Hendrick Motorsports driver, employee veterans honor military
Photo credit: D. Jonathan W. Hutchings
RELATED: Track your picks in the Perfect Chase Grid Challenge and Chase Battle Grid Presented by Toyota
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kasey Kahne took a break from the pressure of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup on Tuesday and helped Bank of America employee veterans frame a Habitat for Humanity house at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver participated in the build as part of the "Express Your Thanks" campaign to honor and thank members of the military. Bank employees who served in the armed forces took part to meet a goal of providing affordable housing in Charlotte, home of Bank of America's headquarters.
Habitat Charlotte buyer and soon-to-be first-time homeowner Samantha Ka will move into the house upon completion. She worked side-by-side with Kahne and volunteers, including Bank of America Charlotte and North Carolina market president Charles Bowman. The mother of two will continue to put in sweat equity hours, which began with Tuesday's one-day frame build.
The bank's "Express Your Thanks" campaign is in its third year, raising $1.4 million since 2012 with a gold of reaching an additional $1 million by Veterans Day on Nov. 11. Funds raised support military non-profit organizations that transition servicemen and women to civilian life.
After finishing 22nd in the first race of the Contender Round last Sunday at Kansas Speedway, Kahne finds himself ninth in the Chase standings as the series returns to Charlotte for the Bank of America 500 (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) before heading to Talladega Superspeedway for the final race of this round. After Talladega, the top eight drivers advance to the Eliminator Round.
"You have these two races that mean so much and then the third one is do-or-die," Kahne told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. " ... Pretty much four times it'll be like that in 10 races. It's really intense. It feels like there's so much more on the line with seven races to go, six races to go, four races to go."
Kahne will seek his second win of the season and fourth at Charlotte to automatically advance to the next round. He has an 11.5 average finish at the track with nine top-fives and 12 top-10s in 21 career starts.
"It feels like you're just about racing for a championship already, and I don't know exactly how that feels because I haven't raced for a Sprint Cup championship," Kahne said. "But it just seems like there's way more pressure all the way until you hit Homestead."
MORE:
READ: Latest
|
PLAY: Monitor your Chase Grid Game picks
|
WATCH: Latest
|
FOLLOW LIVE: Get
|
|---|