GEOFF BODINENASCAR driver

An astronaut and a NASCAR legend will be among 40 teams racing through Bowling Green next week for the Chevrolet Fireball Run Adventurally.

The run is a scavenger hunt “intensified 1,000-fold” that takes the participants through several states, incorporating history, geography and math, according to J. Sanchez, executive producer of the event, whose headquarters is at NBC Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla.

Speed is not a factor; in fact, speeding can be a problem since cars – which include the DeLorean from the “Back to the Future” films and the Transformers’ “Bumblebee” Camaro – will be equipped with GPS tracking devices to make sure drivers follow the rules of the road, Sanchez said.

The goal of the run is to draw attention to missing children, with each team passing out fliers of children missing from participants’ hometowns. The vehicles also are plastered with the children’s faces.

“The run has been responsible for the return of 36 missing children,” Sanchez said.

The run began in 2007.

Among the participants are former NASCAR star Geoff Bodine, space shuttle astronaut Winston Scott and actor/activist Kevyn Major Howard, best known for his role in “Full Metal Jacket.”

Participants will be given clues along the way to solve mysteries and complete charitable missions to gain points.

National Corvette Museum Director Wendell Strode said he has on hand several sealed envelopes with clues, waiting for the teams. Strode said he has no prior knowledge of the clues.

“But it’s something that they have to solve,” he said.

Strode said having national film crews and celebrities in town will draw attention to both Bowling Green and the museum.

Before coming to Bowling Green, the mission will be to collect toys from the country’s oldest Dollar General Store in Scottsville. The company is donating the toys, which will be given to the Boys & Girls Club in Bowling Green. Teams also will go to the J.M. Smucker plant to collect a donation of Uncrustables for another charity. They are expected to be in Scottsville about 10 a.m. Sept. 29.

Crews should begin arriving in Bowling Green at the National Corvette Museum between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. While there, they will have a quick lunch and meet the public and sign autographs, Sanchez said.

Their journey begins Sunday in Melbourne, Fla., and ends Oct. 1 in Gulfport, Miss. Other overnight destinations include Peachtree City, Ga., Knoxville, Tenn., Clarksville, Tenn., and Anniston, Ala.

Sanchez said cities bid two or three years in advance to become one of the overnight destinations. The next time it might come through the Bowling Green area is in 2012.

The race will be streamed over the Internet at fireballrun.com/live and is being filmed for a feature film.