FORT WORTH, Texas (Oct. 10, 2024) – The 14th Tony Stewart’s Smoke Show fundraiser benefiting Speedway Children’s Charities-Texas Chapter raised $78,000 for children in need in North Texas but the biggest smile the three-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion put on anyone’s face at Texas Motor Speedway on Oct. 9 was on that of a 99-year-old true American hero.
Fort Worth resident and WWII Battle of Iwo Jima survivor Don Graves sang the national anthem to open the fundraising event, where 16 participants experienced the thrill of riding with Stewart at near-race speeds and also getting behind the wheel themselves.
The United States Marine Corps veteran was then helped into the passenger seat of a Team Texas David Starr’s Racing School NASCAR stock car to take three laps at speed with Stewart behind the wheel. The smile on his face as the race car came to a stop on pit road was priceless.
“I was scared at first, I’ll be honest,” said Graves. “I’ve never done that before. After we got going, I watched him shift, downshift, everything, I said ‘Heck, this guy knows what he’s doing. But I gotta tell you, I enjoyed it. I really did. Next year, I’m ready to go again!”
There was a big smile on Stewart’s face as well.
“It was a little nerve-wracking,” said Stewart, who earned Texas Motor Speedway NASCAR Cup Series victories in 2005 and 2011. “I haven’t been in a stock car for a year and then find out your very first ride is a war hero. Definitely wanted to make a good impression on him. The biggest thing I was really nervous about wasn’t crashing the car with him in there. It was getting done with the ride and him going ‘I don’t think you gave me a hundred percent.’
You know, military guys are big on that. They want you to give your all so we made sure we gave him a good ride. It was such an honor to meet someone like him and hear him sing the national anthem for everybody.”
I love the fact that we get to bring race fans that truly don’t understand what it’s like to be a NASCAR driver and you get to bring them to an event that raises a lot of money for Speedway Children’s Charities-Texas and gives that window into what it’s like to be a driver for a day. The most fun part of it for me, just having that one-on-one time, even though it’s a short amount of time, to hear them talk about what they just experienced is worth it all to me.”
Tony Stewart’s Smoke Show has raised more than $2 million since the inaugural event in 2008. Speedway Children's Charities will grant all funds raised throughout 2024 to non-profit organizations that serve children in need in Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant counties.
“That was a memory that tops probably any Smoke Show memory that I’ve ever experienced,” said Speedway Children’s Charities-Texas Chapter Executive Director Marissa Chaney. “So many people come to this event in order to meet Tony so watching him give a ride to a true American hero, someone we all respect so much, was something no one here will ever forget. It was emotional seeing Don’s face once he got out of the car. It was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen at a Tony Stewart Smoke Show.
“Today’s event was just amazing. We had 16 participants, most of whom were new to the program and had never had this experience before so it was really cool to see them walk into the locker room for the first time to have this experience together.”
Team Texas David Starr’s Racing School, owned and operated by veteran NASCAR driver and Houston native David Starr, provided and prepared the former NASCAR race cars adorned in NASCAR paint schemes from the recent past.
SCC-TX distributes grants each December to local nonprofit organizations in the region. In 2023, 22 grants totaling $210,180 were distributed to help more than 20,000 children in need in Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant counties. Since 1997, Speedway Children’s Charities Texas Chapter has distributed more than $12 million.
For more information at Speedway Children's Charities-Texas Chapter or to donate, go to www.speedwaycharities.org/texas or contact Marissa Chaney, Executive Director, at 817.215.8564 or [email protected]
