OAKLAND, Maine – Green-White-Checker will make every appearance count in 2009.
In 12 years, Racing Against Cancer has raised more than $600,000 for the American Cancer Society. This year, the motorsports Web site www.GreenWhiteChecker.info is going to hold its own “Race Against Cancer” at tracks across New England and beyond in an effort to combat this horrific disease for which there still is no cure.
Green-White-Checker founder and editor Travis Barrett will donate $5 for every race day he attends in 2009. Last year, Barrett devoted a total of 75 calendar days to covering motorsports at all levels, and he is hopeful to eclipse that number in the coming season, beginning next week at Daytona International Speedway and New Smyrna Speedway in New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
“It’s not much, but I know that every little bit helps,” said Barrett, who founded Green-White-Checker in early 2008 and reaches an average of more than 3,000 readers daily. “We all know somebody who has been affected by cancer on some level, and I really feel like this fundraiser will give all those trips to the races this summer a little extra meaning.”
Four short tracks in northern New England have already agreed to participate in the fundraising efforts. Promoters at Oxford Plains Speedway, Thunder Road International Speedbowl, Unity Raceway and Wiscasset Raceway have all agreed to either match Barrett’s $5 per race pledge or make a flat donation at season’s end. More are welcome.
Race fans are also encouraged to seek Barrett out at events throughout 2009 to make their own donations to the event.
“We’re really excited to be joining forces with Green-White-Checker,” said Scott Gregory, the director of operations at Racing Against Cancer. “We’re happy that Travis approached us about the project, and we appreciate all the support out there.”
Racing Against Cancer was founded by Jon Blanchette in 1996, two years after he lost his wife, Jodi, to the disease. He got the ball rolling at his wife’s insistence before her passing.
“It was her dream to make something good come from all she went through,” Blanchette said in the fall of 2007.
For more information, visit www.GreenWhiteChecker.info or www.RacingAgainstCancer.com.