Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s Million-Dollar Gift

The sun shined, children cheered and Dale Earnhardt Jr. cradled a baby goat.

It was a feel-good moment on a feel-good day, and it happened on the spot where a generous gift by NASCAR’s most popular driver ensured there will be plenty more happy moments to come.

Earnhardt Jr. helped break ground Saturday afternoon on one of the last pieces of the Victory Junction Gang Camp, a place where kids with special health care needs can attend for free.

The “Dale Jr. Corral and Amphitheatre” will be built as the result of Earnhardt Jr.‘s $1 million donation to the camp – a donation of his personal money, not from his Dale Jr. Foundation.

The camp was founded by Kyle and Pattie Petty in honor of their son, Adam, who was killed while practicing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“It’s a blessing what you’re doing here for the camp,” Pattie Petty told Earnhardt Jr., who held a tiny goat given to him by a young boy in a wheelchair sporting No. 88 wheels. “Adam thought the world of you. He wanted to be like you, wanted to race like you.”

Just before Earnhardt Jr. arrived, about 200 children and their families who were attending a special physical disabilities weekend courtesy of his foundation sat on hay bales, clapping in rhythm and chanting camp songs.

As a big red helicopter buzzed overhead and landed nearby, the campers grew excited but waited patiently until they finally caught sight of Earnhardt Jr., who strolled up wearing jeans, a black leather jacket and orange hat.

He said a few words to the crowd (“I didn’t know we were going to have this many people here!”), shoveled a couple loads of dirt and later said he was humbled to be part of the camp.

“I have so much respect for Kyle and Adam,” he said. “I was in awe of the King and read books about Lee [Petty, the patriarch of the family]. It’s just great to have the opportunity to help them with their vision here. ...It’s an amazing vision to have.”

Earnhardt Jr. learned about the importance of helping children early in his career. From the start, he was active with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and said his experience with those kids led him to an understanding of how important Victory Junction was.

That understanding came from talking to the children and their families about “how challenging that path is – not only physically, but financially,” Earnhardt Jr. said.

“The camp really is a saving grace for them,” he said. “It’s a place where they can go and be around people like them and feel comfortable.”

Kyle Petty noted Earnhardt Jr. “has been a part of it in spirit from the very beginning,” since the driver volunteered to do one of the early commercials for the camp when it was nothing but red dirt.

“There’s so much that goes on in this sport,” Petty said. “There’s controversy, there’s this, there’s that. But in the end, the sport is all about people, and people giving back. And I think that’s what Dale Jr. has done today.”

Pattie Petty turned to Earnhardt Jr. and his sister Kelley, looked both in the eyes and said, “I watched y’all grow up. And your dad raised two incredible individuals. And I know he must be so incredibly proud of you, and I know your mom is.”

Then she addressed Earnhardt Jr. directly.

“I don’t care what you do on the racetrack – I care about you,” she said. “And I care about what you’ve done for our campers, and that will live on so, so long.”

With that, Earnhardt Jr. smiled, reached over and grabbed her hand. She smiled and squeezed his in return.

It was a feel-good moment on a feel-good day.