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Earnhardt Jr. dedicates climbing wall
NASCAR driver visits surprised students
KATHRYN WELLIN
Staff Writer
CHRISTOPHER A. RECORD
Dale Earnhardt Jr. takes part in a dedication Wednesday for a climbing wall at South Elementary School in Mooresville.
MOORESVILLE - South Elementary physical education teacher Vicki Troutman wanted a climbing wall for her students, something to get their minds off video games and into exercise.
When none of the grants to defray the wall's cost came through, she called a former Mooresville High student who had volunteered for her at elementary school field days.
Kelley Earnhardt then called another Mooresville High alum, her brother Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The man currently ranked No. 2 in NASCAR's Winston Cup standings donated $5,000, the entire cost of the wall and then some. Troutman had hoped for a wall 25 feet to 30 feet long; Earnhardt Jr. gave enough for 40 feet.
As 800 unsuspecting students and their teachers gathered, Earnhardt Jr. sheepishly strode in through the gym's back door Wednesday, his head bowed in his trademark red Budweiser baseball cap, to dedicate the wall.
It was his first charity appearance at any school.
"This is the first time he's been surrounded by 800 little darlings," Troutman told students, pleading for quiet. "He's very, very soft-spoken. He doesn't teach P.E."
Promising not to ask about girlfriends, Troutman put student questions to Dale Jr.
Is driving a race car scary?
"When you get in the car, you're nervous, you're very nervous," he said. "Kind of like you're going to the first day of school. Every Sunday."
What was his favorite subject in school?
Earnhardt Jr. laughed and seemed stumped.
"I have to think about that," he said. "It changed every year." Finally, he came up with an answer -- "art" -- to cheers from an art teacher.
His favorite book?
" `Where the Red Fern Grows,' " he said, a children's literature classic by Wilson Rawls. "I got it for my confirmation."
Student signs thanking him were ripped from the wall, revealing a special plastic hand-and-foothold, in the shape of his car number, 8. Earnhardt Jr. signed on the wall near it, "Dale Jr., 8, 2003." Kelley Earnhardt signed by a 38-shaped foothold, her car number from a short-lived racing career.
After exiting to "cheers louder than he would ever hear on the racetrack," at Troutman's request, Earnhardt Jr. said giving back to the school system that welcomed his family to their adopted hometown of Mooresville felt right. "This is just as simple as writing a thank-you letter," he said. "Hopefully, it speaks loud."
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NASCAR driver visits surprised students
KATHRYN WELLIN
Staff Writer
CHRISTOPHER A. RECORD
Dale Earnhardt Jr. takes part in a dedication Wednesday for a climbing wall at South Elementary School in Mooresville.
MOORESVILLE - South Elementary physical education teacher Vicki Troutman wanted a climbing wall for her students, something to get their minds off video games and into exercise.
When none of the grants to defray the wall's cost came through, she called a former Mooresville High student who had volunteered for her at elementary school field days.
Kelley Earnhardt then called another Mooresville High alum, her brother Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The man currently ranked No. 2 in NASCAR's Winston Cup standings donated $5,000, the entire cost of the wall and then some. Troutman had hoped for a wall 25 feet to 30 feet long; Earnhardt Jr. gave enough for 40 feet.
As 800 unsuspecting students and their teachers gathered, Earnhardt Jr. sheepishly strode in through the gym's back door Wednesday, his head bowed in his trademark red Budweiser baseball cap, to dedicate the wall.
It was his first charity appearance at any school.
"This is the first time he's been surrounded by 800 little darlings," Troutman told students, pleading for quiet. "He's very, very soft-spoken. He doesn't teach P.E."
Promising not to ask about girlfriends, Troutman put student questions to Dale Jr.
Is driving a race car scary?
"When you get in the car, you're nervous, you're very nervous," he said. "Kind of like you're going to the first day of school. Every Sunday."
What was his favorite subject in school?
Earnhardt Jr. laughed and seemed stumped.
"I have to think about that," he said. "It changed every year." Finally, he came up with an answer -- "art" -- to cheers from an art teacher.
His favorite book?
" `Where the Red Fern Grows,' " he said, a children's literature classic by Wilson Rawls. "I got it for my confirmation."
Student signs thanking him were ripped from the wall, revealing a special plastic hand-and-foothold, in the shape of his car number, 8. Earnhardt Jr. signed on the wall near it, "Dale Jr., 8, 2003." Kelley Earnhardt signed by a 38-shaped foothold, her car number from a short-lived racing career.
After exiting to "cheers louder than he would ever hear on the racetrack," at Troutman's request, Earnhardt Jr. said giving back to the school system that welcomed his family to their adopted hometown of Mooresville felt right. "This is just as simple as writing a thank-you letter," he said. "Hopefully, it speaks loud."
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