Farmers Insurance Makes A Splash At Infineon Raceway

CHARITY DUCK TOSS BENEFITS MARCH OF DIMES AND SPEEDWAY CHILDREN’S CHARITIES 

 Sonoma, Calif., June 30, 2011 

– Farmers Insurance hosted a special charity duck toss and media event benefiting the March of Dimes and Speedway Children’s Charities, during the Toyota/Savemart 350 Sprint Cup Series race at Infineon Raceway. 

Media members and celebrities took their best shot at landing five rubber ducks into a grounded target with each duck representing a specific donation amount. The winning participant shared the spotlight along with special guests from SNT Motorsports Development who had $9,000 donated to March of Dimes in their name. The event, which is part of a 20-year partnership between Farmers Insurance and March of Dimes, was a prelude to the June 29th Farmer’s annual “Be A Hero for Babies” day – the largest single-day fundraiser in March of Dimes history. 

Among those participating were famed restaurateur, Guy Fieri, Miss Sprint Cup and NASCAR racer Dave Smith, with his wife Dorine. Dave and Dorine recently lost one of their premature twin daughters to Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome and have since been working within NASCAR to help raise funds for March of Dimes. The event and its association with last weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race proved to be very special for Dave, Dorine and everyone at Farmers Insurance. 

“At Farmers Insurance, we believe the measure of our worth is not what we have done for ourselves but what we have done for others. We strive not just to speak that, but to live it every day; that is at the heart of our 20-year partnership with March of Dimes,” said Chuck Browning, Vice President of Community Branding for Farmers Insurance. 

This weekend was the fourth in a five-race primary sponsorship of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet driven by Mark Martin. Beginning in 2012, Farmers Insurance will become the majority sponsor of the No. 5 to be driven by 11-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner Kasey Kahne. 

“NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports are fabulous partners; the sport, its fans and the tracks have been a natural fit for us because we share the same values. We are pleased with Mark Martin and our experience this year and anticipate the next three years with Kasey Kahne will only reaffirm that,” said Chuck Browning. 

Photos Courtesy of CIA Stock Photography

Toyota/Savemart 350

Photos Courtesy of Suzi Roks Photography

Chris Cook in the No.37 Rise of the Planet of the Apes Ford.

Thunder Valley Casino Resort 200

More Photos

Chris Cook in Toyota/Save Mart 350

Chris Cook is set to race the No.37 Rise of the Planet of the Apes Ford in the 
Toyota/Save Mart 350 at the Infineon Raceway on Sunday.

Thunder Valley Casino Resort 200 Qualifying

Dave Smith looked sharp in the No. 48 March of Dimes Chevrolet today during testing and qualifying. Green flag at 12:50 tomorrow!

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Smith Promotes Focus On March Of Dimes

NOVATO, Calif. – When race driving instructor Dave Smith climbs into his No. 48 March of Dimes Chevrolet to compete in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Infineon Raceway on June 25, the car will feature a special pair of angel wings painted in memory of his daughter Siena.

Smith will be competing in the Thunder Valley Casino Resort 200 for a second straight year. He finished 13th in making his one and only series start in last year’s event.

Later in the year, Smith and his wife Dorine were excited, and a bit nervous, to welcome identical twin girls. Half-way through a healthy pregnancy, Dorine discovered that one of her daughters was in trouble. More than four months before her due date, Dorine gave birth to Siena and Adrianna at Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento, Calif. 

Siena and Adrianna were born 14 weeks premature, and suffered from a rare condition called Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome. This condition caused one child to receive more blood and nutrients than needed, while the other received less. In this case, Siena was the baby to receive less blood. Though Siena and Adrianna had been born sick and premature, doctors had seen no indication of the severity of the girl’s health until Dorine went into early labor.

Upon delivery, Dorine had been allowed mere seconds to gaze at her beautiful baby girls before they had been whisked away to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Sutter Memorial Hospital. From that point on it was a constant struggle for survival. Both babies were born weighing just over one pound, and both babies’ skin had been transparent and underdeveloped. The only contact that the Smiths had with their daughters was through the Plexiglas walls of their incubators.

On her second day of life, Adrianna required surgery that would allow her to accept the necessary nutrients she needed to survive. However, on that same day, Siena took a turn for the worst. She suffered a massive hemorrhage in her brain and was not strong enough to endure it. The doctors prepared the Smiths to tell their baby girl goodbye.

“Siena had given her all for her sister, her blood, her nutrients, her strength and now her life,” said Dorine. “Late that night, we visited Adrianna and told her that Siena had passed away and was now her angel in Heaven.  Her tiny hand squeezed my finger hard, as if to say, ‘Don’t worry Mommy, I’m tough enough to get through this.’” 

And that is what she did. On Jan. 11, 2011 the Smiths were finally able to bring their baby home.

Adrianna, now seven months old, is a healthy and beautiful baby girl. The Smiths will always remember their daughter Siena, and the sacrifice she gave to save her sister; and they know that it was the result of the lifesaving research and support of the March of Dimes that the doctors of Sutter Memorial Hospital were able to save Adrianna.

It is because of the success and necessity of the March of Dimes that the Smith family has decided to give back to their community through this year’s upcoming Be A Hero For Babies Day, an event created by Farmers Insurance to help March of Dimes fund lifesaving research, education and advocacy.

From now until June 29, the Smiths will be personally fundraising to support the March of Dimes. Hyperfocus Motorsports and SNT Motorsports Development Corp will also be donating 15 percent of their NASCAR sponsorship dollars to the March of Dimes to help end premature births and infant mortality.

The NASCAR race featuring this Red Line Oil, Sport Truck RV, Muscle Milk, Byers Leaf Guard, Porter Communications, Freightliner, Red Rocket Auto Tech, Gleemobile.com and Porter Law Group supported car will be held on June 25, 2011 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, and a pair of angel wings will be painted on the race car in memory of Siena. 

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