NASCAR champion Tony Stewart’s first job out of high school 20 years ago was washing cars near his home in Indiana.
On a warm Thursday afternoon, Stewart put his car-washing experience to good use at Henderson’s Coronado High School. The event was a racer’s triple crown: He promoted a sponsor, met with fans and raised money for a good cause.
Stewart’s foundation has raised several million dollars over the past few years. Other drivers also capitalize on their fame to help needy causes.
“When you become part of the NASCAR family you realize how much everyone in NASCAR cares about the communities where we race,” Stewart, 37, said during a break between washing a Toyota and a giant truck that appeared to have been rolled in mud.
“Things like this show everyone we’re real people—that we don’t mind getting wet or dirty,” he added, with pant legs soaked to mid-calf.
Stewart wasn’t the only star racer devoting part of Thursday to meeting fans, helping others and promoting this weekend’s racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which begins at noon today with practice and qualifying for the Shelby 427:
Greg Biffle and Elliott Sadler were among racers in the Sprint Cup series in the evening at Sam’s Town Live to raise money for the Las Vegas chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities with the 11th annual NASCAR Driver Auction. More than $100,000 was raised a year ago.
Las Vegas native Kurt Busch, the 2004 Sprint Cup champion, hosted peers Jamie McMurray, Sam Hornish Jr., David Stremme, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Biffle in the “Sprint for the Kids” fundraiser for the Kurt Busch Foundation.
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