GOING GREEN

by Kevin Collier

We Are Marshall, the 2006 flick about the aftermath of a jet crash that killed most of the 1970 Marshall University football team, has inspired more than struggling gridders. It also compelled MU alum Dana Tomes to fulfill a lifelong dream: to run a race team.

His startup, Herd Racing, is a shoestring operation fueled by $100,000 from Marshall alumni. Tomes' crew of nine volunteers has NASCAR's lone college-theme team on track to run five Nationwide races this season (first up: Charlotte, on May 24). Notable grads including Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich have already signed on as honorary crew chiefs.

Tomes plans to expand next year with a race shop/museum in Huntington, W.Va., but he knows it will be tough to sustain his team without a big-time sponsor. "Right now we're hoping for the best," he says. Staring down adversity—works in the movies, anyway.

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