CONCORD, N.C. – On the eve of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s last NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond, the sport’s most popular driver received a special gift from the Virginia racetrack.
Dennis Bickmeier, president of Richmond Raceway, announced a financial contribution to Blessings in a Backpack in Earnhardt’s name and donated money to the city’s local food bank, FeedMore.
Bickmeier then presented Earnhardt with a follow-up gift.
“I was thinking of what we can do to say thank you to Dale for all that he’s done,” Bickmeier said. “September 28 is national Blessings in a Backpack day, so our team will volunteer that day.”
Team members from Richmond Raceway will not only volunteer and fill 88 backpacks for 10 weeks in his name, they’ll be doing it in style.
“To further recognize Dale and our appreciation for him, we made these t-shirts with the appreciation logo on it and the Blessings in the Backpack and Richmond Raceway Cares logos.”
Earnhardt was then presented with something more particular to his career in the capital city of Virginia – a framed photo of the driver on the backstretch along with images of him in Victory Lane from his three NASCAR Cup Series wins at Richmond.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done,” Bickmeier said. “On behalf of the Richmond Raceway fans we really appreciate everything that you’ve done for the sport.”
Earnhardt was very appreciative of Richmond Raceway’s gifts and committed to working with Blessing in a Backpack for a long time to come.
“This track has always been kind of special to me,” Earnhardt said. “I really appreciate this. We’re going to continue to work through Blessings in a Backpack. We’ll certainly be learning about your program (FeedMore) as well through this connection. It means a lot to me.”