NASA Introduces New Press Pass Program for Automotive Journalists

Jordan
By Jordan Rimpela
Jul 8, 2019 | HPDE, NASA

Imagine you're a car reviewer on YouTube. You buy the cheapest Porsche 911 in the U.S., but you don't exactly have an ideal location to put the car thought its paces, stock or otherwise. 

Well, enter NASA and their new Press Pass Program. It's nationwide, giving automotive journalists from around the U.S. complimentary track time to help them write more detailed car features.

Added a new turbo and want to see how it compares to stock? NASA can help, and it's easy: Find a NASA event in your region, then contact NASA Communication Director Brett Becker, who will verify credentials and publishing information, and put you in touch with the regional director responsible for getting you out on track.

It's a win-win. You get to test your car on a track, and provide NASA with advertising, which brings more people to the sport. It doesn't get any better than that. 

Read the full press release below:

July 2, 2019, Napa Valley, Calif. — For journalists writing vehicle reviews and before-and-after modification stories, the National Auto Sport Association is excited to debut “Press Pass,” a new nationwide program that provides automotive journalists with complimentary track time to help them write more detailed car features.
 Print, online and video journalists assigned to review a vehicle or to test the effects of modifications for tech stories now can enjoy complimentary access to America’s greatest road race courses through the best HPDE program in the country. Journalists can test vehicles during NASA’s HPDE1 through HPDE4 sessions at NASA events around the country, depending on their level of experience, in exchange for mentioning NASA and its racing and HPDE programs in the stories they’re working on.
 “This is a great way for journalists to access road courses across the country in the most thoroughly developed HPDE program in the nation,” said NASA Vice President Jeremy Croiset, who created the program. “NASA holds events all across the country during the months of a typical racing season. This new program will allow journalists the ability to explore the capabilities of the vehicle they are writing about in rigors that only a racetrack can provide when testing vehicles, and they can do so in the safe and professionally run environment NASA offers. We’ve already got corner workers and safety personnel in place, so it’s easy to accommodate journalists whose stories could benefit from some track time.”
 Here’s how the program works. Visit https://nasaproracing.com/events to find a NASA event in your region, then contact NASA Communication Director Brett Becker, who will verify credentials and publishing information, and put journalists in touch with the regional director responsible for getting them out on track. 
“This is the kind of win-win program we at NASA like to offer,” Croiset said. “It provides journalists the much-needed track time they might not otherwise be able to afford, and it helps bring attention to our HPDE program, which can help get anyone out on America’s best road courses.”
 To schedule your track time, contact:
brett@drivenasa.com
 805-850-8310

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Comments
MazdaFace
MazdaFace Dork
7/8/19 3:02 p.m.

Really thought this was going to be about spaceships. Oh well. 

Brake_L8
Brake_L8 Reader
7/8/19 3:34 p.m.

This is fantastic. Shared with the DC-area auto press association that I'm a member of. Here's hoping we'll get some people out on track as part of their reviews!

parker
parker Reader
7/8/19 5:11 p.m.

In reply to MazdaFace :

Me too.

 

noddaz
noddaz GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
7/8/19 5:37 p.m.
MazdaFace said:

Really thought this was going to be about spaceships. Oh well. 

I did not see the connection either.  And suddenly,  "That NASA!".

captdownshift
captdownshift GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
7/8/19 7:24 p.m.

And they say making it to Say What doesn't pay off. 

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