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Due to the overwhelming need for continued support of the N.C. mountain areas devastated by Hurricane Helene, Charlotte Motor Speedway will continue to take relief donations each Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. through the month of October. Collections will take place in the Silver Parking Lot directly across from the speedway’s main entrance (6558 Bruton Smith Blvd, Concord, N.C.).
In a powerful display of community and compassion, NASCAR and area race teams joined Charlotte Motor Speedway this week for a two-day Hurricane Relief Drive on Oct. 2-3, collecting essential items to support North Carolina mountain communities devastated by Hurricane Helene.
“The true heroes have been all the people and organizations that brought truckload after truckload of items to donate,” said Charlotte Motor Speedway President and General Manager Greg Walter. “Our Charlotte Motor Speedway staff was joined by teammates from our sister companies, NASCAR, area race teams and members of the community to help people who have literally lost everything. This has been an overwhelmingly positive response from fans and people in the community, and it’s a powerful reminder of what can happen when we all work together. We’re taking six more tractor-trailer loads of donations to North Wilkesboro Speedway today for distribution to people who really need it, to people who need hope.”
The two-day initiative at CMS mobilized more than 200 volunteers from Charlotte Motor Speedway, NASCAR, NASCAR Productions, Hendrick Motorsports, Hendrick Automotive, Speedway Children’s Charities, Performance Racing Network and other companies to unload and sort donations. People from across North Carolina and states as far away as Maryland and Ohio arrived at the speedway Wednesday and Thursday with donations of bottled water, canned foods, dry goods, adult and baby hygiene items, first-aid and camping gear, pet supplies and much more. More than 400 pallets of donated items have been transported to North Wilkesboro Speedway for further distribution to North Carolina mountain areas in need. Tractor-trailers and cargo vans provided by SMI Properties, Hendrick Motorsports, Hendrick Automotive, Toyota Racing, NASCAR, ARCA Menard Series and Racing Electronics transported the donations.
“We are a sport that comes together to help and serve our racing communities, and Charlotte Motor Speedway and Speedway Motorsports have been great partners in offering up their facilities to make something like this possible,” said NASCAR Managing Director of Impact Strategy and Development Pete Stuart. “It has been an unbelievable effort by the industry and people in the Charlotte community – the turnout far exceeded our expectations, and it’s wonderful to see so many people rally around initiatives like this to help those affected by the devastation of Hurricane Helene.”
NWS is hosting a relief drive through this Sunday, Oct. 6, and so far, people as far away as Georgia and Florida have arrived with donated items. Wilkes County EMS officials are working with speedway staff to coordinate distribution to people in need across multiple mountain counties.
The relief efforts this week have been fueled by the unwavering support of the regional community and various organizations that have donated volunteers, equipment, relief items and supplies:
“This is one of the reasons why this is the most amazing country in the world. Look at all the support from all the community, from all the people who just wanted to help,” said Trackhouse Racing driver Daniel Suarez as he and his wife, Julia, dropped off donations Wednesday. “It’s one of those things where it’s a shame that it happened, and I’m very very sad for many many people but with that being said, we have their backs and we’re supporting as much as possible. This is just the beginning. A little is going to help a lot, we’re going to be able to pull the community back because unfortunately, they’ve lost a lot.”
Those interested in further opportunities to assist the mountain regions, visit www.SamaritansPurse.org
— Charlotte Motor Speedway —
