LONG POND -- Hundreds of people in Monroe County revved their engines for a good cause today. It was the annual charity car wash at Pocono Raceway, featuring not only a car wash, but also a lap around the track.
It's wet. It's wild, and it's fast. These certainly aren't the kinds of cars you'd expect to see on a NASCAR racetrack, but they were here at Pocono Raceway. Raising money for the United Way of Monroe County.
It's an event started by the Raceway's former CEO Joseph "Doc" Mattioli.
"Doc Mattioli, who passed away this past January, was a huge advocate of giving back to the community. So we're doing the same thing. We're just trying to follow his footsteps and give to a great cause," said Pocono Raceway community relations manager Kevin Heaney.
This is the second time the Raceway has hosted the carwash.For $10, people can get their cars cleaned and drive a lap-and-a-half around the two-and-a-half mile NASCAR Superspeedway.
Volunteers from the United Way and the Raceway cleaned the cars. They say it's a fun way to give back to the community.
"It's just neat seeing all the different cars coming out. Like you know there are some classic cars, some real sports cars. It's just neat knowing the community coming out to support such a good cause," said Sarah Cosgrove of Saylorsburg.
For the amateur drivers, it was also about the thrill of taking the wheel on a NASCAR track.
"You have no friggin' idea how excited we are to be here. We come here every year for the races here. Our seats are right up there, and it is so cool to see it from this end. It's awesome," said Paul DeMarco of Pottstown.
With 150 cars stopping by through the morning, organizers say they were on track to have about 400 drivers enjoy the ride by the end of the day.