Scorpion wants to take a hometown hero to Brickyard 400

Do you know a local hero who deserves some recognition? Is there a local soldier or veteran whose story needs to be told? Has an emergency worker gone above and beyond the call of duty? Perhaps it is simply a citizen who deserves recognition for efforts in the neighborhood.

Scorpion Protective Coatings, with the help of the Banner Graphic, is hoping to tell just such a story, and to have the deserving winner as a guest at the Sunday, July 27 Brickyard 400.

In the spirit of the "Your Hero's Name Here" promotion in recent years at the Brickyard, Scorpion is hoping to do something similar for a Putnam County hero.

"Do you know a hometown hero?" asked Clayton Tomasino, CEO of the Cloverdale-based company. "Someone who has done great things for friends, family and the community around them?"

Tomasino and Scorpion Window Film COO Josh Buis agreed that the Scorpion suite at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway would be a good place to honor such a person.

"We have a large suite up there at the speedway, and I think this is just a cool, nice thing to do," Tomasino said.

Contest parameters are fairly open-ended. The winner needs to be a Putnam County resident and be available to attend the race.

Nominations of local heroes may be emailed to jjernagan@banner-graphic.com by Friday, July 11. The nomination should tell the story of who the hometown hero is and why he or she is deserving of this honor.

Scorpion officials will select a winner by Friday, July 18, with the hero's story printed in the Banner Graphic soon thereafter.

The real prize will come on race day, when the winner and up to three guests will spend the day as guests of Scorpion in its IMS suite, enjoying complimentary food and drink, along with 400 miles of Sprint Cup racing action.

Founded in 1996, Scorpion Protective Coatings has its headquarters in Putnam County, on U.S. 231 just south of U.S. 40.

Scorpion Window Film, a branch of the company, is the fastest-growing window film company in the U.S., providing 15 lines of window film for homes, autos and businesses.

A sponsor in NASCAR for several years, in 2013 Scorpion sponsored Brickyard 400 winner Ryan Newman.

If things go right this year, the selected hometown hero could be celebrating in the suite of a winning sponsor.

All entries must be emailed to jjernagan@bannergraphic.com by Friday, July 11.