AMHERST — Will a community not known for being a hotbed for auto racing enthusiasm turn out for a viewing party featuring one of NASCAR’s preeminent races?

That's the challenge confronting sport management students at the University of Massachusetts who want people to come out to watch the Sprint Cup race as it unfolds from the Talladega Superspeedway Sunday at 2 p.m.

Five seniors, involved with a class known as "NASCAR Kinetics: Marketing in Motion," have spent recent weeks working to get people to pack The Pub, a restaurant at 15 East Pleasant St.

"We are encouraging all University of Massachusetts Amherst students, Amherst College students and the Amherst community to come to this event," said sport management and marketing major Beth Grupsmith, 20.

The students, working under the guidance of associate professor and faculty adviser Steve McKelvey, said the most important element of the viewing party is its "Drive Away Hunger" theme. The viewing party will double as a food drive for the Amherst Survival Center.

A pace car provided by the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon will be placed in front of the restaurant. The goal is to have it filled, by the end of the day, with donations of nonperishable food items. Each item brought will earn participants an additional raffle ticket toward winning the grand prize of a four-pack of tickets to a race at Loudon in September 2012.

The Pub is also featuring a special menu tailored to the event, featuring items such as chicken fingers and pulled pork, that students worked with Pub manager Aaron Jolly to develop. A portion of food and drink sales will benefit the Survival Center's meals, groceries and clothing.

"We're really trying to help them out," said Peter Saunders, 21. "It's a charitable event for them as well."

The first 200 people to arrive will get event-themed T-shirts and a goody bag containing a miniature NASCAR foam finger and candy. Inside the restaurant will be games such as an M&M toss and catch, bounce the M&M into the cup and NASCAR trivia. Outside, near the pace car, the students will set up a cornhole game, as well as a vehicle displayed by local sponsor Lia Toyota of Northampton

UMass is one of 21 schools competing to put on the best event promoting NASCAR. NASCAR provided the students a $1,000 budget to build the event.

"It's as real world as you can get," McKelvey said.

Once at the restaurant, the students hope to hook those who may only have a passing interest in auto racing by lining up representatives from Grand Central Games, which developed race simulation game cards known as Lucky Laps. These cards, reminiscent of Bingo, will be handed out at the door and give people a chance to follow every lap of the race and earn a grand prize of $200.

"This is great engagement for people to be watching the race," McKelvey said. "The beauty is they don't have to be knowledgeable about racing."

As a faculty adviser, McKelvey sent emails to seniors asking them if they would like to be part of the program.

One who was already a fan of NASCAR was Corey Boskus, 21, who said he saw it as an opportunity to market the sport.

Grupsmith said her passion in sports marketing is holding events like this. "I saw it as a challenge and something I would have fun doing," she said.

Although Rich Goldstein, 21, was not a fan of NASCAR when he started, he's now come to appreciate the sport.

"I saw this as a great opportunity to prove it against 20 other schools across the country," Goldstein said.

Amber Guinther, 21, and Saunders said they look forward to an experience that can translate into their careers.

The success will be determined not only by McKelvey but also by NASCAR, which will award the winning school a trip to Miami to watch the final race of the Sprint Cup season at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.

"That's a pretty attractive carrot for the winning team," McKelvey said.

McKelvey said he will judge the students based on how well their event is put together and how able they are to draw people to it. One consideration they made was selecting a weekend when the New England Patriots were on a bye.

"This group develops the promotional campaign and their ideas will be judged against the other 20 schools," McKelvey said.

He said he believes the students have a chance. "Our ideas integrate some unique technology," McKelvey said.

They are also using both traditional media as well as social media, and will also have what Grupsmith describes as more grass roots promotions, handing out flyers around town and the campus, "chalking" messages on campus and placing "table tents" in the dining commons. Another sport management student will dress as a yellow M&M and appear on the street and on campus. Email blasts will also be sent through the Isenberg School of Management and Survival Center.