(Publisher’s note: After interviewing Wayne in person, I agreed to write this story keeping his last name private.)
By Lisa Allmendinger
Chelsea’s Wayne L. loves cars, trucks and NASCAR.
As a Ford man, he started out rooting for driver Bill Elliott in what was then called Winston Cup. In 1993, a young Chevy driver from Vallejo, Calif., named Jeff Gordon appeared on the Winston Cup now NASCAR Cup Series.
The up-and-comer was hired by Hendrick Motorsports in Concord, N.C. and drove for the race team from 1993 to 2015 in the No. 24 Chevrolet. During his career, Gordon was (and continues to be) regarded as one of the best NASCAR drivers in the sport’s history. Among his many highlights, Gordon won four championships.
Wayne said he liked the young driver from the start and joined his fan club, rooting for Gordon each Sunday – sometimes in person at several different tracks, but most times in front of his TV.
After Gordon’s crew chief, Ray Evernham, had a child diagnosed with leukemia in 1999, the driver began a foundation in his honor with a mission to raise funds for children battling cancer.
When Gordon retired in 2015, his fan club was disbanded, but Wayne continued to support the driver by purchasing car raffle tickets to support the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation.
The foundation’s “primary mission is to support children battling cancer by funding programs that improve patients’ quality of life, treatment programs that increase survivorship, and pediatric medical research dedicated to finding a cure.”
Last fall, Wayne bought a $100 raffle ticket for a chance to win a Corvette. The foundation rotates raffling off either a Corvette or a Camaro each year – in different colors, too, Wayne says.
On Nov. 17, 2022, Wayne got not one, but two phone calls, with Philadelphia area codes. “I didn’t answer the phone,” he said, thinking they were spam calls. The call came from the Axalta building on the Hendrick campus in Concord, NC; since Axalta is based in Philadelphia any call made from the building has a Philadelphia area code.
Following the second call, there was a message. “Wayne, this is Jeff Gordon…,” the distinctive voice said. Gordon himself had called Wayne to tell him that his raffle ticket had been drawn and he was the winner of a black 2022 Corvette c8 stingray. With a sticker price of $89,870, the car has a 6.2 liter V8, 8-speed dual clutch automatic transmission.
The car, which can go from 0-60 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds has a jet black exterior with jet black, red-accented interior. The steering wheel is flat on the top and bottom, plus, the roof panel is removable for top-open cruising.
In January, the foundation flew Wayne and his wife, Kathy to Charlotte, N.C. home of Hendrick Motorsports for the official unveiling.
And, to make his adventure even more memorable, Wayne took possession of the keys and met Gordon in person on his birthday. The former NASCAR champ took Wayne for a ride in the car, which was purchased from his dealership in Wilmington, NC, and spent about 2.5 hours with he and his wife during the luncheon held for the foundation.
“He never once looked at his phone or his watch,” Wayne said of his time with Gordon.
“I never thought I’d own something like this,” Wayne said, gazing over at the Corvette that had 91 miles on it when he was handed the keys by Gordon, now the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports.
Wayne says last year’s Corvette for a Cure raffle raised more than $1.8 million during the two-week window during which tickets could be purchased.
He did have to pay state income and sales taxes on the vehicle, splurged on a personalized plate for the new sleek ride, and paid to have it shipped to Chelsea.
His car arrived on Feb. 23 and the first thing Wayne did was drive it to Speedway to put gas in it.
As a long-time customer of Palmer Ford (when it was owned by Biff Weber and Suzie Palmer), he thought that displaying the vehicle at what is now known as Palmer Auto Service would allow lots of people to see it. So, he approached Bobby Mock, the owner of the business, with the idea.
Everyone is invited to view it from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily inside Palmer Auto Service, 222 South Main St. Be sure to bring your phone to take photos and use the QR code to watch two videos about the car on the poster Wayne had specially designed to accompany it.
You can also view the car at the Sounds and Sights Festival in the car show on July 28 and weather pending, Wayne may take it to a few additional car shows in the area.
He encourages anyone who wants to support the foundation to sign up for the newsletter on the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation website that will let you know when the next car raffle ticket purchase window is open this fall.
Tickets purchased by Michiganders have been lucky ones, too, as a previous winner was from Brooklyn.
And, yes, in case you were wondering, Wayne plans to continue buying tickets to support Gordon’s philanthropic efforts and perhaps win another car. This year, it’s expected to be a Camaro.
Who is Wayne’s current favorite NASCAR driver? It’s Bill Elliott’s son, Chase, who by the way, drives a Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports.
