Jr. Fans Team Up With Food Pantry For ‘Little Miss / Mr. Woodhull

Story By: STEVEN OVENS / WOODHULL RACEWAY – WOODHULL, NY – Joe and Jean Willcox from Joe Willcox Performance Automatics have been the leaders in getting the youngest of Woodhull Raceway’s fans engaged in the weekly racing program. A new wrinkle to their Junior Fan Program will teach the youngsters how important service to others can be, while crowning the first ever ‘Little Miss’ or ‘Mister’ Woodhull.

The contest will run throughout the month of June, with any child ages 3 to 12 being open to participation. Race fans will be able to ‘cast their votes’ by donating non-perishable food items into boxes labeled for the young contestants.

Parents will have the option to bring a photo of their child to display next to their child’s voting bin, or they may make a poster to display. Contestants will be given a badge to signify that they are a contestant for all of the race fans in the stands to see.

The boxes to cast ‘votes’ will be displayed next to the Junior Fan booth each week throughout June. The contest winner will be announced on Saturday June 24- the same night as Woodhull’s annual fireworks spectacular.

On June 24, the Junior Fan Program will crown the very first ‘Little Miss Woodhull’ or ‘Little Mister Woodhull.’ The winner will get a guided tour of the pit area during intermission, and will pose for photos with the winners of each feature event on June 24.

All ‘votes’ of non-perishable food items will be donated to the Woodhull Food Pantry, which have been great partners with the raceway in this endeavor.

“We are so excited about this new program,” said Jean Willcox.

“We want the newest generation of race fans to make positive memories at the track, but also learn lifelong lessons that help them contribute positively to their local community. We hope this will become a yearly event, so don’t forget to bring those non-perishable items when you make your way to the track!”

Additions to the Junior Fan Program in 2017 included the first Power Wheels event in track history, with over thirty junior fans competing back in May. More Power Wheels events are planned for Saturday June 17 and another date in August. Two weeks ago, a Junior Flagger program was started with one lucky Junior Fan getting the chance to wave the green flag for the Street Stock feature.