Waltrip, Truex Award Cars To Military Families

Michael Waltrip and Martin Truex Jr. are best known for racing Toyotas at high speeds in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. At Kansas Speedway this weekend, Waltrip and Truex will be giving away passenger cars to deserving military families.

The Michael Waltrip Racing drivers will join the Cars 4 Heroes program to give away at least 18 cars to deserving families in need. The six-year-old, non-profit organization has helped thousands of military families across the country obtain transportation.

Waltrip will visit the NAPA AUTO PARTS/Joplin Automotive Supply at 731 West 7th Street in Joplin, Mo., Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to present cars to the families. “I’m lucky to have the opportunities that I’ve had in my life because of military families who sacrifice their own lives or time spent with loved ones for our freedom,” said the two-time Daytona 500 champion. “This is our opportunity to give back to those families. We know times are tough and these military families deserve a helping hand.”

Truex will join Waltrip Sunday, when they and sponsor NAPA Auto Parts surprise a family with keys to a Toyota Avalon at the NAPA Race Day Experience at Kansas Speedway. “Doing these kind of things is really cool, just to see the look in their eyes when you hand them the keys,” said Truex. “With NAPA, we get to do projects like this that really do make a difference. These people deserve all the support we can give them and it’s an honor to help out.”

Molle Toyota of Kansas City donated the car Truex and Waltrip will give away Sunday. NAPA and 25 of its NAPA AutoCare centers in the Kansas City area fitted all the cars with new NAPA parts to out them in top running condition.