The NASCAR Foundation announced today that actor/musician Kevin Costner will serve as the 2009 NASCAR Day spokesperson. Celebrated on May 15, NASCAR Day is an opportunity for fans, corporations, schools and organizations across the country to make donations to The NASCAR Foundation to raise funds for its Family of Charities in an effort to help thousands of children live better lives.
Costner will appear in print, radio and television advertising to promote the industry’s charitable initiative. Past celebrity supporters for NASCAR Day include Will Ferrell, Kelly Clarkson, Garth Brooks and several NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers.
Costner recently announced a year-long partnership with NASCAR that includes an appearance in a NASCAR Day commercial with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Petty that debuts at the Daytona 500; narration of the CMT documentary The Ride of Their Lives; the NASCAR film and music video debut of Backyard, the newest single by Costner’s band Modern West on NASCAR.COM that also serves as the theme song for the NASCAR Day campaign this year.
“We are thrilled to have Kevin be the spokesperson for our NASCAR Day efforts,” said Betty Jane France, chairwoman of The NASCAR Foundation. “Kevin has been welcomed into the NASCAR family over the last year with the number of events he has participated in and he will be a great ambassador for NASCAR Day and The NASCAR Foundation.”
“Having long been a NASCAR fan, it’s a great honor to serve as this year’s NASCAR Day spokesperson,” said Kevin Costner. “Through this event, NASCAR fans can make a difference in their own backyard and just as the theme of this year’s event states – help those in need to chase their own dreams.”
In 2008, The NASCAR Foundation donated nearly $1.3 million to more than 50 organizations from funds raised during NASCAR Day. Highlighting those donations were: $450,000 to Victory Junction helping send 180 kids to camp free of charge; $250,000 to Speediatrics, motorsports-themed pediatric units at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Fla. and Homestead Hospital in Homestead, Fla. that see more than 13,000 pediatric patients a year, and through the campaign, The Home Depot helped raise $400,000 for The NASCAR Foundation last year with a portion of those funds being used to build four playgrounds in race communities across the country.
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