by John Wiedemann
8/12/2008 This Saturday, August 16, during the CARFAX 250 NASCAR Nationwide series race at Michigan International Speedway, the #20 Old Spice Car driven by Tony Stewart will have a new look as it races to help special children from around the world. Give Kids The World, the nonprofit organization that provides week-long, cost-free vacations to Central Florida for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families, will be honored with its very own “Give Kids The World Village” design.
Hoping to see Stewart in victory lane at Michigan will be 14-year-old Emily Marsala. The cancer survivor from Cincinnati penned the design of the special paint scheme featured on the No. 20 Old Spice Toyota this weekend at Michigan. Replacing the traditional candy apple red colors of primary sponsor Old Spice on Stewart’s signature No. 20 machine will be a kaleidoscope of colors. In celebration of this unique partnership, Give Kids The World is encouraging NASCAR fans everywhere to participate in a View-A-Thon ( www.firstgiving.com/gktwnascar ) to help raise $25,000, or $100 for every mile of the race.
Marsala, a Give Kids The World Wish Child in 2004 who has successfully battled cancer, provided the winning car design from more than 150 sketches, all of which came from current or former Wish Children of Give Kids The World. The winning entry won Marsala and her family an all-expense paid trip to the Nationwide Series race at Michigan, where they’ll meet Stewart and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team, ride with Stewart in the back of a pickup truck as he makes his parade lap around the track, all before hanging out in the pits and then watching the race from the air-conditioned comfort of a skybox suite. Stewart sees the new paint scheme as an advantage, “The car will give me some good camouflage during the race, because with a purple, blue, yellow and red race car that has a bunny rabbit on the hood, no one will know that it’s me getting ready to pass them.” Stewart, winner of five Nationwide Series races this season, will make his last Nationwide Series start of the year as well as his final Nationwide Series start for Joe Gibbs Racing. The 37-year-old from Columbus, Ind., moves into the role of driver/owner next year, as Stewart-Haas Racing becomes his new home.
Learn more about Give Kids The World at www.gktw.org