At the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series banquet on Monday, November 23, Comcast announced NASCAR XFINITY Series driver Joey Gase as the winner of the inaugural Comcast Community Champion of the Year Award. Comcast created the award to honor NASCAR team members for their outstanding charitable endeavors. In addition to being named Comcast Community Champion of the Year, Gase received a $60,000 donation in his name to Iowa Donor Network, the Iowa-native’s charity of choice.
Gase lost his mother Mary Jo to a brain aneurysm when he was just 18 years old and was faced with the decision of donating her organs. Later on, he found out that the decision he made helped save and improve the lives of 66 people. The now 22-year-old has been able to use his platform as a NASCAR driver to meet with individuals to promote and encourage organ donation.
“Comcast places a high priority on giving back to the community, and we learned early on in our partnership that NASCAR shares our same philosophy,” said Matt Lederer, Executive Director of Sports Marketing at Comcast. “We created the Comcast Community Champion of the Year Award to recognize the inspiring work from NASCAR team members like Joey Gase. His story truly defines what it means to be a Comcast Community Champion, and we are honored to have him as the recipient of our inaugural award.”
Gase, one of three finalists up for the award, was selected by a panel of judges consisting of former NASCAR driver Kyle Petty and NASCAR.com reporter Holly Cain, as well as executives from Comcast and NASCAR. The remaining finalists, Martin Truex Jr. and Martha Nemechek, were each awarded $30,000 toward their respective charities. Each finalist’s story can be viewed on the XFINITY YouTube channel.
“I’m so thankful to Comcast for creating the Comcast Community Champion of the Year Award and recognizing so many great charities,” said Gase. “To be able to promote organ donation at a higher level by winning this award really means a lot to me, the 120,000 people that are on the wait list right now, and all those people who are donors and their loved ones.”
Comcast has a long track record of community service, aiding in the advancement of local organizations, developing programs and partnerships, mobilizing resources to connect people and inspiring positive and substantive change. To learn more about the Comcast Community Champion of the Year Award, as well as the finalists, please visit: ComcastCommunityChampion.com.
The NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series banquet will air on NBC Sports Network at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 29.
XFINITY /Comcast PR
