USC’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) partnered with the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) to bring a Chevrolet Camaro to the Wallis Annenberg patio this morning. This is part of an effort to expand the event’s appeal to a major metropolitan area.
The sports car is a promotional collaboration to encourage students to attend the Busch Light auto racing event happening on February 5 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
USC graduate student and Annenberg Photo Desk contributor, Bryce Dechert, said the collaboration came about after a chance meeting with several people from the NASCAR marketing team at a previous Coliseum event.
“Myself and another contributor at Annenberg were at this event and we ended up linking up with NASCAR’s marketing team and he said, ‘hey, how about bringing a NASCAR on campus?’” said Dechert.
USC’S PRSSA team then helped with permissions and communication between the university and NASCAR to secure the event.
“There are a lot of logistical things that are required into making this event happen…It’s been a really incredible experience for us as well, just because we’re a public relations focused (organization) and this would be sort of our first very hands-on experience at hosting a PR stunt,” said President of PRSSA Daphne Zhu.
Students gathered on campus with the car while the PRSSA team held a raffle for two free undergraduate and graduate tickets to the event this weekend.
“It’s not every day you get to sit on top of a car and take pictures with it, let alone get this close to it. I mean, you pretty much only see these cars on television or in pictures and things of that nature. So to actually have it here in person and we get to touch it and take pictures with it like it’s an unbelievable experience,” said USC junior Ryan Christian.
Other students expressed their excitement at the event.
“I thought it was super random, but also really cool that we have this opportunity on campus. Like I was walking to class, had no idea I’d be walking next to a NASCAR race car, like totally out of the blue. But it’s just the magic of USC.” said USC junior Madeline Bryant.
These student reactions are the reason USC PRSSA organized the event.
“It’s been very fun watching the people’s expressions as they pass by, just because, you know, it’s not every day that you see an extremely large car on campus all colorful and everything,” said Zhu.
Plus, opportunities like the NASCAR collaboration often give USC students the ability to expand professionally.
“We’re a world-renowned educational institution and to have opportunities like this, this is out of this world, honestly. So I think that’s really awesome that NASCAR sees the potential within our school and decided to work with us and vice versa,” said Christian.
This is the second consecutive year the Busch Light Clash will be held at the Coliseum in an effort to continue to expand to more major metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, Calif., according to Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s senior vice president of strategy and innovation, in an interview with The Washington Post.
The event will also feature performances from rapper Wiz Khalifa and DJ Cheat Codes with a special performance by Dixie D’Amelio. The event is expected to bring about 60,000 fans to the area.
Tickets for the 2023 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum are $40 for USC students, begin at $65 for adults and are $10 for kids 12 and under.