Hustler Turf Equipment is going on tour this year. The Hesston, Kan.-based mower manufacturer is appearing at different Hustler Turf Equipment dealers throughout the country with a mower painted to resemble former NASCAR driver Richard Petty’s #43 Dodge race car.
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The appearances will benefit the Victory Junction Gang Camp, a year-round racing-themed camp in Randleman, N.C. for children ages seven to 15 with life-threatening illnesses.
The manufacturer hopes to raise at least $500,000 for the camp through donations, according to Ken Raney, advertising manager, Hustler Turf Equipment. The nonprofit camp costs $2.5 million to operate each year, Raney says.
Hustler Turf Equipment became involved with the Victory Junction Gang Camp last year when the company donated new mowers to the organization, Raney says. The collaboration is a win-win situation for both sides because the company can promote its product while assisting the camp, Raney says.
“We thought that it was a worthy cause and got Richard Petty’s endorsement,” Raney explains. “We wanted to do what we could to help.”
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The Mow for Victory Tour will begin Feb. 27 in Ontario, Calif. and end May 28 at the camp in Randleman. The tour will span 4,000 miles as the company rides through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
The Victory Junction Gang Camp was launched in 2000 by NASCAR driver Kyle Petty and his wife, Pattie, in honor of their son Adam, who proposed the idea for the camp in 1998. Adam was killed in a racing accident in 2000. The camp is part of the network of Hole-in-the-Wall-Gang camps founded by Paul Newman in 1988.
For more information about tour dates and locations and how to donate, visit Hustler's Mow for Victory Tour Web site or call 336/498-9055.