By Austin Wright

For Nascar fans, stock cars roaring by at nearly 200 miles per hour spur an in-the-moment attitude in which thoughts rarely stretch beyond the next lap.

But at the Richmond International Raceway on September 11, the largest of the state college-savings plans will urge fans to slow down and think long term.

The Virginia College Savings Plan has purchased naming rights to the city's annual Nationwide Series race, the Virginia 529 College Savings 250. (Here's hoping the drivers don't accidentally go 279 miles beyond the finish line.)

The savings plan typically advertises on public television, in parenting magazines, and at high-school athletics events. This sponsorship is intended to introduce a broader audience to its gradual approach to paying for college. "It exposes us to a different group of people than we reach through our other sponsorships," says Mary Morris, the plan's chief executive officer. "The reach goes out well beyond the Richmond area."

The 13-year-old savings plan now comprises almost two million accounts, with more than $23-billion in assets. It offers four options, including a prepaid-tuition program that allows state residents to pay now—at today's rates—for a future undergraduate public education. Residents can also apply the money toward the cost of a private or out-of-state college education.

The race is part of a doubleheader weekend in September at the 112,000-capacity racetrack. The Chevy Rock & Roll 400, on September 12, is Nascar's final regular-season event, and the last chance for drivers to qualify for Nascar's 10-race championship.

"This is a good chance to talk to people where they might not have been thinking about saving for college," Ms. Morris says.