Lionel NASCAR Collectables donates $125k:

Friday at Richmond International Raceway, NASCAR drivers David Gilliland, Danica Patrick, Greg Biffle, Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. joined Howard Hitchcock, Vice President of Lionel NASCAR Collectables (LNC), to present a $125 thousand check to Mary Siller Scullin, Vice Chairman of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and sister of fallen FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller. Scullin was joined by U.S. Army Specialist Brendan Marrocco and U.S.M.C. Corporal Todd Nicely. Marrocco and Nicely are the first two Americans to survive the loss of both arms and both legs in combat. The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation has earmarked this donation to be used for the construction of a customized “smart home” for Nicely. The construction of Marrocco’s smart home was finished in June.
The check is the first installment of the proceeds from LNC’s “Honoring Our Heroes” die-cast program. A total of eight drivers will run special “Honoring Our Heroes” cars at Richmond this weekend. Each car takes the track in honor of those who lost their lives in the attacks of September 11, 2001 and also our nation’s military heroes. This donation also includes proceeds from die-cast sales of John Force’s Castrol GTX High Mileage/Honoring Our Heroes Ford Mustang Funny Car which will race at Charlotte’s zMAX Dragway on Sept. 16-18.
After the check presentation, Scullin presented a small piece of metal debris from the World Trade Center to each driver in attendance. Every piece is stamped with “W.T.C. 9/11 Never Forget” and the number “343” in honor of the 343 firefighters who died on Sept. 11, 2001. Each team’s crew has agreed to guard the metal in their pit box on race day.
Friday night, Danica Patrick, Carl Edwards, Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. raced “Honoring Our Heroes” cars in the Nationwide Series race. #34-David Gilliland, #16-Greg Biffle, #14-Tony Stewart and #1-Jamie McMurray will race “Honoring Our Heroes” cars in Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup series race.
[See images of the schemes on the #34 Team Schemes page, #14 Team Schemes page, #16 Team Schemes page and #1 Team Schemes page]. Following the events at Richmond and Charlotte, Lionel NASCAR Collectables will take part in the 2011 Tunnel to Towers Run on Sept. 25. Tunnel to Towers is an annual run in Manhattan hosted by the Foundation in which thousands of runners and walkers retrace the steps of Stephen Siller, an FDNY firefighter who ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001, carrying 75 pounds of gear on his back, to rescue his fellow New Yorkers. This year for the first time, Tunnel to Towers Runs will be held in cities nationwide as a way to mark the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001. Danica Patrick’s #7 GoDaddy.com/GetYour.Net Chevrolet and the #10 Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Show Car will be on display at the run. Lionel NASCAR Collectables is also the title sponsor of the Charlotte Tunnel to Towers run which will start at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 10 on Hamilton Street in downtown Charlotte. A group of LNC staffers will run and be on hand to share information about the Honoring Our Heroes program. Patrick’s #7 GoDaddy.com/GetYour.Net Chevrolet will also be on display.(Lionel NASCAR Collectables)(9-10-2011)