NASCAR has always tried to contribute to social causes through its different initiatives. With the influence of the sport spreading far and wide across the nation, they have now joined hands with the Department of Homeland Security. This collaboration will see NASCAR educate and spread awareness regarding the online abuse and exploitation of children.

The campaign named Known2Protect is a big undertaking by DHS and has collaborated with key public and private sector partners. Through the campaign, DHS and its partners will educate and guide the young masses, parents, and adults on how to prevent and deal with abuse and exploitation. NASCAR is just a part of a big pool of key partners who have also joined in their bid to make a meaningful impact in tackling a major issue.

Steve Phelps explains why NASCAR joined in promoting the Known2Protect campaign

According to a report by Homeland Security, there were over 36 million reports of suspected child exploitation in 2023. So it pushed the government to launch a nationwide campaign to curb the crime against children. Alongside NASCAR, major sporting series like the MLB, MLS, NFL, and USOPC have joined forces with the government.

NASCAR President Steve Phelps attended a press briefing in New York and also spoke to Bob Pockrass in an interview. He explained how NASCAR will coordinate with the government using its assets during the races. “I mean, it’s an important initiative for us right, and exploitation of children is just heinous, so if we can bring awareness through our own channels, whether it’s NASCAR.com or social channels, obviously at our facilities on big screens with PSA, it’s important.”

Stressing the importance of this collaboration, Phelps added, “I don’t think people understand the full extent of what’s going on; I certainly didn’t. So if we can give back in any way to try to touch our fans and stakeholder groups, that’s something we’d do. This isn’t partisanship, this is about doing what’s right and other campaigns that we would do partnering with government agencies around safety and any number of different things.”

However, this isn’t the first time Homeland Security has worked in tandem with NASCAR to work on a social cause. They have a history of collaborating in the past, and it’s good to see this partnership prosper.

A look at some major initiatives where NASCAR and government agencies joined forces

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Back in 2016, the governing body and DHS worked on a campaign called, “If you see something, say something”. The new PSAs featured Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr during the Daytona 500 race event. The purpose of this campaign was to encourage people to recognize and report any suspicious or criminal activity through the use of a mobile application.

Moreover, NASCAR also partnered with the Jacksonville FBI department in a key partnership to tackle cyber security. Bill Rhodes was the managing director of security at NASCAR in 2021 when the initiative was launched. Rhodes and Special Agent Rachel Rojas from the FBI guided the racing community on how to tackle cyber fraud. The campaign also urged the racing community to develop a response plan to act against cyber threats with the inclusion of the FBI.

Over the years, NASCAR as a sport has made a real difference in partnering with law enforcement bodies and is hoping to achieve similar results with its latest collaboration.