NASCAR Hall of Famer, Davey Allison, will be honored at Talladega SuperSpeedway for his amazing gift of life, that helped four recipients live over 46 years, cumulatively. Davey, a beloved Alabama native, has always been remembered as a great man, husband, father, and tremendously gifted driver behind the wheel. Many are not aware that Davey’s organs were donated, when his own life ended tragically, after the helicopter he was piloting crashed into Talladega SuperSpeedway, in July of 1993.
Joey Gase will be taking the wheel of the number 28 RegisterMe.org/28 Ford in both the NASCAR XFINITY Series and the NASCAR Cup Series races on April 24 and April 25 at Talladega SuperSpeedway, to honor Davey and to increase awareness of Organ Donation. April is National Donate Life Month, an opportunity to encourage people to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to honor those that saved lives through the gift of donation, like Davey Allison.
“When Davey passed, his family knew if he could no longer continue his life, he would want to do whatever he could to help others continue theirs,” said Gase. “I want to show he was a hero both during his lifetime and after. As some know, my mom was an organ donor as well. It has become a mission of mine these last 10 years to keep her legacy alive by honoring donors and donor families and to help raise awareness for organ donation. There are currently over 110,000 people on the wait list nationwide for organ transplants. When I found out Davey was a donor, I thought it would be incredibly special to be able to honor him and his family at Talladega. It will be 28 years in July since Davey passed away.”
Gase reached out to Davey’s widow, Liz, for her blessing to both run the number 28 and to honor Davey as a Donor Hero. Not only did he receive her blessing, but she also wanted to be involved and help get the word out about organ donation!
“I am very honored and proud for Davey to be remembered in this way, especially at our home track,” said Liz. “Davey loved racing at Talladega and always loved to hear the fans cheering for him, as the hometown favorite. Having Joey bring back the 28 and Davey’s 1993 Paint scheme will be special for so many of us. Davey would want the focus to be on Donor Awareness. A big part of Davey’s legacy is being a Donor Hero. We will be cheering Joey on and hoping to see that 28 and those familiar colors in Victory Lane one more time.”
Joey wants to give a huge thank you to Liz and NASCAR for allowing him to honor Davey in this way and wants to thank Legacy of Hope, LOPA, MORA, Advancing Sight Network, Eternal Fan, The Legacy Charitable Fund, Medical Transport of Alabama, and Talladega Pit Stop for making it all possible! Please make sure to register to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor in Davey’s honor at RegisterMe.org/28!
About Legacy of Hope: Legacy of Hope is Alabama’s federally designated, non-profit organ procurement organization that coordinates organ and tissue donation for transplant and research. Founded in 1979, Legacy of Hope is a mission-driven organization that builds broad-reaching alliances to educate people about the importance of organ and tissue donation, and inspire them to become donors. Visit LegacyofHope.org.
ABOUT LOPA: LOPA is Louisiana’s federally designated Organ Procurement Organization. Its two main objectives are housing and maintaining the Louisiana Donor Registry and recovering organs and tissue for transplant. LOPA partners with Louisiana eye banks and hospitals to broaden the impact of their Core Purpose of Making Life Happen
About MORA: More than 1,400 Mississippians are currently on the waiting list for a lifesaving transplant. One organ donor can save eight lives and one tissue donor can save or improve the lives of 75 recipients or more. Register as an organ, eye, and tissue donor at msora.org.
About Advancing Sight Network: Advancing Sight Network is a federally regulated, licensed, and accredited 501-C3 not-for-profit organization. Our headquarters are based in Birmingham and we have regional offices in Huntsville, Montgomery, Mobile, and partnered with Midsouth Eye Bank in Memphis, Tennessee and Mississippi Lions Eye Bank in Flowood, Mississippi.. Our mission is about the restoration of sight, through the timely recovery, excellent processing, and efficient distribution of the highest quality eye tissue for transplantation, ophthalmic research, and training. We are honored to have a strong history of being one of the top eye banks in the United States and continue to strive towards excellence to bring vision to as many as we can.
About Eternal Fan: Eternal Fan was created to provide a better way for fans to celebrate the passion that they have for sports and the places where they experienced positive shared memories. Eternal Fan’s customized Fan Memories programs are transforming traditions by creating legacies for people to celebrate their sporting lives for generations to come. Fan Memories Programs are currently available at Richmond Raceway as well as an ever-increasing discussion on other venues.
About The Legacy Charitable Fund: The Legacy Charitable Fund was founded in 2014 with the purpose of providing donors maximum flexibility with their philanthropic desires. The Legacy Charitable Fund offers many of the advantages that are important to donors – investment growth, when to donate, how much to donate, and where to donate – and all of this can be done with a single contribution to The Legacy Charitable Fund. The Legacy Charitable Fund is an IRS approved non-profit 501(c)(3) donor advised fund.
Joey Gase Racing PR
