CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Dale Jr. Foundation has focused on youth in underserved communities since its inception. In 2020, with a focus on education, the foundation, along with Unilever’s United for America campaign, presented Allenbrook Elementary School in Charlotte with a check for $135,000.
The donations helped Allenbrook Elementary principal Kimberly D. Vaught and her team in their mission to refocus the educational experience at the Charlotte school.
On March 29, 2023, NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. returned to Allenbrook Elementary with a special surprise from Unilever to celebrate National Reading Month. Earnhardt Jr. not only delivered a copy of his book "Buster's Trip to Victory Lane" to each student, but he also took the time to read his children's book during a special assembly.
Surprisingly, Earnhardt Jr. said reading to kids is more nerve-wracking than taking a victory lap underneath the race track lights.
"I get more nervous about that than I do standing up in front of a crowd of race fans or in any kind of big function," he said, "and you just want them to connect somehow to the book and you hope that they're interested in what you're going to share with them that day."
But Earnhardt Jr. found his stride reading to the students, just like he found a way of putting pen to paper. He said becoming a dad and reading to his own kids at night got him thinking about bringing a new story into the usual library of children's tales.
"And so I thought 'man, I wonder if I can write a book that a kid wants to be read to multiple nights in a row,'" he said. "And so we ended up creating a storyline. We chose the artists, we read every line, and changed whatever word we wanted about the story."
As it turns out, writing a children's story is a very involved process. But it paid off. Earnhardt Jr. was inspired by the dirt car owned by his maternal grandfather, Robert. According to Dale Jr., the character Buster is named after that car, which his father - the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. - loved racing. The car's name soon became Dale Sr.'s nickname, making it a family name.
In the end, all the thought and planning paid off, and it showed when Dale Jr. read his story to Allenbrook's students.
"I think the funnest part about it is sitting in front of kids and reading it to them," he said, "and using inflection and trying to drive home certain points in the story and certain things that the characters say is a lot of fun."
Nailing the characters and getting the laughs and reactions from the kids is the grand prize for Earnhardt Jr. But just as important to him is getting his message across. When he worked on the book, he looked to the kind of guidance he was giving to his first daughter, Isla Rose, when she was getting ready to become a big sister to Nicole Lorraine.
"There's one particular book that sometimes Isla picks that I wish she would pick more often about being a big sister, and how to be a great big sister, and what she needs to do to help her sister Nicole," he said. "Reading to her is a lot of fun because I get to try to help her understand the true message."
That experience shaped how he approached writing the book, and so far it's been a success with Isla. Earnhardt Jr. hopes Nicole will connect with the story as she grows older, but she's shown a liking to Buster's tale just like her big sister.
The girls will certainly be seeing more of Buster soon; Earnhardt Jr. says he's working on a second book featuring the beloved car. What can we expect from this story? Another good message, it seems.
"Buster meets some new friends, and he gets back on track," Earnhardt Jr. said. "He gets a little bit off track, is a little frustrated, and he has to regroup and he gets some help from some friends on how to get his mind back on track -- on the task at hand."
If the next chapter for Buster shares a real-life message, perhaps it's one that's mirrored by what the adults at the book reading said. Vaught, the school principal, said the $135,000 donation had an impact on the students and helped them get back on track. For Earnhardt Jr., that more than validates the time he spent researching and finding a way to give back.
"I had 100% confidence that this school was going to turn around regardless," he said, "just having gotten to know the staff here and their ability and their passion. It was inspiring."
Earnhardt Jr. gave credit to Allenbrook's teachers and leaders for positioning themselves to succeed; the donation simply added to their work for a full-circle moment.
"We're inspired by the staff. And we're inspired to continue helping and looking for more opportunities to do that," he said.
Contact Ashley Stroehlein at astro@wcnc.com and follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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