The 2024 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Scholarship winners — Trea’zur Cassidy and Hannah Kelsheimer — had a special moment during pre-race ceremonies for the Food City 300 on Friday. The two aspiring communications professionals were able to meet Earnhardt Jr. before he walked across the stage during driver introductions.
Cassidy, a senior at Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tenn., is interested in pursuing a career in communications, either in journalism, advertising or film production. She is currently involved at LXI, a Christ-centered after-school program for teens, and she also works part-time at Chuck E. Cheese restaurant. She recently participated in the Upward Bound program at East Tennessee State University.
Kelsheimer attends the University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH) where she is a motorsports marketing major. She is interested in pursuing a career in professional motorsports, working in social media or as a digital content creator for drivers, tracks or race sponsors.
Earnhardt started 13th and finished 7th in his No. 88 Hellmann’s Chevy Camaro in the Food City 300. It was the second-straight year that the NASCAR Hall of Famer competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at The World’s Fastest Half-Mile.
“I had a lot of fun out there tonight,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Just to still be able to run up front and compete with these young guys is special for me. I know one day I’m not going to be able to do that. These kids are just so good.”
Created by Bristol Motor Speedway in 2017 as a retirement gift to Earnhardt Jr., the annual scholarship awards the winning students a one-time payment of $2,088 to assist with all college costs including tuition, housing, books and supplies. Past winners of the BMS Dale Earnhardt Jr. Scholarship are Jaicee Weaver (2018) and Jace Ketron (2019), both of Tennessee High School in Bristol, Tenn., UNOH student Caleb James Cate (2021) from Knoxville, Tenn., John Clavier of Elizabethton High School and UNOH student Chloe Holman of Essex, Mo. (2022), and the 2023 winners were Jamie Sullivan of UNOH and Caleb Kent of Happy Valley High School in Watauga, Tenn.
In order to be eligible, students must be a senior at one of the 21 designated high schools or attending one of the eight designated colleges and universities in the Appalachian Highlands region surrounding Bristol Motor Speedway or a student at the speedway’s official partnering institution, UNOH in Lima, Ohio.
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