The Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, awarded several chance-of-a-lifetime opportunities to race fans during the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida. The Coke Zero Lap promotion awarded 17 experiential prizes, including a VIP visit to the rooftop of the speedway, tickets to the exclusive Daytona 500 Club and an honorary trip to visit Victory Lane following the race.

Fans who registered at the Coke Zero stage at the speedway were selected randomly at each Coke Zero Lap, which is a lap that ends in a zero. Coke Zero ambassadors located winners and escorted them to their prizes right on the spot, the company says.

In addition to the experiential prizes during the race, one fan will get to watch the 2011 Spring Cup season-ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The prize is a travel package including tickets to Ford Championships Weekend events in November.

This weekend, The Coca-Cola Co. also made a $125,000 donation to fund scholarships at five historically black colleges and universities in Louisiana. The company announced the donation at the Essence Music Festival, a music and empowerment event for African-American women held in New Orleans, of which The Coca-Cola Co. is a presenting sponsor.

Each educational institution will receive $25,000 from The Coca-Cola Foundation to support women’s empowerment and education initiatives. The grants will support the Coca-Cola Last Mile Scholarships that benefit women who are the first in their families to attend college, who lack the necessary resources to complete their degrees and are in their senior year of college with a grade point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.