36 NASCAR drivers join Dale Jr.’s glove auction for Nationwide Children’s Hospital

When Dale Jr. puts out the call to NASCAR drivers to help support The Dale Jr. Foundation and Nationwide Children’s Hospital, they show up … by the dozens. During the Watkins Glen race weekend (Aug. 3-5), 32 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers and all four JR Motorsports NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers will participate in the 2018 Driven to Give Glove program. Drivers will wear skeleton driving gloves inspired by the ones Junior wore during races. Each pair of gloves will be autographed by both Dale Jr. and the driver wearing them and then auctioned off beginning Aug. 8, with proceeds benefiting the Dale and Amy Earnhardt Fund at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The fund supports the hospital’s efforts in pediatric injury rehabilitation, research and prevention. MORE: Bookmark the auction site | Dale and Amy Earnhardt Fund “We’ve done a lot with the Gloves program through the years at The Dale Jr. Foundation, but this year we wanted to open it up to more people,” said Earnhardt Jr. of the program. “To have 32 of my former competitors and all four of our JR Motorsports’ drivers sign on to this to help the Nationwide Children’s Hospital continue the life-saving work they do there is impressive, and I can’t thank them all enough. Nationwide Children’s Hospital is a huge part of the work we do at The Dale Jr. Foundation.” In 2016, the Dale & Amy Earnhardt Activity Room on the hospital’s rehabilitation floor was dedicated to the driver and his wife in recognition of their wedding, and they created the Dale & Amy Earnhardt Fund in November of 2017 as a way to extend that relationship beyond Junior’s retirement from driving. They acknowledged their commitment to the Fund with an $88,888 initial donation made by The Dale Jr Foundation, commemorating Dale’s years driving the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports car with Nationwide as a sponsor. Nationwide will be on the No 88 car again at Watkins Glen, with Alex Bowman driving a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet featuring a butterfly-themed special Nationwide Children’s Hospital paint scheme. Patient Champion Ashyzla Jackson was at Hendrick Motorsports for the unveiling of the paint scheme. Patient Champions help tell the story of the work the hospital does for children. MORE: See the special No. 88 look for Watkins Glen The Driven to Give Glove program started in 2014 and has raised more than $100,000 to support the work of Dale Jr. Foundation. During the previous two years, the glove program was focused on Nationwide Children’s Hospital and highlighting [caption id="attachment_130400" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo credit: Hendrick Motorsports[/caption] Patient Champions from the hospital with glove colors that matched the causes and illnesses of those patients. Bowman has history with Nationwide Children’s Hospital as well. He was the first driver to pilot a car with a special paint scheme for the hospital, at the Xfinity Series’ 2013 race at Watkins Glen. When he’s back behind the wheel with the hospital on board, Nationwide Children’s Hospital Patient Championship Bricen Thall will be on hand at Watkins Glen with his family. Bricen’s name will also be featured above the passenger window of the car. RELATED: Dale Jr. finds, gives comfort in Nationwide Children's Hospital Bricen and his family are from Winfield, New York, and he was born with a condition named Hirschsprung’s Disease. He’s now five but had his first of many surgeries at just one week old. After several surgeries over the first two years of his life, Bricen was referred to the Center for Colorectal and Pelvic Reconstruction at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. His care there has set him on a path that for the first time didn’t involve a surgery for a whole year. “Nationwide Children’s has a very special place in our hearts for everything they have done for Bricen,” said his mother, Colby Thall. “They have given him a better quality of life and the chance to experience all that a 5-year-old should.” Drivers who are participating in the Driven go Give Glove program are: Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger , Aric Almirola, Michael Annett, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Clint Bowyer, Chris Buescher, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Landon Cassill, Matt DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Erik Jones, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Michael McDowell, Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard, Ryan Newman, David Ragan, Tyler Reddick, Elliott Sadler, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Daniel Suarez, Martin Truex Jr. and Bubba Wallace.