Joey Gase and Rick Ware Racing will honor NASCAR Hall of Famer, Davey Allison, when the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series return to Talladega Superspeedway later this month.
Allison, who tragically passed away in a helicopter accident at Talladega Superseedway in July 1993, was an organ donor, which allowed four recipients to live more than 46 years, cumulatively. To honor Allison’s gift of life and increase awareness of Organ Donation, Gase will pilot the No. 28 RegisterMe.org/28 Ford Mustang in both the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series events at the 2.66-mile superspeedway, the site of Allison’s first-ever NASCAR Cup Series victory.
“When Davey passed, his family knew if he could no longer continue his life, he would want to do whatever he could to help others continue theirs,” said Gase. “I want to show he was a hero both during his lifetime and after. As some know, my mom was an organ donor as well. It has become a mission of mine these last 10 years to keep her legacy alive by honoring donors and donor families and to help raise awareness for organ donation. There are currently over 110,000 people on the wait list nationwide for organ transplants. When I found out Davey was a donor, I thought it would be incredibly special to be able to honor him and his family at Talladega. It will be 28 years in July since Davey passed away.”
The Cedar Rapids, Iowa-native reached out to Davey’s widow, Liz, for her blessing to run the No. 28 and honor Davey as a Donor Hero. Not only did she give her blessing, but she also wanted to get involved and help get the word out about organ donation.
“I am very honored and proud for Davey to be remembered in this way, especially at our home track,” said Liz. “Davey loved racing at Talladega and always loved to hear the fans cheering for him, as the hometown favorite. Having Joey bring back the 28 and Davey’s 1993 Paint scheme will be special for so many of us. Davey would want the focus to be on Donor Awareness. A big part of Davey’s legacy is being a Donor Hero. We will be cheering Joey on and hoping to see that 28 and those familiar colors in Victory Lane one more time.”
As part of this tribute, Gase would like to give a big thank you to Liz and NASCAR for allowing him to honor Davey in this way and would also like to thank Legacy of Hope, LOPA, MORA, Advancing Sight Network, Eternal Fan, The Legacy Charitable Fund, Medical Transport of Alabama, and Talladega Pit Stop for making it all possible.
To register yourself as an organ, eye, and tissue donor in Davey’s honor, visit RegisterMe.org/28.
