Schrader named 3rd Quarter True Value Person of the Year: For his unselfish and continuing work in aiding charities, Ken Schrader has been named the third quarter recipient of NASCAR’s True Value Person of the Year. True Value, the Official Hardware Store of NASCAR, sponsors the award, which is designed to honor NASCAR drivers for their community service contributions and charitable efforts. For more than nine months, Schrader organized a special charity event at I-55 Raceway, a 3/8ths-mile dirt track in Pevely, Mo. His efforts became reality July 31 when he hosted the M&M’s Night of Stars, a celebrity autograph signing and 10-lap charity race to benefit Kyle and Pattie Petty’s Victory Junction Gang Camp, a special camp for children with health-care needs. Along with Schrader, the all-star cast of drivers who took part in the two-hour autograph session and 10-lap shootout on the dirt track were Petty, Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Johnny Benson, Steve Park and Mike Wallace. More than 10,000 fans from 28 states and Canada attended the event, which raised more than $112,000 for the Victory Junction Gang Camp. For the purpose of determining the NASCAR True Value Person of the Year Award, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series season has been divided into four quarters in which drivers are nominated for their off-track charitable efforts. Ricky Craven was the first-quarter winner and Jeff Gordon was the second-quarter recipient. An elite group of panelists will select one of the quarterly winners as the True Value Person of the Year. The award and a prize of $100,000 will be presented Dec. 6 in New York City at the NMPA Myers Brothers Breakfast, which is part of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series awards weekend. The money will be divided evenly between the driver and the charity of their choice. In addition to the NASCAR True Value Person of the Year, True Value sponsors the Driver of the Race Award, which is given to the eligible driver who wins a NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship event during the 36-race season. Each True Value Driver of the Race Award winner receives $2,500 with an additional $2,500 going to the charity of their choice.(NASCAR PR)(9-23-2002)
