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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
ALL-STAR: Gibbs To Host Festival For Son
Taylor’s Finish Line Festival Takes Place at ZMax Dragway on Sunday...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted May 19, 2010   Charlotte, NC
“Taylor’s Finish Line Festival,” will be held Sunday at zMax Dragway. (Image: finishlinefestival.com)
There are some things even more important than racing. And no one knows that more than J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing.

In 2007, J.D.’s youngest son, Taylor, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when he was just two years old. For the past three years, Taylor has fought bravely to regain his health and now has successfully completed his last chemotherapy treatment and is in remission.

To mark Taylor’s progress, J.D. and the Joe Gibbs Racing team are hosting “Taylor’s Finish Line Festival,” Sunday at zMax Dragway adjacent to Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

The festival will feature carnival rides and games for people of all ages, appearances by NASCAR drivers, live entertainment including a BMX stunt show, a freestyle motocross show, a concert by Grammy Award winning recording artist Toby Mac and fireworks.

The event will support two organizations that have meant a lot to the Gibbs family over the past three years: Make A Wish of Central and Western North Carolina and Levine Children’s Hospital. The event is being underwritten to ensure 100 percent of all money raised will go directly to these two organizations.

“We wanted to do something to celebrate,” said J.D. Gibbs. “Make A Wish has been a great partner of ours, as well as Levine’s Children’s Hospital. We’re going to do a big event at the dragstrip. It’s a neat event for the family and a way to say thanks and give back to those two groups, and hopefully have a lot of fun.”

There will also be an online auction from May 1-25 at www.finishlinefestival.com with autographed memorabilia from NASCAR, the NFL, and around the sports world.

Auction items include:

•Lunch with Joe Gibbs, Owner of Joe Gibbs Racing and Pro Football Hall of Fame Coach, J.D. Gibbs, President of JGR, Bruton Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Speedway Motorsports, Inc., and Marcus Smith, President and General Manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway.

•A suite for the Washington Redskins 2010 season opening game against the Dallas Cowboys! Includes 14 tickets and four parking passes!

•Autographed memorabilia from NASCAR stars including Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Sr, and more.

•Autographed memorabilia from the Redskins including Joe Gibbs, a Donovan McNabb jersey, a Sean Taylor mini-helmet, and a helmet signed by both Darrell Green and Art Monk.

• An autographed jersey from Steve Smith of Carolina Panthers as well as football signed by star running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.

• Items from around the NFL such as the New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Tennessee Titans, Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, and MORE!

• Autographed sports memorabilia from around the sports world including items from NBA star Kobe Bryant, Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps, Cal Ripken, Jr., the Washington Capitals and MORE!

• Jewelry, trips, a putting green in your yard, three Yamaha motorbikes and more.

Tickets can be purchased for $25 (all kids five and under are free) online at www.finishlinefestival.com . Those unable to attend the festival can make a donation online or bid on one of the auction items at the website.

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEEDtv.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.

2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star Week • The Stars Come Out. The Gloves Come Off. • Saturday, May 22nd at 7 pm ET
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