One year ago at Dover International Speedway, Jamie McMurray led 95 of the race’s closing 98 laps, only to be passed by teammate Matt Kenseth with three laps remaining. McMurray went on to finish with a season-best second place. This year, McMurray and the No. 26 Crown Royal Ford Fusion hope to be leading when the checker flag drops on the Autism Speaks 400. McMurray, who has been one of the most vocal spokesmen for autism awareness in the sport of NASCAR, hopes to bring a lot more attention to the cause this weekend with a new autism-themed paint scheme, firesuit, helmet and gloves.
“I went to Crown Royal a few weeks ago and asked them how I can do more in support of the Autism Speaks 400,” said McMurray. “I had the idea of wearing a different firesuit and helmet in the race and then auctioning them off after and have all of the funds go towards the Jamie McMurray Foundation, which supports autism research, education and families afflicted with autism. Needless to say, Crown Royal was very supportive and backed us completely.”
Crown Royal even went further and changed the look of the No. 26 Ford Fusion for this weekend’s race at Dover International Speedway. The sides, front and rear of the No. 26 Crown Royal Ford Fusion will be outfitted with the well-known autism puzzle piece design.
“We know how important this race is to Jamie, so we wanted to go the extra mile to help out,” said Jim Lorenz, senior brand manager, Crown Royal. “When we first started working with Jamie, it was clear how much passion he has for this cause and we want to do our part to join in the effort to raise money and awareness. After we found out the race would be entitled the Autism Speaks 400, we wanted to help Jamie in any way we could.”
Along with the special paint scheme on the No. 26 Ford Fusion, McMurray will also don a new firesuit, helmet and gloves - all of which will be outfitted with the Autism puzzle piece design. Following the race, all of these special items will be auctioned off on Speed Channel’s website (www.speedtv.com) with the proceeds going to benefit the Jamie McMurray Foundation.
[Roush Fenway Racing]
Bookmark to:
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- McMurray signs up for Autism awareness
- 2007 Crown Royal paint scheme to debut at Homestead
- Stremme to feature Halo 3 scheme at Dover
- Elliott Sadler to auction race helmet for charity
Nice going Jamie… I commend you for wanting to do something to help these children…
Jamies a good guy. I applaud all the charity work that the nascar drivers and teams do. It is one of the best parts of our sport.
this hits really close to home for jamie because as some people may or may not know his niece (i think who it is) suffers from autism and being his hometown of joplin mo is only 13 miles north of where i live i know how much he supports this cause and so i just wanna say THIS IS REALLY COOL for crown royal to help out this much
way to go jamie !!!!