CONCORD, N.C. (March 15, 2021) – Spire Motorsports announced today that it will partner with the NFL Alumni Association (NFLA) to support the Folds of Honor Children’s Fund for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Corey LaJoie’s No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE will feature a patriotic red, white and blue paint scheme and will showcase the NFL Alumni Association logo on the hood, decklid, TV panel and in front of the rear wheels. Meanwhile, Folds of Honor will be displayed on the upper-rear quarter panels and on the decklid of LaJoie’s machine.
The NFL Alumni Association was founded in 1967 and is the oldest and most recognizable national organization of retired professional athletes. NFL Alumni consists of former NFL players, coaches, executives, spouses, cheerleaders, and associate members. Part of NFL Alumni’s dual mission is “Caring for Kids”. Player alumni give back in their local communities by raising funds for youth-related charities through their 38 regional chapters. It is a tradition that has existed for more than 50 years. Alumni support typically raises more than $1.5 million, annually, for worthwhile causes.
The other half of NFLA’s mission, “Caring for our Own” is to serve, assist and inform its members and their families. Alumni members are offered a diverse package of wellness, business, career, and legal services to help members and their families be healthy, productive, and connected to one another.
“We want to thank T.J. Puchyr, Jeff Dickerson, Corey LaJoie and the entire Spire Motorsports team for partnering with us to help support Folds of Honor’s mission to provide scholarships to spouses and children of America’s fallen and disabled service members,” said NFL Alumni Association’s Chief Executive Officer Beasley Reece. “This is a cause that aligns perfectly with our mission of Caring for Kids and we are honored to help improve the lives of those children. Please make sure you go to NFLalumni.org/foh to help us in this mission.”
Folds of Honor is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization that provides educational scholarships to families of military men and women who have fallen or been disabled while on active duty in the United States armed forces. Folds of Honor educational scholarships support private education tuition and tutoring for children in grades K-12, as well as higher education tuition assistance for spouses and dependents.
Founded in 2007 by Lt Col Dan Rooney, a PGA member and F-16 fighter pilot currently stationed at Tyndall AFB Florida as a member of 301st Fighter Squadron who served three tours of duty in Iraq, Folds of Honor is proud to have awarded more than 29,000 scholarships in all 50 states, as well as Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, including more than 4,500 in 2020 alone.
“When we were approached about flying the colors of Folds of Honor on the No. 7 Spire Motorsports NASCAR entry at Atlanta Motor Speedway, we were blown away that two great organizations such as the NFL Alumni and Spire Motorsports would go to such great lengths to help us raise money for our scholarship fund,” explained Ben Leslie, Executive Vice President of Folds of Honor. “On behalf of the recipients of our scholarships, thank you!”
LaJoie is a third-generation racer whose father and grandfather are members of the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame. He kicked off the 2021 season with a spirited ninth-place effort at the Daytona 500. The Concord, N.C. driver is currently 29th in the NCS point standings heading into the sixth race of the year.
His passion for charitable work has raised over $240,000 for the Christian organization SamaritansFeet.org. In 2019, he hand-wrote the names of each donor onto his car and attended driver introductions at Watkins Glen International with bare feet, underscoring the need to provide shoes to less fortunate individuals all over the world. He was acknowledged for his efforts by being recognized with the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) distinguished Spirit Award.
“It’s always exciting to support a great cause like the Folds of Honor on our race car,” offered LaJoie. “NFL Alumni does incredible work within their community and to see that organization integrate the Folds of Honor to support scholarship opportunities for veterans and their families is incredibly admirable. I’m proud to represent both organizations in the Quik Trip Folds of Honor 500.”
“When we were presented with the opportunity to partner with NFL Alumni to support the Folds of Honor Children’s Fund, we jumped at it,” added Dickerson. “Both current and former players have a proud tradition of supporting veterans and making a positive impact in their communities. At the same time, Corey has made it a priority to be involved with charitable causes that truly make a difference. We think this program goes hand-in-hand with both Corey’s passion to help others and the NFL Alumni’s mission of ‘Caring for Kids.’”
Spire Motorsports worked in cooperation with WaV Sports Agency from conceptualization to execution in bringing the program from the drawing board to the famed 1.54-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“WaV Sports is honored to have played a small part in aligning all of the parties involved to support such a worthy cause,” said WaV Sports Agency CEO Brain Klaasmeyer. “Thank you to T.J. Puchyr, Jeff Dickerson, Corey LaJoie and the entire Spire Motorsports team as well as Beasley Reece, Bart Oates and the NFL Alumni for making this happen. Most importantly thank you to the entire Folds of Honor team for carrying out this mission every day.”
The Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500 from Atlanta Motor Speedway will be televised live on FOX Sunday, March 21 beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). The sixth of 36 races on the 2021 NCS schedule will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports was established in 2018 and is co-owned by longtime NASCAR industry executives Jeff Dickerson and Thaddeus “T.J.” Puchyr. Spire Motorsports earned an upset victory for the ages in its first full season when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 7, 2019.
About NFL Alumni…
The NFL Alumni Association was founded in 1967 and is the oldest and most recognizable national organization of retired professional athletes. NFL Alumni consists of former NFL players, coaches, executives, spouses, cheerleaders, and associate members. Part of NFL Alumni’s dual mission is “Caring for Kids”. Player alumni give back in their local communities by raising funds for youth-related charities through their 38 regional chapters. It is a tradition that has existed for more than 50 years. Alumni support typically raises more than $1.5 million, annually, for worthwhile causes. The other half of NFLA’s mission, “Caring for our Own” is to serve, assist and inform its members and their families. Alumni members are offered a diverse package of wellness, business, career, and legal services to help members and their families be healthy, productive, and connected to one another. To learn more please visit: https://www.nflalumni.org/
About Folds of Honor…
Folds of Honor is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization that provides educational scholarships to families of military men and women who have fallen or been disabled while on active duty in the United States armed forces. Our educational scholarships support private education tuition and tutoring for children in grades K-12, as well as higher education tuition assistance for spouses and dependents. Founded in 2007 by Lt Col Dan Rooney, a PGA member and F-16 fighter pilot currently stationed at Tyndall AFB Florida as a member of 301st Fighter Squadron who served three tours of duty in Iraq, Folds of Honor is proud to have awarded more than 29,000 scholarships in all 50 states, as well as Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, including more than 4,500 in 2020 alone. For more information or to donate in support of a Folds of Honor scholarship, visit foldsofhonor.org.
About WaV Sports Agency…
WaV Sports Agency is a global sports marketing firm that specializes in sports property representation, brand side representation, and the management and production of unique sporting and entertainment events. WaV represents the NFL Alumni Association. Additional information on the Company can be found at www.WaVsports.com.
