Patrick Hickey has been described as a cross between Florence Nightengale and Indiana Jones.
Strange, but true – and admirable.
Hickey is one of only 150 people to have scaled the tallest mountain on all seven of the world’s continents. He has done so to raise money for nursing scholarships, in response to a growing shortage in nurses.
His latest climb was to the top of Mt. Everest. When he reached the summit, Hickey planted the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series flag into the ground. Saturday, during pre-race ceremonies for the Bank of America 500, Hickey will present that flag to NASCAR President Mike Helton.
Hickey didn’t plan on taking NASCAR to the top of the world. As with so many things that go down in this sport, this one went up following a groundswell of fan reaction.
In his blog during 64 days on Everest, Hickey wrote that he could deal with the cold, isolation and constant danger. But he lamented being cut off from NASCAR. What was happening with Jeff Gordon, he wondered?
We’re talking a devoted fan here.
Soon, updates from total strangers started pouring in.
“All kinds of hits came in from so many NASCAR fans, giving race results, points updates, and news like Junior leaving DEI, ” Hickey said.
“Co-workers were amazed to learn I was a NASCAR fan, when I had no idea they were fans, too. Of course, the best part was hearing Jeff was doing so well. ”
Hickey noticed something else: NASCAR fans were giving generously to The Summit Scholarship he had created to support nursing students at the University of South Carolina.
The goal is to raise $29,035 – or a buck for every foot of altitude of Mt. Everest.
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