Homestead-Miami Speedway's Give Back at the Track Supports Hispanic Police Officers Association

On Sept. 12, Homestead-Miami Speedway and the NASCAR Foundation held the latest of their Give Back at the Track events, this one specifically supporting the Hispanic Police Officers Association.

For a donation of $50, drivers were allowed to take their street-legal vehicles onto the 1.5-mile track for six laps. The laps were paced by an HMS vehicle at highway speed.

HMS President Guillermo Santa Cruz was on hand and actively involved in the event. We had a chance to sit down with him to talk about how the Speedway and NASCAR support the community.

We first asked about this event.

“HPOA actually started working with Homestead-Miami Speedway before I joined. So that's a relationship that was established a little bit before I got here,” Santa Cruz said.

“We've worked together with them to grow it, to expand it, to really make sure that they're able to raise as much money as they can because that's the whole point of the event — to make sure that they're getting funds to support their endeavors.”

The HPOA and its charitable foundation support law enforcement officers and their families by awarding college scholarships, assisting injured officers and aiding the survivors of officers killed in the line of duty. It also reaches out to the community at large to help those who are most vulnerable.

We then asked Santa Cruz about the work of the NASCAR Foundation at Homestead Hospital.

Through the foundation's Speediatrics initiative, the Betty Jane France Children's Emergency Center at Homestead Hospital was created. It provides an eight-bed unit decorated with a NASCAR theme to help ease the hospital experience for the youngest patients. Both HMS and the foundation also provide ongoing support to the unit.

“One of my favorite things on the calendar every year is when we visit Homestead Hospital and our friend Ken Spell, CEO of Homestead Hospital,” Santa Cruz said.

“It's another way that we connect with the community.”

“Obviously, as you mentioned, the whole Speediatrics initiative is very important to NASCAR. If you go to the pediatric emergency room over at the hospital, it's decorated with NASCAR signage and cartoons. It's a way to give back to the community, which is huge to NASCAR overall.”

Santa Cruz said the effort also reflects the family roots behind NASCAR.

“As you know, it's a family enterprise. The France family is the one that really drives those initiatives. And it's important to them, it's important to us, it's important to our communities. It's one way that we get ourselves involved.”

He said the annual hospital visit remains one of the events he most looks forward to.

“When I see Speediatrics on the schedule, I know I'm going to go out there. This year we took the Corvette, so that was a big deal. It's nice to spend a little bit of time with the kids and the parents and just be able to say hello.”

“It's also part of my personal commitment to Homestead, making sure that we are connected to the community, that we are giving back, that we are doing things, so Homestead feels the love from the Speedway.”

The on-track experience of running on the banked turns and down the front and back straights at speed is unique. It gives a sense of the intensity and driver skill that will be on display during the three races of Championship Weekend Nov. 6-8.

Watch for an upcoming article where we will report on our discussion with Guillermo Santa Cruz covering changes to HMS parking, gates and the fan experience, as well as the local economic impact of the track and Championship Weekend.