NASCAR fundraiser news 2010-10-26

Jail & Bail Event Produces $150,000 For Brienne Davis Scholarship Fund

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Oct. 26, 2010) -- Twenty NASCAR drivers and celebrities joined more than a thousand fans to help collect $150,000 in donations and pledges at the Third Official Jail and Bail charity event benefitting the Brienne Davis Scholarship Fund Oct. 12 at Brickhouse Tavern in Davidson, N.C.

Over the three years of the event, more than $300,000 has been raised to provide 30 scholarships for qualified female students.

The Brienne Davis Scholarship Fund is intended to provide an opportunity for qualified female students who wish to attend any one of Universal Technical Institute's eleven campuses across the U.S., including the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, N.C.

The evening included NASCAR drivers and other celebrities being "sentenced" and put behind bars with all of the "bail money" going to support the scholarship fund. Inmates included NASCAR drivers Landon Cassill; Kevin Conway; Denny Hamlin; Brad Keselowski; Travis Kvapil; Joey Logano; Casey Mears; Michael McDowell; Joe Nemechek; Max Papis; Tony Raines; Brian Scott; Reed Sorenson; Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Tony Stewart. Others locked up were the No. 11 FedEx Pit Crew, NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee Jerry Cook and NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison and Red Farmer of "The Alabama Gang."

Joining "Judge John Darby" were "prosecutors" Jimmy Spencer of SPEED, NASCAR's Mike Phillips and ESPN's Marty Smith as NASCAR crew chiefs Kevin "Bono" Manion, Slugger Labbe and Tommy Baldwin Jr. served as the "dream team" defense attorneys. The event was hosted by NASCAR media personalities Matt Yocum and Ray Dunlap.

Legendary country music artists The Charlie Daniels Band was joined by recording artist and hit songwriter Bridgette Tatum to provide memorable entertainment for the event.

Davis, a Universal Technical Institute (UTI) graduate and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series official, died in 2008 at age 28, and is honored by this scholarship created to encourage women to seek careers in the automotive industry.

-source: nascar