Brittney Zamora’s Pit Road Pals helping shelter dogs in need

NASCAR driver Brittney Zamora has started Pit Road Pals, an organization helping shelter dogs in need of forever homes.

Brittney Zamora tears up the racetrack while climbing up the NASCAR ladder, but off track she’s just as committed to helping rescue dogs in need, which is why she created her Pit Road Pals program, which as its website states, works “to increase awareness for local pet shelters and adoption agencies.” And getting to spend time with adorable doggos doesn’t hurt, either.

“We started that this year, we wanted to do something while we were traveling with the ARCA West Series, to use our platform for a good reason and to advocate for animals at each racetrack we visit,” she explained in a phone interview with Dog O’Day.

So far the Pit Road Pals program has been able to visit three shelters before sports shut down by late March due to the coronavirus pandemic, with two of the featured dogs being adopted shortly thereafter.

She’s managed to stay busy, though, helping the local shelters in Kennewick, Washington, and keeping busy with iRacing events, though she mainly treats it as a fun diversion, since the depth perception throws things off a little bit.

“Quarantine has been weird adjusting to, but I’ve picked up my cooking and baking skills a little bit with my extra free time.”

Zamora currently competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series West (formerly the K&N Pro Series West), driving the No. 42 Ford Fusion for Jefferson Pitts Racing. This is roughly the stock-car  equivalent of Single-A baseball.

She also competes full-time in the Northwest Super Late Model Series for her own team, Brittney Zamora Racing, where she won the series championship in 2017 and 2018.

A lifelong pet lover, most of the family dogs have been named with the racetrack in mind, with the first being a black Labrador named Winston (after the Cup Series); the current rescue dogs in the house are Jax (Jackstand) and Axel.

“I’m trying to convince my mom to get one more rescue, but that’s still in the works right now.”

She drove the full ARCA West schedule last season for Bill McAnally Racing, piloting the No. 99 Toyota Camry, and part-time in the ARCA East in the same vehicle. In the West she finished fifth in the standings with two poles, 71 laps led, six top fives and 10 top 10s with a best finish of third at Tucson and Evergreen Speedways. In the East her best finish was ninth at Memphis International Raceway.

Unfortunately for Jax and Axel, they can’t follow on the road like Chase Briscoe’s Ricky and Callie.

“if I had a motor home for the racetrack I would definitely be bringing my dogs with me,” Zamora said. “They do get to spend shop night with us, and they love being out there, so I would have no doubt that they would love being at the racetrack.”

Whenever they’re able to return to the racetrack, Zamora’s car will have a primary sponsor in the California-based animal fundraising charity CUDDLY, which is working with Pit Road Pals.

Pit Road Pals can be followed on Facebook at Brittney Zamora’s Pit Road Pals, and on Instagram and Twitter at the handle @PitRoadPals. Fans can also keep up with Zamora’s racing on Facebook at Brittney Zamora Racing, and on Instagram at @Brittney.Zamora and Twitter at @BrittneyZ52.

You can also keep up with the latest canine sports, entertainment and lifestyle by following Dog O’Day on Facebook at Daily Dog and on Instagram at the handle @DogODayFS.

For more auto racing news, opinions and analysis, be sure to check out our FanSided Network sister site Beyond the Flag, and also the independent racing news sites Frontstretch and The Circuit Journal.