Paulie's Blog: Hanging out with the NFL in Pocono

This week was relatively low key. After getting home from Portland, Ore., I spent most of the week working with sponsors, foundations, and putting things together for 2010. However, I did get to have a lot of fun on Wednesday with some NFL players at Pocono Raceway!

I arrived home from Portland on Monday afternoon, so I spent most of that day working at a sluggish pace. Monday afternoon and Tuesday were almost entirely devoted to working ahead on my upcoming fall semesters and answering e-mails from the weekend. I was able to grab lunch with some good friends in New York on Tuesday and, unfortunately, got stuck in hellacious traffic on the way back.

On Wednesday morning I headed to Pocono Raceway, where NASCAR hosted an event for some New York and Philadelphia media members, as well as NFL players. The event allowed the media members and NFL players to actually get behind the wheel of a stock car. I spent the day giving driving tips and answering any questions that the media had. I also got to spend a lot of time with the NFL players -- David Akers of the Eagles, Kerry Rhodes of the Jets, and Amani Toomer of the Giants. David and Amani are both huge race fans and both have raced competitively in some form. We had plenty to talk about. Kerry, on the other hand, is a huge Duke fan!

• West: News, Results, Schedule

Thursday and Friday were spent working back on my laptop, but on a different project. As I move up the racing ladder, I have been working to find a specific cause to "make my own." Although I have always done whatever I could to help various foundations, I never have had one specific cause. I've been working for the past few weeks on researching causes and deciding which cause, in particular, I feel I can have the most impact with. I finally made that decision last week.

Abuse is something that I had to deal with directly throughout all of my childhood and teenage years, and something that I am very close to, so I have decided to dedicate all of my efforts to that cause. Making that decision is only the first step in actually making changes in the world, but it is certainly a big step in the right direction. Although I do not have the financial means to make any sort of large monetary donation, I can use my personal experiences and my position as a NASCAR driver to help abused children.

On Thursday and Friday, I researched a number of foundations that work with abused children; studying the mission of each one and the way in which they do their work. All of the foundations recognize that the first step towards getting a child out of an abusive situation is to help them identify the signs of abuse. Some support abuse education in a classroom setting, while others use online resources to reach children in need. From there, some foundations focus on offering children strategies for dealing with abuse, while others help children out of abusive situations. There was certainly a lot of information to process, but reading about all of the different ways that these children can get help was heartening.

As of right now, we have contacted a few different foundations seeking information. At the end of the day, I want to work with whatever foundation will offer me the opportunity to help the most children. I'll keep everyone updated as I go through this process. As I'm sure you can tell I'm extremely excited about this, as it will enable me to turn the hardships that I have been through into something that helps others.

Finally, we announced our first memorabilia winner through my Web site. Tom from North Carolina won a pair of my gloves, in addition to a personalized autograph card. Congratulations, Tom! If you haven't entered yet, visit PaulieHarraka.com to enter today!

This weekend was an off weekend for the Camping World West Series, so I was able to enjoy time in the pool and around town with my friends and family.

Have a great week!

Paulie Harraka, a native of Fairlawn, N.J., is a student at Duke University. He is a member of the Drive for Diversity program and races in the Camping World West Series for Bill McAnally Racing. Harraka won the 2008 track championship at All American Speedway.