Friday
TJ Bell to Partner with the Megan Meier Foundation for Sprint Showdown, Coca-Cola 600
Press Release
On Oct. 17, 2006, Megan Meier died from a suicide attempt brought on by a campaign of cyber-bullying on a popular social media Web site. Since then, her mother, Tina, has fought a battle to change the bullying laws in this country, meeting with some of the most powerful lawmakers in America, including President Barak Obama. The Megan Meier Foundation (www.MeganMeierFoundation.org) has made national headlines and has brought the age-old problem of bullying to the forefront.
Bell and LTD Powersport will carry a special logo on their Toyota both Saturday night and again for the Coca-Cola 600 at CMS May 29 in an effort to raise awareness of both what bullying can do to a person and how to get help.
“For people who haven’t gone through it or have had children who have experienced it don’t understand how traumatic it can be or the impact,” Meier said, taking a break from a speaking engagement in Philadelphia. “It’s not so easy to just shut things up”
Meier, a resident of O’Fallon, Mo., near St. Louis, met Lloyd Wideman, also a native of the area who now lives in Charlotte and works with TJ Bell Racing. The two were able to put together a plan that would enable the foundation to spread its message to the most loyal followers in sports, NASCAR fans.
“We knew it would be a great way to get our message out to the millions of people that watch NASCAR,” she said. “We got involved with NASCAR so we can get that exposure and awareness to the different people in the stands and the ones watching on TV and so we can get them to either pay attention to this and realize the issue exists and provide them with the resources to talk to their children so they can go back to their schools and come up with programs.”
Bell, making his first attempt at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star Race this weekend via the Sprint Showdown, said he is honored to help the Megan Meier Foundation. “It’s amazing how social media can affect people in both a positive and negative way,” he said. “We need to keep people from using social media in a negative fashion as it was in Megan’s case. When you really sit down and think about it, it’s unbelievable the effect the computer can have on a person’s life. It really brings you back down to Earth because you’ve really got to watch what you put on (the internet).”
The Sprint All-Star Race will be carried live on SPEED with the green flag for the 20-lap Sprint Showdown scheduled to drop at 7:30 p.m. EDT. The All-Star Race is expected to begin at 9 p.m. For more information on the Sprint All-Star Race including how to purchase tickets, visit CharlotteMotorSpeedway.com.
About the Megan Meier Foundation
The goal of the Megan Meier Foundation is bringing awareness, education and promote positive change to children, parents and educators in response to the ongoing bullying and cyberbullying in our children’s daily environment. If you or someone you know is in suicidal crisis or emotional distress please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), a free, 24-hour hotline. Your call will be routed to the nearest crisis center to you.
About TJ Bell:
TJ Bell is a veteran of many of the top racing series in the United States, including the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Series, where he earned rookie-of-the-year honors in 2004. He has also competed in the prestigious Rolex 24 sports car race at Daytona International Speedway and made his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut earlier this year at the legendary Darlington Raceway. In addition to racing in the Cup Series with LTD Powersports owned by Joe Falk, he is racing a parttime schedule in the Truck Series. The Nevada native currently resides in Mooresville, N.C., and enjoys wakeboarding, biking, and playing soccer in what little free time he has. For more information on TJ, visit his Web site at TJ-Bell.com.
- High Side Media, Press Release
Article Tags: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Charlotte NC, CMS, Coca-Cola 600, Concord (NC), NASCAR, NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Sprint Showdown, NSCS, TJ Bell
