Dale Jr. is turning his sandwich tweet into a fundraiser for kids

Hoping to build off the notoriety from his Tweet earlier in the week in which he posted a picture of his favorite mayonnaise and banana sandwiches, Earnhardt on Thursday launched a two-week fundraising drive and awareness campaign to combat child hunger.

The fact Earnhardt likes mayo and banana sandwiches is not new – he actually tweeted about soon after joining Twitter in 2014 – but this time he attached a photo of the sandwich and for some reason, social media exploded.

The post trended social media for 24 hours and cycled through numerous national news outlets, including ABC’s “Good Morning America”, NBC’s “Today”, and CNN’s “Morning Express with Robin Meade.”

“I was shocked – in a completely good way – at how much attention this picture received Tuesday night,” Earnhardt said. “I got a kick out of watching the videos of people trying the sandwich for the first time. Even if they didn’t like it, I appreciated that they gave it a shot.

“The whole thing got me thinking that whether you like the sandwich or not, perhaps we could make something universally positive from this.”

Earnhardt launches donation site

Earnhardt has launched a donation site called www.DaleJrSandwich.com where people can donate money that will  benefit Blessings in a Backpack, a non-profit organization which packs food for children who are at risk of going hungry on weekends.

Whatever the total is after April 23 of the donations, Earnhardt has pledged to match it up to $50,000 before donating it in full to Blessings in a Backpack.

“Blessings in a Backpack is an organization that the Dale Jr. Foundation has a great partnership with,” Earnhardt said. “Just a few months ago we went to a local school in Kannapolis (N.C.) to hand out backpacks of food for kids, so I’ve seen firsthand the impact.

“I hope we can take the fun conversations we’ve had about the sandwich and turn it into an impactful fundraiser to help feed kids. And, no, I don’t expect the Blessings in a Backpack folks to pack banana-and-mayonnaise sandwiches in those bags,” he added.

“Unless, of course, they want to.”