September 14, 2008
By Kim Roberson
Kim Roberson
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Charity is a very important part of the NASCAR family. Not only do fans support charities like the NASCAR Foundation and Victory Junction Gang Camp, but the majority of the drivers take the time to set up a charitable foundation of their own, using the power of their name to raise money for whatever cause they feel is important.
Last weekend racing came to my neck of the woods in Richmond. I had planned on doing my column last week on NASCAR and charity, but that was before Hannah came through and doused out our weekend plans, including Richmond International Raceway’s first ever track walk. The walk, which is sponsored by the NASCAR Foundation, takes place at tracks throughout the season and allows fans who donate money to take a walk on the track where they will later in the day watch their favorite drivers race.
Unfortunately, Hannah ruined the event, and forced the 80+ people who had planned to take the walk to postpone their plans for a future date.
Richie Denzler, Manager of Community & Public Relations for Richmond International Raceway, explained that even though that one effort was rained out, it is just a small part of what the track does each year for charity. “We have Richmond International Raceway CARES, which is our charitable account under the NASCAR foundation, and we focus all of our efforts on non-profit organizations here in the community. We focus our efforts on those organizations that practice youth education and recreation. We’ve done several events with the area food bank, meals on wheels, local schools, and we’ll hold different events throughout the year. We volunteer at meals on wheels and the central region food bank, we also do a community tree lighting every holiday.” Just last month, the team at RIR pitched in to help buy school supplies for children in need, by teaming up with the YMCA of Greater Richmond. And each race weekend, they work with the Make a Wish Foundation to help a child with a life threatening illness make their wish come true by meeting their favorite driver.
“It’s really a cool operation between make a wish foundation of central Virginia, the NASCAR foundation, and the track.” Denzler said with a smile. “Basically (the Wish child) arranges their meet and greet with their favorite driver through NASCAR and the NASCAR foundation, and we’ll provide them with tickets and pit passes and whatever they need. We also have a great corporate sponsor with Funai, and they will donate one of their suites to the children from Make a wish and it really provides an added benefit to the week that they might otherwise not get. “
The drivers are well aware of just how much their name and face can bring to a charity’s efforts.
“I think when you first become a driver, you don’t know what affect you have on people as a driver, as a spokesperson, as a face for a great sport, you don’t know if fans are gonna come join you at rallies or not, you are just focused on racing and all that” said Elliott Sadler, who runs his own Sadler Foundation with his brother Hermie, and his parents. “Once we got into racing, I understood the magnitude of our sport and the media that surrounds it and the fans that love it, and we decided to do something. And I feel very blessed with my life and my career and the things we have been able to do because of being a Cup driver, from being associated with NASCAR, so that is why we decided to start a charity, take what we learned when (niece) Hayley was diagnosed with autism, really try to help people create awareness with what is going on and go from there.”
The Sadler foundation took root when Hermie’s daughter, Hayley, was diagnosed with Autism, and has flourished since then. “It started off pretty small in the beginning, and we kept working on it and working on it…right now the Sadler foundation has gotten pretty big and we’ve given a lot of money each and every season to different charities, but mostly to the Autism society for research, we also do some things with Victory Junction Gang Camp, we’re starting a relationship with the Susan G Komen foundation so there’s a couple different things we are trying to be a part of, and I love doing it. My parents put a lot into it, my brother (Hermie) puts a lot into it, I do…it’s just a cool deal to be able to put ourselves into this situation to give help to charity, it’s a good deal.”
Elliott and Hermie host their own fundraising event each year before the fall Richmond race. The Sadler Barn Party takes place at Elliott’s house, and he knows that it draws a big crowd because of the opportunity it provides his fans. “I think the biggest thing is we wanted to give the fans something they don’t have, let them do things they don’t normally do, and that’s come to their favorite drivers’ house, hang out in the back yard, and eat plenty of food, drink plenty of drinks, and listen to a great bunch of music, so that’s kind of how the idea started up. We’ve got plenty of land behind our house. Big pastures that people can come park in…so I think it’s a neat deal , we raise a lot of money this week at the barn party, we had about 1500 people show up, had a bunch of good friends of mine show up. Where can you go anywhere for all this for only $25 a ticket?”
Drivers, team members, and track employees find a multitude of ways to use their time and recognition to raise money, and the end benefit is that thousands of people from dozens of charities receive benefits they might not otherwise have gotten. The fans who cheer them on always seem to find a way to support, even if it is only in a small way, those charities, and as a result, also help those strangers with their needs. It is one of the best aspects of our sport, this need to help those who aren’t as fortunate as we are. We come together in good times and bad.
That said I want to take a moment to ask you to reach out and help those who were affected by Hurricane Ike this weekend. If you have a spare dollar or two, contact your local American Red Cross or Salvation Army, or go to or and donate it. The area between Galveston and Houston were hit hard, and many people lost their homes and possessions as a result of Ike making landfall. The Red Cross and Salvation Army will be there to help them with their basic needs until they can get help from their families and assistance from their insurance agencies.
The help you give to a stranger today may one day come back to benefit you in a time of need.
Thank you, and safe racing to all.
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
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