INDIANAPOLIS — Chip Ganassi Racing employees got an early taste of "JIFFY" Mix Day complete with hot honey corn muffins, brownies, coffee and a visit from “Corny,” the familiar blue-and-white mascot of the iconic baking mix brand.

The event offered a preview of national "JIFFY" Mix Day, celebrated Oct. 1, as "JIFFY" brought some of its Michigan tradition to the race team ahead of the second annual celebration.

“It’s incredibly meaningful to see how “JIFFY” has become part of so many family traditions—especially around the holidays,” said Howard S. Holmes II, President and CEO of Chelsea Milling Company. “We hear stories all the time about spoonbread casseroles at Thanksgiving, kids learning to bake, and generations growing up with our mixes. It’s those stories that make this day so special—and we hope it inspires even more.”

"JIFFY," produced by the Chelsea Milling Company in Chelsea, Michigan, successfully had Oct.1 added to the National Day Calendar last year, according to Michelle Nightingale, the company’s manager of brand content and marketing.

The date wasn’t chosen to commemorate a company anniversary or product launch. Instead, "JIFFY" viewed Oct. 1 as a natural start to a season synonymous with baking.

“October 1 kind of feels like the flip to fall, tailgating, fall baking,” Nightingale said. “And so we just picked October 1 as our day, and we were granted it.”

Nightingale said only about seven new national days are approved each year from tens of thousands of submissions.

At Ganassi, employees sampled "JIFFY" products, including the company’s new hot honey corn muffins. They also posed for photos with Corny as "JIFFY" brought a scaled-down version of its Chelsea celebration to the race shop.

The relationship between "JIFFY" and Chip Ganassi Racing will work in the other direction on Oct. 1. Nightingale said the team’s No. 10 Honda will be part of this year’s "JIFFY" Mix Day celebration in Chelsea.

The annual event is held at the company’s lone production facility, where Nightingale said more than 1.3 million boxes of "JIFFY" products are produced each day.

"JIFFY'S" history dates to 1930, when Mabel Holmes introduced what the company says was the first prepared baking mix for the home baker. Its corn muffin mix followed later and became the product most closely associated with the "JIFFY" name.

Last year’s inaugural "JIFFY" Mix Day was organized in roughly five or six weeks after the company received approval for the national day. "JIFFY" promoted the event through social media, flyers and outreach in Chelsea, and Nightingale said the response exceeded expectations.

“We knew online we had only — we had about three, 400 people saying that they were interested in coming, and obviously more than double that showed,” Nightingale said. “So we’re expanding it this year and expecting even more to show.”

The celebration includes photos with Corny, children’s activities, food and drink trucks and other attractions. Last year’s event also included Rory, the Detroit Lions mascot, through "JIFFY'S" partnership with the NFL team.

This year, "JIFFY" is again incorporating Chelsea businesses into the celebration. Customers who spend at least $10 at participating retailers during the week can enter a raffle for "JIFFY" products.

“We try to do things that engage the community as well as our little town that we’re so proud to be part of for so long,” Nightingale said.

The Ganassi preview provided a head start on that celebration — and gave employees a chance to sample one of "JIFFY'S" newest twists on the corn muffin that helped make the brand famous.

The official celebration is Oct. 1, when "JIFFY" Mix Day returns to Chelsea and the company that produces more than a million boxes of mix each day celebrates the little blue-and-white box. To celebrate on your own, "JIFFY" recommends: 

• Bake your favorite “JIFFY” recipe
• Share a photo or story using #NationalJIFFYMixDay
• Call your grandma and ask for her secret “JIFFY” trick
• Bake it Forward: share a batch with a neighbor or coworker