SPARTA, KY – Prior to Saturday night's at Kentucky Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. received a special award.
It was the 2015 ChalleNGe Champion Award from the National Guard Youth Foundation.
“Dale has donated countless hours of personal time with ChalleNGe cadets, and has helped us raise awareness of the effectiveness of the ChalleNGe program,” NGYF Board Chair Gen. Craig McKinley, USAF (Ret.) said. “We greatly appreciate Dale’s commitment over the years to being a positive influence on the lives of these kids. Dale has attended events to support the ChalleNGe program, including many NGYF galas and ChalleNGe graduations.”
The National Guard Youth Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to addressing the nation’s school dropout crisis by giving youth a second chance through the National Guard. The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program is conducted at 35 academies across the country and consists of a five-and-a-half month residential phase and a 12-month post residential phase during which mentors continue to provide guidance and support to graduates.
In July 2013, Earnhardt raced with the NGYF logo on his car at Kentucky and invited a few NGYF cadets to attend the race. They received special tour of Hendrick Motorsports and a VIP experience at the track.
“Thank you to the National Guard Youth Foundation for giving me the 2015 Youth ChalleNGe Champion award,” Earnhardt said. "It has been a great honor to work the with National Guard Youth Foundation over the last several years and I look forward to helping them further in the future to give these kids a second chance.“