fundraising to fulfill his dream of building a quarter-midget
track to give local kids a place to race, received the first
quarter nomination for the NASCAR True Value Man of the Year
Award. The award is designed to honor a driver not only
for his accomplishments on the track, but for his community
service contributions and charitable efforts.The inspiration for this project was Mark's nine-year-old son Matt, who began racing a quarter-midget in 1999 near Orlando, Fla. Mark saw the need to have a track closer to home for many of the local kids.
"I started this project along with Robert Hart, owner of the New Smyrna track and several of our friends in the community to help kids in the area be able to have a place to race," said Mark, driver of the No. 6 ViagraŽ (sildenafil citrate) Taurus. "We wanted to provide kids in our area the opportunity to get a start in racing."
Mark worked on this summer-long project in 2000 and watched as his dream became a reality with the grand opening of the track in February. With support from several fellow NASCAR Winston Cup drivers, Mark unveiled the New Smyrna Quarter-Midget Raceway.
For the purpose of determining the NASCAR True Value Man of the Year Award winner, the season has been divided into four quarters in which drivers are nominated for their off-track efforts. An elite group of panelists will select one of the four quarterly finalists to win the award, which will be presented at the NASCAR Winston Cup banquet in New York City, along with a prize of $100,000. The prize will be divided evenly between the driver and the charity of his choice.
