![\"NASCAR](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nascar-oreilly-auto-parts-series-focused-health-250-qualifying-hampton-georgia.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
HAMPTON, GEORGIA – JULY 11: Joey Gase, driver of the #55 Ford, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Focused Health 250 at EchoPark Speedway on July 11, 2026 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Grief and hope came together at a NASCAR<\/a> event in St. Louis on Thursday as families of organ donors<\/a> placed their hands on Joey Gase\u2019s Donate Life car. The families also left personal messages honoring loved ones who helped others through organ donation. Gase brought the car to St. Louis as part of his long-running work to raise awareness about organ donation.<\/p>\n The NASCAR Cup Series driver has a personal connection to the cause. His mother died from a brain aneurysm when he was 18 and became an organ, eye, and tissue donor. Gase later learned that his mother helped save 66 lives. Since then, he has used NASCAR to share the message of organ donation and honor donor families.<\/p>\n Joey Gase Brings Organ Donation Story to NASCAR<\/p>\n Gase said his mother\u2019s donation changed how he viewed organ donation and led him to support Donate Life organizations.<\/p>\n \u201cLater we found out she\u2019s able to help save the lives of 66 people, which was amazing to us,\u201d Gase said. \u201cAnd ever since that day, I wanted to do what I could to help raise awareness about organ donation and honor all those affected by it.\u201d<\/p>\n Gase has partnered with Donate Life organizations across the country for several years. His NASCAR cars have featured donor names, photographs and messages from families in the Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series.<\/p>\n The St. Louis car continues that work. Donor families placed their handprints and messages on the car, creating a memorial that will also carry their loved ones\u2019 stories to NASCAR fans.<\/p>\n Caroline Goode Honored on Donate Life Car<\/p>\n One of the families represented on the NASCAR car is Caroline Goode\u2019s family. The 12-year-old died after an ATV accident last year. Her organs saved six lives.<\/p>\n Caroline\u2019s photograph appears on the front of the car alongside her name and the words \u201cdonor hero.\u201d<\/p>\n Her mother, Angie Goode, said the family takes pride in the impact Caroline continues to have through organ donation.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel so proud. Caroline is always a giver, and it\u2019s amazing that even after her passing, she\u2019s still able to give and her sweet little spirit is able to live on in others,\u201d Angie Goode said.<\/p>\n The handprints and messages from donor families show the personal side of organ donation. Each story comes from a family that lost someone they loved and chose to help others through donation.<\/p>\n NASCAR Car Highlights St. Louis Organ Donation Impact<\/p>\n Kevin Lee, president and CEO of Mid-America Transplant, said organ donation has a major impact in St. Louis and the surrounding region.<\/p>\n \u201cOn average, about 800 organs are transplanted here in St. Louis or across the region. So, collectively, this region, the St. Louis region, is impacting almost a quarter of a million lives on an annual basis. So, it\u2019s incredibly inspiring to be part of this work.\u201d<\/p>\n The NASCAR Donate Life car gives that work a public platform. It carries the names, photos and messages of people whose donations helped others receive organs.<\/p>\n For Gase, the message also remains personal because of his mother\u2019s donation. For Caroline\u2019s family, it keeps her memory connected to the six people whose lives were saved by her organs.<\/p>\n As the NASCAR car heads to the racetrack, fans will continue to see the Donate Life message while honoring the donor families whose stories are part of it.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDogli Wilberforce<\/a> is a writer covering NASCAR, Formula 1, and the IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. He has also written for Sportsnaut, FanSided, Total Apex Sports, and Last Word on Sports. Wilberforce focuses on the NASCAR Cup Series, breaking down news, driver stories, and key moments with a clear, fast, and engaging style. His work connects headlines to context, helping readers understand what matters most in the sport. More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty HAMPTON, GEORGIA – JULY 11: Joey Gase, driver of the #55 Ford, looks on during qualifying for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":892419,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-892418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=892418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/892419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=892418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=892418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=892418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}