Richard Petty’s race cars have always run well at Martinsville Speedway. In fact, his cars have won more races on the half-mile oval than any other team. But it was a third-place finish by one of Petty’s race cars at Martinsville Speedway on October 22 that made big winners out of youngsters in Martinsville and Henry County. Bobby Labonte, who now drives Petty’s familiar #43 Dodge, finished third in the Subway 500 Nextel Cup race that afternoon, completing all 500 laps. That was the best run in several years at Martinsville for both Labonte and Petty Enterprises. And it couldn’t have come at a better time for reading programs in Martinsville and Henry County. Last fall Cheerios, Labonte’s sponsor, and nonprofit organization First Book created “Race to Books,” an initiative to donate 43 books for every lap Labonte completed during the final 10 races of the 2006 season. By completing all 500 laps in the Subway 500, 21,500 children’s books have been contributed to the United Way of Martinsville and Henry County by Cheerios and First Book. The books will be distributed by Success By 6, an early childhood program. Some of the books have also been given to the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club to use with their children’s programs. The “Race For Books” projects raised a total of 126,893 books during the final 10 weeks of the 2006 Nextel Cup season.(Martinsville Speedway PR)(1-19-2007)
