HARRISBURG, N.C. — The motorsports industry is known for its charitable endeavors, from foundations organized and guided by racers to nonprofits like Speedway Children’s Charities and the NASCAR Foundation.

While those entities direct their efforts and resources to very worthwhile causes such as assisting children and cancer research, it is extremely rare that a nonprofit’s end benefactor is the motorsports industry itself.

During an interview with 23-year-old sprint car racer McKenna Haase for a story that appears elsewhere in these pages, we learned about her nonprofit foundation that is focused on educating and assisting the next generation of racers.

“I founded Youth Racers of America Inc. in February 2019 and I became the executive director and chairwoman of the board. We provide camps, clinics, safety gear and educational resources for youth race car drivers across the nation,” Haase explained. “We have three different platforms. The first is providing resources for families getting into racing. We are trying to get new families into the sport, which is something I’m passionate about not coming from a racing family.

“The second is providing support for kids and families already in the sport, which presently doesn’t exist for youth motorsports,” she continued. “There isn’t a national body that provides resources for kids invested in the sport as participants.

“The third is our team career program. We are seeking to educate teams and provide career opportunities for kids that don’t go on to be professional race car drivers, but still want to pursue a career in motorsports.”

As you plan your year-end charitable giving, we highly recommend considering Youth Racers of America as the coronavirus has disrupted a portion of the organization’s revenue stream.

“We have 12 people on our board of directors from across the country and across the motorsports industry. Currently, we are funded through donations, but we’re hoping to have a youth motorsports initiative auction that’s online and national,” Haase explained. “Our program is membership based, so we want every youth race car driver in the nation to be a member of our program and we hope to provide as many resources for them as possible so it makes it a no-brainer for them to become members.

“Another method of funding is through our camps and clinics, which, unfortunately, most have been canceled this year due to COVID-19, but we’re looking to host camps and clinics for kids across the country.”

The Youth Racers of America foundation is an extension of Haase’s Compass Racing Development business.

“With Compass, we usually have five to seven drivers and we provide them racing opportunities and sponsorship as well as safety gear,” Haase said. “Those kids, honestly, I treat them like my own kids and that’s how I view them. I do everything I can to help provide for them, mentor them and care for them.

“Part of the reason I created the foundation is because at Compass we are very limited, mainly because I can only help so many kids, personally with my time, emotionally and also financially. But we wanted to make an impact on as many kids as possible, so YRA was kind of our way of expanding Compass while keeping Compass what it is and focused on its core mission.”

Through her tireless and dedicated efforts, Haase is single-handedly redefining the process of “giving back” to racing’s future generation.

– Thirty years ago — on Thursday night, Nov. 22, 1990 — Stan Fox won the Turkey Night Grand Prix USAC midget race, bringing down the final curtain at legendary Ascot Park in Gardena, Calif.

The annual Turkey Night midget race faced an uncertain future after Ascot closed, but J.C. Agajanian’s family has been able to continue their father’s marquee event, until this year when it fell victim to the coronavirus pandemic.

– It will be interesting to see what type of campaign Eddie Gossage and his team at Texas Motor Speedway put together to publicize next year’s NASCAR All-Star Race as Gossage is a true old-school promoter.

– We hope everyone has a safe, healthy and happy Thanksgiving.