Saturday, June 25, 2016

Inaugural Buckingham Climbin’ For Linemen Competition Kicks Off #NASCAR Race Day

Inaugural Buckingham Climbin’ For Linemen Competition Kicks Off #NASCAR Race Day


A special event has been added to the NASCAR-USAC-ARCA tripleheader June 25 at Gateway Motorsports Park. The inaugural Climbin’ for Linemen competition will be on race day morning in the infield of the superspeedway. The event is designed to showcase the skills of the line worker, promote safety and raise awareness to the public for our industry.

The event this year will consist of a “Hurtman Rescue Championship” sponsored by Buckingham Manufacturing (www.buckinghammfg.com). Buckingham Manufacturing is a115-year-old company which serves the utility, arborist and telecommunications industries.

The Hurtman Rescue is a procedure all linemen are required to practice annually. This entails a co-worker climbing up to the injured lineman and using a handline rope-and-block to lower him to safety.

The winner and a guest will receive a vacation package from Bevins Company: round-trip airfare and accommodations to Mexico. The winner will also receive a custom championship belt designed using a lineman’s body belt.

All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Fallen Linemen Organization. In 2015, FLO tracked 30 fatalities and worked to assist these families. The funds from entrant participation in this event will allow FLO to continue to assist the families in their time of need.

FLO was founded by NASCAR race sponsor Chad Dubea, who also owns Elite Fleet Services, LLC, following the tragic loss of one of his employees. Its mission is to memorialize fallen electrical line workers and help care for the families who have lost — or are impacted by a severe injury to — a loved one in the line of duty. FLO strives to consolidate accident and injury information to promote a safer work environment. FLO also helps all fallen and severely-injured electrical line workers, including, but not limited to, groundsmen, linemen, operators, apprentice linemen, journeymen linemen, and substation mechanics.

“This is about recognition and awareness for those who are keeping the lights on,” said Dubea. “We want all of the attention to focus on bringing awareness to the life-saving work and sacrifices electrical linemen make every day, especially during major storms and disasters.”

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Drivin’ For Linemen 200 Brought To You By Altec will be joined by the Illinois Lottery Presents ARCA Midwest 50 and the Vatterott College Silver Crown Showdown for USAC open-wheel racers. Spectator gates will open at 8 a.m. with the NASCAR race slated for 7:30 p.m. The inaugural Climbin’ For Linemen competition will start at 9 a.m. in the speedway’s infield.

No comments: