Nationwide and Noma Insurance invites NASCAR fans in the Santa Clarita Valley to join them for a unique fan experience.

The event, sponsored by Nationwide and Noma insurance, will give fans the opportunity to get up close and personal with a replica of one of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 race cars.

This exhibition is designed to give an authentic experience to NASCAR enthusiasts, who might not get the opportunity to see a race car up close anywhere else, and for them to be able to see what it is like in the pit.

The event will be held on Saturday, March 12 – Sunday, March 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the GMC car dealership, located at 24055 Creekside Road and is free to the public.

“We’re going to be able to touch the car, and be able to actually have someone there to turn the car on and rev up the 750 horsepower three or four times a day,” said David Noma, agency owner for Nationwide Insurance in Santa Clarita. “Anyone that’s a fan probably would covet the opportunity to get on pit row and see the car up close.”

Aside from the replica of Earnhardt’s race car, attendees will also have a chance to race a car through a simulator that gives riders the experience of participating in a race at Daytona.

The simulator is expected to be a highlight at the event and will even provide footage of a race that will take place on Sunday, March 13 in Phoenix, Arizona.

“The simulator travels along with the car so they’re actually going to be racing in Phoenix so you’ll be able to take a couple of laps,” said Noma. “Come early and you’ll be able to take advantage of that.”

The same event was hosted in Simi Valley last year and was considered a huge success, with about 750 people who attended, but this is the first of its kind in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Noma has been trying to bring this event to the Santa Clarita Valley for a few years and is excited to share this day with fans of the long standing franchise.

“I’m just really looking forward to it,” said Noma. “It’s been something that we’ve had a mind to try to do for the last three years and every time we’ve tried, the car was in North Carolina or it was in New Hampshire, it just wasn’t here.”

The event will also be a day for memorabilia collectors.

“We’re going to be doing a lot of free giveaways since it’s being sponsored by my nationwide agency,” said Noma. “Well have a booth we have t-shirts and hats and replicas of the cars and we’ll have a spinning wheel we’ll have a grand prize. I wish i could tell you what the grand prize is but we’re gonna give away something fun.”