Cheer the Kids by Austin Dillon

Through my association with the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma I’ve had the opportunity to visit some really cool kids at hospitals all across the country. Recently, I teamed up with General Mills and their Cheerios brand to visit Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU to bring some cheer to children at the hospital there.

Cheerios is working with artist Justin Helton to design a special Cheer the 3 piece of art, which we presented to the hospital before the race weekend at Richmond International Raceway. After the art presentation, I had the opportunity to present replica, signed prints of the art to some of the children at VCU and visit with them.

That’s the fun part of my job. I love meeting kids and spending time with them. Some of them had a genuine interest in NASCAR, and really wanted to know all about what we do in the garage to make the car go fast. These kids could grow up to be future crew chiefs and engineers in our sport. A childhood injury doesn’t have to prevent you from living a full, productive life.

I’m thankful to my grandfather and grandmother, Richard and Judy Childress, for the work they do with the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma. The Institute provides funding and research so that children like the ones I visited in Richmond can have a chance at a normal life, even after traumatic injury.

Hopefully one day we will be cheering for these kids and all that they will accomplish. You can help support the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma and obtain your own copy of the Cheer the 3 artwork Justin Helton created on behalf of Cheerios by being one of the first 100 people to make a $3 donation. Visit cheerthe3.org or Cheer the 3 on Facebook and Twitter for more information.

- Austin Dillon, Driver of RCR's No. 3 Cheerios Chevrolet

Accidents Happen by Ty Dillon

I used to really enjoy riding my dirt bike. 

My brother and I have a track behind our house that has some cool jumps, curves, bends, and hills. We would ride almost every weekend around the track and in the woods, doing tricks and revving up our motors as high as they would go. We are racers, and super competitive in almost everything we do – whether it’s a foot race to the car, or on the race track, Austin and I are competing.

I had to force myself to stop riding my dirt bike about three years ago when I got into two serious accidents. They weren’t life threatening, and I’m thankful to be able to walk away, but sometimes I think back on how lucky I was to be wearing the proper equipment during my accident.

I had a very deep cut in my leg that was several inches long when a piece of the dirt bike pierced my leg. It could have been a lot more serious if it had hit one of the major arteries. I don’t remember a lot of pain in my leg, just being in shock.

Then, I broke my two major bones in my lower leg, my fibula and tibia. Both obviously very important bones in my body to be able to race each weekend. After that accident, I made a pretty difficult decision to give up dirt bike riding.

Racing has been a huge part of my life in the past 10 years. It’s been around me for my entire life, but since I began racing on a regular basis when I was 12, I realize that I sometimes have to give things up that I really enjoy doing. I look back to the accidents that I was involved in and how it kept me out of a race car for a long time. Thankfully, doctors today are equipped with medical treatments that healed my leg quickly, and I was able to get back to racing quicker. I was even able to get back into our Richard Childress Racing ARCA Series car in 2011 and win the series championship.

Overall, I’m a believer in living life to its fullest, making the most of everything you are given, and live life with no regrets. I’ve learned a lot since hurting my leg a few years ago and spent a lot of time in-and-out of doctor’s offices. It’s hard not to ride my dirt bike anymore, but racing in the Nationwide Series this season in the No. 3 car is important. We’re focused on winning another championship and my health is an important factor in doing so.

My grandparents started the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma in 2008. The Institute’s goal is to help seriously injured kids get the best treatment possible when they need it the most across the U.S. I’m lucky to live in a place that has great EMS and a high level of medical care available 24 hours a day so that when I was injured as a child, I had a great outcome. Not everyone has that fast access.

In racing, it takes speed, technology, talent and great equipment. The same is true for helping injured kids get the best care in an emergency. In the race to save more injured kids, the Institute is helping improve those odds.

- Ty Dillon, NASCAR Nationwide driver of RCR's No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro

RCR Driver Brian Scott Gets Involved

One of the biggest perks about being a NASCAR driver is having the ability to give back. For me, my favorite and most rewarding way of giving back has always been working with kids, especially if it means visiting and cheering up kids in the hospital.

Most recently, I was able to visit the Speediatrics unit at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Fla., on behalf of the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma and The NASCAR Foundation. That day, I walked from room to room visiting seven children and their families. The children ranged in age from infant to 6 or 7 years old.

During our visit, I tried to show them support by taking pictures with them and signing hero cards, all in hopes of giving the patients and their families something to take their mind off what they are currently going through. That’s what is special about my job, meeting these incredible people filled with more strength than they are aware of and trying to put a smile on their face, if only for a second. I’m able to say an extra prayer for them and hope they pull through and heal up and are able to get out of the hospital, because that is not where kids belong. They deserve to be out playing and not in a hospital bed.

I’m really proud to be a part of the Childress Institute and help in any way possible. It’s great because every time we go to a children’s hospital, you see medical advancements and it’s nice to know those changes will make an impact to help children. We notice our contributions really pay dividends when kids are able to overcome unbelievable injuries and beat obstacles that used to be life threatening. It’s great to see the fruits of the everyone’s labor and support.

Knowledge is power. And we hope that with each visit, we are able to learn more about how we can help these children, and also educate the public that more help is needed.

– Brian Scott, NASCAR Nationwide Series Driver of Richard Childress Racing’s No. 2 Shore Lodge Chevrolet Camaro