BROWNSBURG, Ind. – Don Schumacher Racing has announced that the giving car program, started by the late Terry Chandler and carried on by her husband Doug Chandler, is coming to an end at the conclusion of the current NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.
The Giving Car program was started in 2014 by Terry Chandler. It enables a non-profit to be recognized through a dedicated tribute livery at no cost to the organization. Following Terry Chandler’s passing in July 2017, her husband, Doug Chandler, opted to keep the program going in her honor, extending its run for an additional three years by personally funding the 11,000-horsepower Funny Cars piloted by Tommy Johnson Jr. and Jack Beckman.
“We had an incredible run with the giving car program,” said Megan Schumacher, Vice President of Don Schumacher Racing. “Any expectations we may have set were exceeded, and then some. Having the opportunity to meet so many Wish families, granting Wishes, hosting countless military heroes and their families, getting to know the Linfoot family, meeting cancer survivors who credit MD Anderson for being able to overcome their disease; there are just so many truly incredible things that came out of this program, and I know I speak for all of us at DSR when I say thank you to the Chandler family.
“Thank you to Terry for having it in her heart to start this, and thank you to Doug for continuing it on for so many years beyond Terry’s passing. It’s hard to express how grateful we are. The Chandlers inspire us all, and they will always be part of the DSR family.”
Beckman and Johnson share in Schumacher’s sentiment.
“It’s always difficult when a sponsorship comes to an end, but this has been much more than that,” said Beckman. “It’s been a relationship and a friendship, and Terry and Doug Chandler have not just enabled me to race for six more years, but I’ve been able to earn more than half of my Funny Car wins with the Infinite Hero Foundation, and that’s truly special. I’ve been in the same room with eight Medal of Honor recipients. We’ve been able to do the challenge coin program, which has not only generated hundreds of thousands of dollars, but has generated hundreds of conversations, and relationships, and connections with military veterans and their families, and it’s just taken my life to a whole new level.
“The memories that have been generated during this six-year relationship are something that I cherish probably more than anything else in my driving career,” added Beckman. “It’s been something that is irreplaceable. We will buckle down, and we will work hard to find funding to continue racing, but no matter what, you can never take away what the Chandlers and Infinite Hero have done for me, my racing, my family life, my personal life, and the thousands of people that they’ve helped along the way.”
“As sad as I am to learn the giving car program will not continue, I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to be a part of such an incredible experience,” said Johnson. “Not only was I the Chandlers’ driver, they made me feel as if I were a part of their family. Both Doug and Terry did so many great things for so many people and it was truly an honor to represent them. Not only did we have success on the race track, it was also the lives that we touched. I can’t thank both Doug and Terry enough for what they did for myself, our teams, all the Wish families, soldiers, cancer patients, and Riley kids. The Chandlers are truly special people.”
Through the giving car program, a number of non-profit organizations were featured on the Funny Cars of Beckman and Johnson over the last few years. Among those to be featured include The Make-A-Wish Foundation, The Infinite Hero Foundation, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Riley Hospital for Children.