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| March 5, 2009 |
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CONTACT:
Leon Fooksman / Jeff Bray O�Connell & Goldberg, Inc. (954) 964-9098 [email protected]/[email protected] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE GAINESVILLE, Fla. � (March 5, 2009) � This month Darrell Gwynn will mark the 20th anniversary of one of his most memorable and coveted drag racing victories � a major win in Gainesville before a crowd of his home state fans. During the 2009 Gator Nationals on the weekend of March 14-15, the 47-year-old South Florida resident returns to Gainesville 20 years after his first victory there with renewed purpose and his eyes set on winning a much bigger race. Prior to Sunday�s Gator Nationals final runs (approx. 10 a.m. March 15), Gwynn, himself paralyzed during a crash, will provide a new �set of wheels� to a North Alabama man who was left a paraplegic by a traffic accident. On May 13, 2008, Mark Dowdy was riding his motorcycle to work as he typically did when, while entering a curve, the rear wheel suddenly locked up and he and the bike went down. Dowdy likely would have emerged just badly scraped and bruised except for the truck coming the other way around the curve. He was run over, on life support for two days and paralyzed by a serious spinal cord injury. For nearly a year, Dowdy, 39, has been confined to a standard hospital style wheelchair, unable to get one designed for a paraplegic. Friends in racing circles introduced Dowdy to the Darrell Gwynn Foundation and now, through the Foundation�s Wheelchair Donation Program, he is being outfitted with an all-terrain manual chair that allows him to better navigate around his home, work and property while encouraging him to build upper body strength. Formal presentation of the chair will take place at the Gator Nationals. But, there�s more to the story. Gwynn shares a special affinity with Dowdy, who raced dirt late model and modified cars most of his adult life. Despite his paralyzing injury, Dowdy, who resides in Waterloo , Ala. , is committed to building a car that not only gets him back onto dirt tracks but, in his words, �to get back up front.� �I know first-hand that, when racing�s in your blood, the competitive spirit never really leaves you,� says Gwynn. �I�ve been where Mark is now and I�m thrilled our Foundation is able to give him hope � and a �competitive� chair � that help elevate the mission he has in life. I wish him well and encourage him to continue his quest.� In 1989, dubbed �The Kid� by fans and fellow racers alike, Gwynn was the hottest racer on the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) circuit, starting with his Gator Nationals win during a year in which he also raced to victories in the US Nationals Labor Day weekend and the Keystone Nationals two weeks later � setting records in both while adding those major titles to his 28 career national victories. The following year, Gwynn was just one month off his latest triumph � a repeat at the 1990 Gator Nationals � when tragedy struck. During an exhibition race April 15 in London, the chassis of his hot rod, weakened by the trans-Atlantic flight, snapped causing Gwynn�s dragster to slam into the wall in a horrific Easter Sunday crash. He lost his left arm, was paralyzed from the waist down, and would never race again � at least not in conventional fashion. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, the former racing champion and Hall of Famer turned his disability into another pursuit � raising money for children and young adults who suffer from spinal cord injuries and debilitating disease. Before long, Gwynn launched spinal cord injury education programs, began raising awareness and working toward a cure, launched the donation of custom wheelchairs to deserving individuals, added his support to long-term healthcare services for new spinal cord injury patients and helped decorate pediatric hospital units. Since launching the Darrell Gwynn Foundation in 2002, the organization has raised more than $3 million and has garnered the support of racing legends, including Tony Stewart and Richard Petty, to raise money and awareness for his cause. Gwynn�s foundation donated 37 customized power wheelchairs worth nearly $250,000 in 2008 alone. The Darrell Gwynn Foundation is a Davie, Fla.-based nonprofit agency formed in 2002 to provide wheelchairs to children and young adults and advocate for people with spinal cord injuries. The Foundation was established by former NHRA star Darrell Gwynn to prevent, provide and ultimately cure spinal cord injuries and other debilitating illness. To learn more about the Darrell Gwynn Foundation, its work and the programs it supports, visit the Foundation�s newly updated Web site at www.darrellgwynnfoundation.org or call 954-792-7223. |
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| March 18th, 2009 |
| Darrell Gwynn Foundation Wheelchair Donation |
| March 15th, 2009 By TV 20's Jamel Lanee Click Here to See TV Interview Video Darrell Gwynn donates a wheelchair to Mark Dowdy at Gatornationals. Today was a special day for two former racers at Gatornationals. Darrell Gwynn won here twenty years ago before his accident. He's decided to pass on his racing legacy by giving back to those who are facing unexpected limitations. On the fourth and last day of Gatornationals, fans are no different. They're just as excited as when the competition rolled into town on the first day. A natural fit for former drag racer Darrell Gwynn and one fan in particular, Mark Dowdy. a resident of Alabama, he came to enjoy the races, but he's also here for a bigger prize. He's a recipient of the Darrell Gwynn Foundation wheelchair donation. he gets a new set of wheels today. Dowdy was in an motorcycle accident last year, he crashed head on with a truck. He woke up three days later in the hospital paralyzed. Dowdy says doctors told him he had a slim chance of ever walking again. Darrell won his last race here at Gatornationals before he was paralyzed in a drag racing accident eighteen years ago. He says he wanted to use his tragedy to help others. And he has. He's given away a wheelchair for the last seven years through his foundation. |
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| Mark and John Force |
| Mark and Bob Tasca Jr. and Bob Tasca III |
| Mark and Ron Capps |
| PARALYZED RACE DRIVER TO RECEIVE NEW WHEELCHAIR FROM
DARRELL GWYNN BEFORE THOUSANDS OF GATOR NATIONALS FANS |