Miller has a long history with NASCAR, as she met Dale Earnhardt in February of 1998 before the '98 Daytona 500 through the Make-A-Wish Foundation when she was just six years old, giving the famed racecar driver a penny that he glued to the dash of his No. 3 car prior to winning the prestigious race for the first time in 20 attempts. After winning Daytona for the first (and only) time, Earnhardt considered Miller's gift his lucky charm and gifted her family with a new van to help with transportation needs to doctor visits across their home state of Kentucky.
It's been 11 years since Earnhardt's magnificent Daytona win and eight years since his tragic death after crashing in the final lap of the Daytona 500 in 2001, yet the story of Wessa Miller is still very much alive. The inspirational story of this little girl with spina bifida is still cemented into NASCAR history, as Earnhardt's winning No. 3 Chevrolet remains on display at the Richard Childress Racing Museum in Welcome, North Carolina, complete with a shiny penny glued to the dashboard. Although the 1998 Daytona race is standing still and frozen in time, life has gone on for Miller and her family, who have in the meantime started the Pennies for Wessa Fund to help aid hospital bills and the costs of treating Miller's medical conditions.
The NASCAR Foundation, the racing league's support for charitable efforts, has recently announced its teaming with the NASCAR Angels television program in helping aid Wessa Miller and her parents, starting with an online auction through the Motor Racing Outreach benevolence fund that will raise money for Pennies for Wessa by auctioning off autographed memorabilia by NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers, as well as various fire suits and VIP packages. The foundation will also feature Miller on its NASCAR Angels television show, which is a program that is a self-proclaimed "Extreme Home Makeover meets Pimp My Ride, NASCAR-style" and transforms broken automobiles into drivable cars. Wessa Miller will be filmed at Tennessee's Bristol Motor Speedway on March 21 as part of the "Heart of NASCAR" segment of an upcoming NASCAR Angels episode.
While NASCAR's charitable efforts are currently focusing in part on Wessa Miller, the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series are both well underway for the 2009 season. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. continues carrying on his late father's legacy (despite a nasty crash at Daytona last month,) and Roush Fenway Racing's No. 17 driver Matt Kenseth has taken the early lead in the Sprint Cup Series, winning the league's first two races at both Daytona and Fontana. The 2009 NASCAR season has already elicited unpredictable excitement from racing fans across the nation, so get in on the excitement and nab NASCAR tickets online to catch these speedsters zooming around the racetrack!
This article is sponsored by StubHub.com and was written by Brent Warnken. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling NASCAR tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.
Article Source: NASCAR Tickets - NASCAR Angels to Host Earnhardt's Lucky Charm
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