NASCAR Industry Leaders Honored at Inaugural North Carolina Dining in the Dark

NASCAR LEGEND RICHARD PETTY, SPEEDWAY MOTORSPORTS AND SONIC AUTOMOTIVE CEO O. BRUTON SMITH TO BE HONORED AT DINING IN THE DARK TO FIGHT BLINDNESS

Charlotte, NC (September 27, 2011) — The Foundation Fighting Blindness (www.FightBlindness.org), a national nonprofit that drives retinal degenerative disease research, will honor NASCAR all-time winner Richard Petty and Speedway Motorsports, Inc. and Sonic Automotive Chairman & CEO O. Bruton Smith with Visionary Awards at the inaugural North Carolina Dining in the Dark. The unique event will take place from 6-9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 11, at the Ritz-Carlton in Charlotte. The NASCAR community will come together to recognize these two visionary industry leaders for their accomplishments and dedication to advancing blindness research.

Dining in the Dark is a distinctive sensory awareness experience in which guests participate in an unforgettable dining adventure, in complete darkness. For 30 minutes, attendees will eat their entrée using only their senses of smell, sound, taste, and touch, to get a glimpse into the lives of the blind. Visually impaired servers, who are trained specifically for the dinner to use a system of ropes and stanchions, will help guests navigate through this new culinary journey.

“Dining in the Dark truly heightens awareness about the challenges individuals with vision impairment experience every day,” said Foundation Fighting Blindness CEO Bill Schmidt. “We’re very pleased to honor two of NASCAR’s finest as we come together to support promising research toward brighter futures for the more than 10 million Americans affected with vision-robbing retinal degenerative diseases.”

Known to many simply as "The King," NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty is the most decorated driver in the history of NASCAR racing, winning a record 200 career races and seven NASCAR Cup championships during his illustrious career. The effects of unexpected vision loss hit especially close to home for Petty, when two years ago his wife Lynda temporarily became blind as a result of cancer behind her eye. Luckily, she has since regained sight. Petty will be honored with the Foundation’s Visionary Award along with O. Bruton Smith, who has built a motorsports and automotive business empire that includes eight premier motorsports facilities, and the first motorsports company to trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

The event is chaired by Marilyn Green, a Foundation Fighting Blindness Board Director and NASCAR’s original, iconic Miss Winston girl, who would greet race winners in Victory Lane. Green, who is visually impaired from the inherited retinal disease retinitis pigmentosa, now operates Marilyn’s, a Greensboro-based talent and modeling agency that she founded in 1972. She and husband Dean Green have passionately supported the Foundation’s fight for sight for over 30 years.

Dining in the Dark guests will also hear the story of die-hard Richard Petty fan, 11-year-old Indian Trail, NC, NASCAR enthusiast Derek Wynne. Legally blind by age 3 because of retinitis pigmentosa, Wynne attended the Victory Junction camp that the Petty family co-founded for children with chronic conditions. The 6^th grader, who experienced his first NASCAR race at age 6, looks to Petty as a role model for inspiration, and works with his family to support the Foundation’s research efforts that could one day save his sight. He even engages classmates with a contest to help determine the name of his VisionWalk 5K team each year.

As part of the event’s auction, attendees will have the opportunity to bid on Richard Petty’s signature cowboy hat and sunglasses, which were personally donated by the NASCAR legend himself. Also available will be a one-of-a-kind set of conceptual models from the popular Disney movie Cars. The whimsical set, which was used during the film’s planning stages to guide the animation process, is the only one in existence and accompanied by a plaque with the autographs of Petty, who voiced the movie’s “The King” character, and John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer at Disney•Pixar Animation Studios and Disney Parks.

Individual tickets for Dining in the Dark are $350 and sponsorships begin at $2,500. Proceeds will benefit the Foundation Fighting Blindness. For ticket and sponsorship information, contact Jennifer Assaff at 919-781-8014 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . To RSVP as a member of the media, or to schedule an interview with a Foundation Fighting Blindness representative or event spokesperson, contact Allie Gebhardt at 410-423-0643 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .