DARLINGTON, S.C. – The Ryan Blaney Foundation has been named the recipient of the First Quarter NMPA Pocono Spirit Award.

Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford, commissioned Gateway Bronco in Hamel, Ill., to build a one-of-a-kind 1974 Ford Bronco that will be sold at Barrett-Jackson’s 2020 Scottsdale Auction to support the Alzheimer’s Association.

“June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, and I’ll be joining the Alzheimer’s Association in honoring my grandfather, Lou Blaney, who I lost to the disease,” said Blaney in a recent release. “We want to encourage NASCAR fans to raise awareness for the disease by sharing their stories and who they are honoring during the month on social media using the hashtag #ENDALZ and tagging the Alzheimer’s Association.”

Other nominees receiving votes for the first quarter award included Chase Elliott’s DESI9N TO DRIVE Auction, where drivers wore special shoes in Cup series competition at Atlanta Motor Speedway designed by patients of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

The Menard Family Foundation, which seeks to enhance lives through medicine and medical research, education, music and the arts and also directs service to the poor and underserved, additionally received votes towards the first quarter award as well.

The NMPA Pocono Spirit Award is designed to recognize character and achievement in the face of adversity, sportsmanship and contributions to motorsports.

The NMPA membership selects quarterly recipients, as well as an overall winner each year. The award is sponsored by Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and has been presented annually since 1992.