part of the company’s Beyond Our Rails corporate citizenship program.
The Sprint Cup Series team that team that CSX Transportation has partnered with is unique in NASCAR. It’s the only Sprint Cup team headquartered west of the Mississippi River.