[media-credit name=”Brian Cleary” align=”alignright” width=”266″]
[/media-credit]Despite being very busy overseeing his three NASCAR Sprint Cup teams at Indianapolis on Sunday, Michael Waltrip will be be spending Friday and Saturday night in Denver-Colorado for a very special reason. He’s coming to the Colorado National Speedway to help the American Red Cross in their effort to raise funds to assist victims of the wild fires that recently plagued the state.
Waltrip and his friends from NAPA Auto Parts will be making a special delivery for this special cause Saturday night. During pre-race ceremonies, before the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West event, Waltrip will present the American Red Cross with a check for $25,000 from the NAPA Knows How To Care program. An additional check will also be presented from the proceeds raised by online, local NAPA store efforts and at track fundraising.
Waltrip and his Sprint Cup driver Martin Truex Jr have been asking race fans to consider making a donation to the NAPA Knows How To Care program to help the victims of the wildfires that swept through Colorado last month. Fans can participate by making Pay Pal donations to the American Red Cross at www.michaelwaltripracing.com through Sunday, July 29th. There is also the option of texting “RED CROSS” to the number 90999 to make a $10 donation.
Waltrip will be attending a fan meet and greet on Friday, from 5 to 8 pm, at the NAPA Denver Distribution Center, located at 2101 Highway 224 in Denver. Napa will be providing free hamburgers, hot dogs and sodas to the fans who will be asked to consider making a $5 contribution to the relief fund.
On Saturday night, Waltrip will be at the Colorado National Speedway with the idea of placing some extra F-U-N in fundraising by driving in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West NAPA-Toyota 150. Waltrip will be driving the #99 NAPA Knows How To Care Toyota.
Commenting on the big weekend, Waltrip said: “I love racing in the K&N West Series events and it’s a big weekend for Napa which will be hosting almost 700 guests there. We wanted to do more than just race, we wanted to help heal. We are racing in Denver and have the opportunity to show the great people of that region what NASCAR is all about. We will be collecting donations from fans and partners and can deliver a message of support. Those fires cost more than $60 million to fight and burned more than 225,000 acres of land and they need our help.”
NAPA has done some great things helping families with the NAPA KNOWS HOW TO CARE program and I’m really proud to be able to join in helping the people of Colorado,” Martin Truex Jr said adding “we have race fans all over the country and I know that some of our fans lost their homes and personal belongings. They will have to rebuild and this is our small way of helping out. ”
Providing some powerful insight from a local perspective was Will Rogers, District Manager of the NAPA Auto Parts Denver Distribution Center, who said: “the wildfires have had a big impact on our state. Many of our friends and customers lives have been changed by this tragedy. This event is NAPA Auto Parts’ way of helping those in need and saying thank you to those who risked their lives fighting these fires.”
