When one thinks of charity, the most notable way to bring in money is to recruit sports figures. These selfless acts of kindness demonstrate a human side to earning the thousands upon millions of dollars each year. NFL great Doug Flutie has established a foundation called The Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation to gather funds for families in need with children of autism. Major League Baseball officially supports Boys & Girls Clubs of America. NASCAR staff and drivers are no stranger to donating their time and money to many charities across the nation. Their appearances lend a hand to these charities to foster more participation by celebrities and fans alike.

The list of NASCAR Nextel Cup (and also including Busch and Craftsman Truck series) drivers, crew members, owners, and staff who donate their time and money is endless. Many of these charities where there is driver notoriety lend their hands to children in need. However, there are many organizations that sponsor everything from wildlife preservation, American troop support, and cancer research just to name a few.

Crew chief Greg Zipadelli of the number 20 Home Depot team runs a weekend of fun in the snow. It is a snowmobile ride in Old Forge, New York where they explore trails of the Adirondack Mountains for a day. A silent auction, dinner and dance follow to round out the festivities. Last year, the event raised $70,000 for kids as reported by jayski.com. Driver Ricky Craven parallels with his charity ride in Greenville, Maine through the hills east of Moosehead Lake where he raised over $185,000 for kids charities last year. The 7th annual Ricky Craven Snowmobile Ride for Charity will run on January 31, 2004 with a ride, breakfast, lunch, and autograph session. Ricky’s sponsor Tide along with their driver raises money all year long for their Give Kids the World campaign. The Tide car is painted with a special scheme where 1:64 diecast cars are sold to the fans to raise money to make wishes come true for kids with life threatening illnesses. These funds send kids and their families to Central Florida’s best loved attractions to enjoy cost free.

Jeff Gordon, 4 time senior series champion and driver of the number 24 Dupont Chevrolet is no stranger to charities. The Jeff Gordon Foundation raises money for a wide variety of children and needy organizations. His thoughtful giving includes donations to The Marrow Foundation along with The Hendrick Marrow Program who help individuals secure resources for bone marrow transplant, housing and food for people having transplants and recruiting donors. Dale Jarrett, driver of the number 88 UPS Ford, is also a champion who donates to charitable organizations. The Dale Jarrett Foundation contributes to groups for the physical, religious, educational and social needs of children and families. Most notable is his campaign for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation with his Race for Cure paint scheme for breast cancer research and battle.

But you don’t have to be a champion to help your community. Ward Burton, now driver of the number 0 NetZero Pontiac, heads the Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation to help the public understand the need for sound management practices for wildlife preservation for future generations. Helping homeless and wild animals in Volusia County, Florida, the Halifax Humane Society generates money from driver autograph memorabilia for auction.

Even the wives of drivers and crew members get in on the helping hand. The Winston Cup Racing Wives Auxiliary has been around since 1965, and provides financial support to drivers and crew members who have been injured or deceased due to a preparation or participation for a race. Track sponsors can also produce funds for many charities during their weekend festivities. O. Bruton Smith founded the Speedway Children’s Charities (SCC) in 1984 with a single fundraising event before the Coca-Cola 600. Today, it is host to a wide variety of promotions and events around speedways to assist as many children as possible. In fact, the SCC awarded more than 2 million dollars to more than 280 non-profit children’s agencies impacting over 190,000 children as reported by their website.

Even though the “King” of NASCAR racing rarely circles the track, his name has passed on to his son Kyle Petty as a King of Charities in many an eye. After the death of his son Adam in May 2000 from a crash during Busch Grand National practice at the New Hampshire International Speedway, Kyle and Pattie Petty started a countrywide campaign to raise money to construct a camp for kids with life threatening illnesses. You may have seen television advertisements with many drivers pitching in to help Kyle from the likes of Bobby Labonte, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson to name just a few. Tony Stewart for instance, donated 1 million dollars to the Victory Junction Gang Camp to be located in Randleman, North Carolina. Kyle also conducts a Charity Ride across America each year to raise money for the camp and children’s hospitals. Riders start at Sonoma California after the Dodge/Save Mart 350 race at Infineon Raceway and ride to Daytona, Florida. Some riders follow Kyle a day or so, while others conclude the entire voyage. Since the inaugural ride in 1995, Kyle has logged more than 24,000 miles, involved more than 3,000 riders and raised over 3.5 million dollars.

Another camp created by the family of young prodigy driver Kenny Irwin Jr., is based in Indiana. Kenny Irwin Jr. lost his life in a crash also at the New Hampshire International Speedway during a Winston Cup practice in July 2000. His family set up the Kenny Irwin Jr. Memorial Fund to create a camp of underprivileged youth. Even after their death, drivers and crew members continue their selfless acts of kindness to others less fortunate than themselves.

Support your favorite driver, crew members, and NASCAR affiliates by donating your time or money to of these wonderful organizations such as Make-A-Wish Foundation and Habitat for Humanity. Check driver websites for listings of their respective charities. You can make a difference in other people’s lives.

Gentlemen, start speedweeks!! What a better way to start the racing season than a 24 hour endurance race around Daytona. The Rolex Sportscar Series will begin its season at the end of this month with its premiere event The Rolex 24 at Daytona. From Corvettes and Porsche to Daytona Prototypes the Rolex 24 is a fast growing venue for race fans. It was started in 1962 as the Daytona Continental and continues today in its 42nd anniversary featuring the Rolex Sports Car Series.

These days, the field of teams is a “who’s who” of even NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers. In 2001, the number 3 Chevrolet Corvette was piloted by Andy Pilgrim, Kelly Collins and the father-son NASCAR combination of Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jr., finished in fourth place. Along for the race was veteran Kyle Petty in Orbit Racing’s number 43 Porsche GT. This year is also packed full of fabulous Nextel Cup participants.

Unlike a 3 Doors Down video, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart will team up with Howard-Boss Motorsports in the number 2 Chevrolet Crawford Daytona Prototype. Road course king and frequent Nextel Cup drop-in Boris Said will also be present for the race in the number 21 BMW M3 GT Prototype. Returning to the field is Petty Enterprises CEO Kyle Petty for a run in the number 79 Daytona Prototype Porsche with actor Paul Newman and Gunnar Banette of Gunnar Racing. Petty prodigy Christian Fittipaldi will share driving duties also at the Daytona endurance race with Forest Barber, Andy Pilgrim, and Terry Borcheller in the number 54 Chevrolet Doran JE-4.

Newcomer Jimmie Johnson is excited about his opportunity to race in the number 4 Howard-Boss Motorsports Chevrolet Crawford Daytona Prototype with another road course king Butch Leitzinger. Scott Pruett, while not a rookie to the 24 hour race, will drive the number 1 Chip Ganassi Daytona Prototype sponsored by CompUSA with famed open wheel driver Max Papis.

What lures these Nextel Cup drivers to participate while also juggling testing duties and driver appearances? Could it be the cobwebs from winter needing to be brushed out so that concentration is at its peak? In some cases, it is the main race they are thinking about. As quoted from Jimmie Johnson “when I wake up each morning and think of race cars, I’ve been thinking of that race and nothing else. For me it’s a great way to work out all the rust out of my head and get all my hand and eye coordination working proper” (grandamerican.com).