Carson-Newman NASCAR event helps benefit Boys and Girls Club

^{Racing Legend Darrell Waltrip and C-N President Randall O’Brien share a laugh outside Stokely Memorial Cafeteria. The two joined campus guests in checking out the No. 35 Carson-Newman University Sprint Cup car of Josh Wise.}

Over 250 race fans gathered at Carson-Newman University on Aug. 20 to hear racing legend Darrell Waltrip and other NASCAR drivers swap stories, sign autographs, and raise over $50,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of Dumplin Valley.

Along with Waltrip, the evening featured Front Row Motorsports drivers David Gilliland, David Ragan, and Josh Wise, as well as driver Michael McDowell. The guest celebrities met with guests at a special VIP event and dinner before gathering for a Celebrity Roast in the University’s Stokely Memorial Cafeteria.

“It was a wonderful night for the Boys and Girls Club,” said Dr. Danny Nicholson, C-N vice president for Advancement and board member of the Boys and Girls Club. “For a legendary racer like DW and these other incredibly humble drivers to take time out of there busy schedules for a benefit like this, well it truly goes beyond the call of duty.”

Along with meeting the drivers, guests had the opportunity to take part in a silent auction of sports items that included everything from a Darrell Waltrip signed racing helmet, and Bristol Motor Speedway tickets, to a Peyton Manning signed football, and a baseball autographed by former Braves pitcher Greg Maddux. Proceeds benefited the Boys and Girls Club.

Guests also had the opportunity to view the No. 35 Carson-Newman Ford Fusion, which will be driven by Front Row Motorsports’ Josh Wise in Saturday’s Bristol Night Race.

The Aug. 24 Sprint Cup race will air live on ABC at 7:30 p.m.

VIDEO: See the No. 35 Carson-Newman Ford Fusion being prepared for the high banks of Bristol.