NASCAR Talk

NASCAR drivers and their team sponsors are known for their charitable acts ranging from Kyle Petty’s Victory Junction Gang Camp to Greg Biffle’s Animal Charities. The California wildfires have caused the need for charity and help from across the country, so of course some of NASCAR’s big names are doing their part to help the victims of the terrible fires.

Native Californian Jimmie Johnson not only won the race in Atlanta this past weekend, he donated those winnings to the Southern California Red Cross to help with the recovery from the devastating wildfires that ripped across the state. The #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team took home a total of $343,861 in winnings from Atlanta. Every penny of that paycheck will be presented to the Red Cross in a special ceremony in Texas before this weekend’s race by Jimmie Johnson himself. The team’s title sponsor Lowe’s has vowed to match that amount and also raised an additional $10,000 from its employees nationwide. Burton Smith, CEO of Sonic Automotive also pledged to match that amount, bringing the total to over $1 million for the Red Cross and its disaster relief in Southern California.

Johnson isn’t the only NASCAR related person to make donations to aid in the fire relief. The First Family of NASCAR, the France Family, has joined together with the California Speedway to donate more than $250,000 to the cause. Also, the food and beverage provider company at California Speedway has been delivering several pallets of drinks such as water and Gatorade to firefighters in the area. The Speedway also has a list of needed items on their website and is urging people to donate what they can to help.

NASCAR, NASCAR charities, Jimmie Johnson