Dover Motor Speedway, Blood Bank of Delmarva Team Up for 20th Annual 9/11 Memorial Blood Drive
DOVER, DE – Blood Bank of Delmarva (BBD) and Dover Motor Speedway hosted more than 40 donors at the 20th annual 9/11 memorial blood drive on Thursday, September 11. After donating, participants had the rare chance to drive the “Monster Mile,” Dover’s legendary racetrack. Whole blood donor Wayne Shockey could not resist, taking his candy apple red, 1967 Pontiac GTO for a spin after donating with BBD Collections Supervisor Chelsea Akers and her mobile team.
For Shockey, the day was both fun and meaningful. His New Jersey fire company was on standby during the 9/11 attacks, and donating in Dover gave him a way to honor the lives lost.
Event coordinator Gary Camp, Vice President of Marketing & Communications at Dover Motor Speedway, also donated, continuing a tradition he has upheld every year.
“Hosting our 9/11 Blood Bank of Delmarva drive here at Dover Motor Speedway each year is a small but meaningful way for us to honor the memory of those who lost their lives,” Camp said. “In 20 years of partnership, we have hosted more than a thousand participants and take pride in serving as a notable destination for donors. This tradition not only honors the memory of those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, but also demonstrates the power of community in turning remembrance into action.”
Regular donor Arlen Lewis echoed the sentiment: “Every September 11, I’m here.”
BBD and Dover Motor Speedway have partnered on the event since 2006, but this was only the third time donors were invited to drive the high-banked oval that has hosted NASCAR events every year since 1969. Dover also made history in 2001 by hosting one of the nation’s first major sporting events after the attacks, when Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s September 23 victory was remembered as “one of the most emotional days in the sport’s history,” according to NASCAR.com.
