RICHMOND, Va. -

With a store already in San Diego, CarMax late last week officially opened another rooftop in nearby Escondido, Calif.

Company officials highlighted the new CarMax location at 830 Dan Way in Escondido has a showroom of 13,600 square feet. The store employs more than 50 associates and stocks 250 to 350 used vehicles.

CarMax’s other area store sits in San Diego at 7766 Balboa Ave.

More than 200 local dignitaries and CarMax associates attended a grand opening preview event at the Escondido location.

“We are excited about the opening of the Escondido store as we continue our company’s growth plan,” stated Tom Folliard, president and chief executive officer of CarMax.

“We are proud to bring our unique car buying experience to Escondido area residents,” Folliard continued.

The company noted the event included a “Road Rally” for charity, featuring local television personalities competing in contests that included parallel-parking and pack-the-trunk events.

CarMax donated $1,000 to each participant’s charity, and the winner’s charity received an additional $1,000.

The CarMax Road Rally participants included KGTV-TV sports anchor Ben Higgins, KFMB-TV sports anchor John Howard and KSWB-TV weather reporter Brad Wills.

Organizations that received the donations were La Costa Canyon Pop Warner, Lifesharing (Donate Life San Diego) and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) Firefighters Benevolent Foundation.

In addition to the contest held at the new rooftop, CarMax mentioned the charities have another chance to earn money. For the first time, the company extended its Road Rally to Facebook.

Starting last Friday, supporters could go to the CarMax Facebook Fan page to vote for one of the three charities represented at the event. Officials said voting will take place during the next two weeks and the winning charity will earn an additional $1,000.