In partnership with the New England League of Middle Schools, New Hampshire Motor Speedway visited schools this week to reward essay contest winners in middle schools in Connecticut, Massachusetts and the Granite State. Alongside Milo the Moose and the NHMS Show Car, speedway officials donated a "class pack" of 25 tickets to students at each school to attend the Sept. 24 ISM Connect 300 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff race.

Winning schools from the third annual essay contest were Amity Middle School (Orange, Conn.), Tyngsborough Middle School (Tyngsborough, Mass.), Dudley Middle School (Dudley, Mass.), Pelham Memorial School (Pelham, N.H.), and Oyster River Middle School (Durham, N.H.).

"Our students had an awesome time and the New Hampshire Motor Speedway staff made the surprise event super-exciting," said Jay Richard, principal of Oyster River Middle School. "It's not every day that our students get to watch a racecar doing donuts in their parking lot and recess area. I hope we have another winner next year."

The topic for this year's contest was "What is it like to be a Young Adolescent Today?" "Children Helping Children; What Can We Do?" and "What Does the American Flag Mean to Me?" were previous essay contest topics. All essays were received by the NELMS by June 14. A panel of judges read the essays and chose the winners.