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Posted on July
23, 2007
Victory
Junction - This One’s For The Children
If you claim to be a
NASCAR fan and do not know what Victory
Junction is, then maybe you should turn
your television from SPEED to Days of
Our Lives because obviously you’re not a
real fan.
With Kyle Petty’s
Charity Ride coming to an end after
riding around 2,800 miles from Main to
Miami with the help of his wife and
other celebrities like supermodel (and
Mrs. Burney Lamar) Niki Taylor and
football hero Herschel Walker, I thought
looking back on the history and mission
of the camp itself would be appropriate.
The camp was started
by by Kyle and Patty Petty after the
death of their son Adam. The camp was
Adam’s vision and after he was
unfortunately killed in a practice crash
at New Hampshire International Speedway,
his parents worked hard so that his
vision would become a reality. With the
help of Paul Newman (yes, that Paul
Newman), Victory Junction Gang Camp was
born and finally opened on June 20,
2004.
The camp is located in
the Radleman, North Carolina on land
that was donated by Adam’s grandfather,
seven-time Cup Champion Richard Petty
and his wife, Linda. Children from all
over the southeast (some coming from all
parts of the country) come to the camp
year round. The camp’s purpose is to
make the lives of children with serious
illnesses and extreme chronic medical
conditions by helping them have a fun
time in a safe environment with medical
attention on site. At the camp, the
children can have fun and make friends
with other children who are battling the
same medical problems as themselves.
NASCAR drivers have
done tremendous work and made generous
donations to the camp. One of the most
stand out drivers that is involved in
the camp is Tony Stewart - who most
would not even think of as the
“charitable” kind. In fact, he’s one of
the most charitable. Besides donating
funds from this year’s Pay-Per-View
telecast of his “Prelude To The Dream”,
which totals are still being tallied
from, he has donated a million dollars
on two separate occasions (2006 and
2003). He has donated other amounts on
several occasions and is one of the
first drivers to become really involved
in the charity.
Plus, the camp
wouldn’t be a real NASCAR camp without
NASCAR themed attractions. There’s the
Michael Waltrip Operation Marathon
Sportscenter, Adam’s Race Shop, Bass Pro
Shops Catch, Kiss & Release Marina, Kyle
Petty Charity Ride Across America Water
Park, Home Depot Tree House, Tony
Stewart Maze, Jimmie Johnson’s Victory
Lanes. An actual superdome for indoor
sporting facilities began development in
2006 after a million dollar donation
from drive Kurt Busch.
The camp is free to
all campers and families but cost around
$1500 per camper. It runs off donations
from everybody which is where the
purpose of this article comes in.
As a believer of what
the Petty’s created with Victory
Junction Gang Camp, I am taking part in
Blogathon 2007 (http://www.blogathon.org)
where I will stay up for 24 hours,
blogging on my website (http://www.trackbunnyfilms.com).
The purpose of Blogathon is for bloggers
to get donations and sponsorship from
readers much like people do in cancer
walks and other charity events. The
money which is raised will be sent to
Victory Junction Gang Camp after the end
of Blogathon (which starts July 28 at
9 a.m. EST), sponsors will be sent an
email with a link of where they can go
send the money which means you don’t
have to send in your payment information
right now but you sign up and tell how
much you’re sponsoring me for.
You can click here (http://www.blogathon.org/pledge.php?blogid=359)
to sponsor me in Blogathon 2007 which
helps Victory Junction and all the
adorable children that the camp makes
happy throughout the year.
You can
contact Karah-Leigh at
karah@speedwaymedia.com
The opinions expressed
on this site are not necessarily those of the publisher. All
comments other than website related problems need to be directed to
the author. Copyright 2000-2007 SpeedwayMedia.com.
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