The NASCAR community is stepping up to help their home state.
North Carolina is facing unimaginable devastation in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which left communities completely wiped out and hundreds still missing even three days later. So far, over 100 people have been confirmed dead, though that number is sure to rise as emergency crews are able to make their way in to assess the tragic situation.
But amidst the tragedy and the unthinkable situation, many are stepping up to help. Obviously NASCAR is based in North Carolina, with all of the teams and most of the drivers calling the state home. So we’ve already seen team owners like Richard Childress and Joe Gibbs sending their own private planes and helicopters to assist with the relief effort.
Helicopters owned by @JoeGibbsRacing, @TeamHendrick, and @gbiffle look to be flying to Western NC to help out with Hurricane Helene recovery. pic.twitter.com/klRhs20AjU
— Bozi Tatarevic (@BoziTatarevic) September 29, 2024
And former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle has also been flying supplies out to the areas that need them the most.
View this post on Instagram
Now, more help is coming from the NASCAR community – and one of North Carolina’s biggest stars.
Michael Jordan has lived in North Carolina most of his life, attending high school in Wilmington before going on to play college basketball at UNC. And up until recently, he was a majority owner of the state’s NBA team, the Charlotte Hornets.
He’s also now a team owner in the NASCAR Cup Series, as an owner of 23XI Racing alongside driver Denny Hamlin, which fields cars for Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick.
And the team is stepping up to help their community.
23XI Racing and Jordan have announced that they will be donating $1 million to aid in the relief efforts, with $500,000 going to the NC Disaster Relief Fund and $500,000 to Second Harvest of Metrolina.
In a statement, Jordan said that he and the team were “committed to helping North Carolina move forward and encourage others to join in rebuilding our communities.”
#ForwardTogether pic.twitter.com/yOYKiMhOyL
— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) September 30, 2024
It’s going to take a long time for the community and state to recover from this disaster, and we don’t even know the extent of the devastation yet. But it’s nice to see the NASCAR community rallying so quickly to help their home state.
