The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Comcast honors NASCAR champ for charity efforts
MIAMI — Fresh off winning the NASCAR Cup Series Championship auto race Nov. 18, Middletown native Joey Logano was chosen as the winner of the fourth annual Comcast Community Champion of the Year Award.
Comcast honored Logano during an event to kick off NASCAR Championship weekend in Miami Nov. 15. The award was established in 2015 to recognize NASCAR industry members for their philanthropic efforts, awarding $60,000 to the champion’s selected charity and $30,000 to the respective charities of the two remaining finalists, according to a press release.
“Looking back on this day, we’ll know that Comcast was a big piece in giving a lot of young kids the second chance in life that they need. It’s humbling to think about what this sport can do for you — it’s just the right thing to do to take that and carry it forward,” said Logano, who won NASCAR’s top prize at the HomesteadMiami Speedway, in Homestead, Fla.
Logano, who established the Joey Logano Foundation in 2013, was chosen by a panel of Comcast and NASCAR executives, as well as Mike Metcalf from the Chip Ganassi Racing Pit Crew Department, who received the award in 2017. Sonoma Raceway President Steve Page and NASCAR driver Ryan Newman were each awarded $30,000 toward the work they do with Speedway Children’s Charities Wildfire Relief Fund and Rescue Ranch, the release said.
Since its inception in 2013, the Joey Logano Foundation has invested more than $2.7 million to hundreds of organizations through a multitude of charitable programs. The foundation created the JL Kids Crew to help provide opportunities for children with serious illnesses to spend time at the race track and be part of the No. 22 race team, the release said.
The $60,000 donation from Comcast will be provided to the Joey Logano Foundation, and will support its efforts as the organization continues to provide aid to organizations that help children and young adults during times of crisis.
Through JLF’s Grant Funding Program, Logano’s foundation delivers grants to organizations dedicated to helping families that care for sick children, foster children and children of veterans.
“It is an honor to recognize Joey Logano as the 2018 Comcast Community Champion of the Year, as the work he does with the Joey Logano Foundation truly embodies the selfless and passionate spirit of giving back that this award represents,” Matt Lederer, executive director of partnership marketing at Comcast, said in a prepared statement.
During the course of the NASCAR season, the Joey Logano Foundation also brings Comfort Care Backpacks to multiple race markets and has donated over 600 backpacks filled with essentials to underprivileged, foster and terminally ill children, according to the group. The Joey Logano Foundation uses its platform during NASCAR’s Playoffs to aid 10 nonprofit organizations in 10 different NASCAR markets, via their Chasing Second Chances program, an effort to help racing communities prosper, the release said.
With this year’s contributions, Comcast has donated a total of $480,000 to charitable organizations in the NASCAR community through the Community Champion Award.