Daniel Suárez’s No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro will sport a paint scheme highlighting Pitbull’s SLAM! Charter Schools at Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The paint scheme will be part of a partnership among Suarez’s Trackhouse Racing team, Ramirez & Co., and IA Capital Group, which will make a $100,000 donation to the SLAM! schools.
The money will establish a scholarship fund for graduating seniors and a financial literacy program at the SLAM! schools as well as a grant program to encourage continuing education for the SLAM! staff.
SLAM! is a non-profit educational organization operating public charter schools nationwide. GRAMMY®-winning international superstar, entrepreneur and education advocate Armando Christian Pérez (Pitbull), opened the first SLAM! school in Miami in 2012. The SLAM! network has since expanded to 12 tuition-free charter schools in Florida, Nevada and Georgia. The newest K-12 campus will open in Mesa, Arizona in August.
Pitbull has been a team partner at Trackhouse Racing since 2021 and visited the shop last month to celebrate with Suárezwhose victory on June 12 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway etched himself in the history books as the first Mexican driver to win a Cup race.
“I’m honored I get to carry the SLAM! School logos on our No. 99 Chevrolet at New Hampshire,” said Suárez. “Trackhouse Racing created the program and then gave Ramirez & Co. and IA Capital Group the opportunity to step up and make it a reality and they did!”
SLAM! schools expose students to careers in sports medicine, media production, marketing and the arts. SLAM! creates a national platform for students to gain industry experience while developing on-the-job skills. Students can earn college credits through robust dual enrollment and Advanced Placement programs. For more information on SLAM! charter schools, visit slamfoundation.org.
Samuel A. Ramirez & Company, Inc. is the oldest and largest Hispanic-owned investment bank in the U.S., founded in 1971 by Samuel A. Ramirez Sr., a municipal finance pioneer. The company is a nationwide, full-service investment bank, brokerage and advisory firm serving the needs of individual investors, institutional investors, corporations and government agencies.
“We are committed to being industry leaders in the inclusion of minorities in the financial services industry and firmly believe that this is a vital part of our past and future success.” said Sam Ramirez Jr., Senior Managing Director, Ramirez & Co.
“Our core values of integrity, experience, teamwork and performance guide our firm on a daily basis and we are excited to partner with Trackhouse and Daniel Suárez, both of which exemplify such values as well. Daniel provides a great example and an inspiration to the Hispanic community and across his fan base.”
Consistent with its extensive philanthropic and mentoring activities, Ramirez will work closely with the SLAM! Foundation to develop and implement financial literacy programming and mentorship opportunities to help drive the professional success of the SLAM! students.
IA Capital Group is a leading venture capital firm focusing on financial technology with strategic corporate investors from the insurance and financial services sector, as well as clean energy solutions through its Energy Capital Ventures arm. A key item of IA Capital’s investments is to use innovative technologies to improve the quality and availability of financial services and insurance and savings products to underserved communities, in particular the Hispanic market.
IA Capital’s investments include FanShield, a Protecht company, which protects NASCAR fans’ ticket purchases should unexpected circumstances prevent them from attending a race. FanShield is also the title sponsor of the FanShield Infield Experience at Phoenix Raceway. In addition, Phoenix-based Protecht will have initiatives in place to support SLAM! Arizona in Tempe, beginning next month.
“From the first time we met Daniel at the start of last season we realized that IA Capital and Trackhouse shared the vision of using our business success to give back to the community, and we had similar interests in education and environmental issues,” said Rick Viton, Partner of IA Capital.
“We are honored to work with the SLAM! Foundation, Trackhouse and Daniel Suarez to help fund programming on financial literacy and targeted scholarships as part of their rigorous STEM education platform.”
Suárez arrives at New Hampshire after finishing in the top six in three of the last four races including a sixth-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday.
The USA Network will televise Sunday’s race in New Hampshire race at 3 p.m. EDT.
