FORT WORTH, Texas (March 31, 2019)

After seven months of challenging themselves in the classroom and competing against both their classmates and students from other schools across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, 46 students, teachers, and administrators from the Texas Motor Speedway Speeding to Read program were honored Sunday during pre-race festivities for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500.

Big winners from the competition-based literacy program were named World Champions for their efforts.

For the third straight year, B.B. Owen Elementary (Lewisville ISD) earned World Champion honors. The school’s 294 students met 100-percent of their reading goals for the school year, an accomplishment they’ve achieved all three years they’ve been in the program.

Joining B.B. Owen as World Champions were six students declared World Champion of Grades K-5. They are listed below:

  • Kindergarten World Champion: Kate Shields (Brent – Little Elm ISD)
  • 1st Grade World Champion: Isabella Leal Sanchez (Diamond Hill – Fort Worth ISD)
  • 2nd Grade World Champion: Melissa Sanchez (Diamond Hill – Fort Worth ISD)
  • 3rd Grade World Champion: Noelle Prowell (Homestead – Lewisville ISD)
  • 4th Grade World Champion: Haylee Baker (Stewart’s Creek – Lewisville ISD)
  • 5th Grade World Champion: Sharanya Saripalli (Homestead – Lewisville ISD)

A pair of teachers in the K-2nd Grade and 3rd-5th Grade categories also earned World Champion honors.

  • K-2nd Grade World Champion Classroom: Ms. Reyes (Diamond Hill – Fort Worth ISD)
  • 3rd-5th Grade World Champion Classroom: Mr. Munoz (Diamond Hill – Fort Worth ISD)

Students who were declared champions of their school, as well as teachers and schools who earned Conference and Division championships joined the World Champions on the pre-race stage along the frontstretch of Texas Motor Speedway, taking part in a photo opportunity while the NASCAR crowd looked on.

This year’s Speeding to Read program featured 14 elementary schools and more than 7,500 students across grades K-5. Those students combined to read 242,877 books since the beginning of September.

Schools participating for the 2018-19 school year were: B.B. Owen (Lewisville ISD); Brent (Little Elm ISD); Carl E. Schluter (Northwest ISD); Carter Park (Dallas ISD); Diamond Hill (Fort Worth ISD); Dolores Huerta (Fort Worth ISD); Homestead (Lewisville ISD); Jay R. Thompson (Mesquite ISD); Price (Mesquite ISD); Ruby Shaw (Mesquite ISD); S.M. Seabourn (Mesquite ISD); Sidney H. Poynter (Crowley ISD); Stewart’s Creek (Lewisville ISD); and Tom C. Gooch (Dallas ISD).

The Texas Motor Speedway Speeding to Read program started in 2011 with a single school. In eight years, 78 schools and more than 43,000 students have combined to read an astounding 5.5 million books.

Speeding to Read, named the “Best Youth Marketing Initiative” for 2014 by the NASCAR industry, is an incentive-based, NASCAR and INDYCAR-themed reading program created by Texas Motor Speedway. Its goal is to encourage elementary school students to read more frequently during the school year. The reading guidelines have been established by elementary school principals and administrators to coincide with their reading programs.

Texas Motor Speedway’s Speeding to Read program is supported by the following partners: NASCAR, NTT IndyCar Series, Lionel Racing, Speedway World, Levy Restaurants, The Speedway Club, Food for the Soul, aai Trophies and Awards of Plano, Jostens, Woolley’s Frozen Custard, Reunion Tower, Speedway Children’s Charities-Texas Chapter, and Team Texas High Performance Driving School.

The Speeding to Read program is open to any schools in the DFW Metroplex. For more information, visit www.speedingtoread.com.