Team Penske, Shell, Joey Logano Foundation Help Hurricane Helene Recovery
Continuous cleanup and recovery efforts are underway in a total of five states, following the devastation brought by Hurricane Helene in late September. Many within the NASCAR community have gone all-in to assist the communities that were ravaged by the storm. On Tuesday, Team Penske announced a joint program along with Shell USA, and The Joey Logano Foundation which will further support the ongoing recovery efforts.
This latest program follows a previous donation from Logano and his foundation, which provided $250,000 to support the recovery efforts in the weeks after Helene made landfall. Logano also visited Western Carolina bringing with him supplies to assist residents with cleanup efforts.
RELATED: NASCAR Community Lending a Hand to Those Affected by Hurricane Helene
The new initiative, which will be highlighted in a special paint scheme on Logano's No. 22 Ford Mustang Dark Horse in Sunday's Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, will be called "Partners Powering Hurricane Recovery".
Over the final two weeks of the NASCAR Cup Series season, as Logano and Team Penske continue to chase a NASCAR Cup Series championship, fans, and industry partners are encouraged to give monetary donations through a special landing page on JoeyLogano.com to the initiative. All donations up to $100,000 will be matched by Shell USA, JLF, and PPG which is another longstanding partner of Team Penske.
“Our team is committed to continuing to support those whose lives have so drastically changed in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene,” said Team Penske President Tim Cindric. “Many of us call North Carolina home, and we want to be there for those that are working so hard to restore the basics of their day-to-day lives. We are proud to partner with Shell USA and the Joey Logano Foundation on this initiative as we continue to strive to raise awareness for this ongoing need.”
According to a press release, those proceeds will directly benefit four charitable organizations that align with JLF's mission to support children and young adults during difficult times in their lives.
“Any time something happens this close to home, it hits a little differently,” Logano remarked. “We are going to invest in those communities and so many people right now are willing to help - which is incredible to see that support. We want to help where it’s going to matter the most and put together a long-term plan for not just this moment, but looking months and years down the road. How do we help support the families that are still going to be there? The Joey Logano Foundation has stayed true to its long-term vision to help those that need a helping hand, and we’re extremely grateful to have the support of partners like Shell and Team Penske who have aided in bringing this program to life over the last few weeks.”
The four charities that the donations will benefit are Crossnore Communities for Children, Speedway Children's Charities Bristol (TN) Chapter, Least of These, and the Children's Hope Alliance.
Logano and JLF kicked off the initiative with a donation of a Ford Explorer to Crossnore Communities for Children on Tuesday morning, a donation that was given to the charity at the Team Penske race shop. The charity will utilize the SUV to transport children to and from their facility. The charity's former SUV was among the many pieces of property destroyed by the natural disaster.
The 34-year-old Logano, who is a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, secured his berth into the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway, where he'll compete for his third Bill France Cup, with a strategy-induced win in the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the opening race of the Round of 8 of the Playoffs.
The Connecticut native and his No. 22 Team Penske group are slated to attack the Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, November 3 in the Xfinity 500. While the race will have no bearing on his Championship 4 status, the race will serve as one final tuneup for Logano and crew chief Paul Wolfe before next week's NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race.
The Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway will be televised on NBC with coverage beginning at 2:00 PM ET. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the live radio broadcast of the event.
Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.