The Cook Out Catwalk for Causes raised a record $840,000 at its 16th annual gala on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at Ten Tenths Motor Club in Concord.
A sold-out crowd watched children walk the runway alongside NASCAR drivers and other athletes at the charity fashion show, which benefits kids and families through Speedway Children's Charities and four partner foundations. The previous year's event raised more than $450,000, according to a Charlotte Motor Speedway announcement.
That means the 2026 gala nearly doubled the prior year's haul.
Each child, called a Catwalk Champion, was paired with a celebrity escort on the runway. NASCAR drivers Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Cindric and Tyler Reddick joined the walk, along with former Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart, the Independent Tribune reported.
Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Larson and his wife Katelyn walked with a child named Layla. Stenhouse and his wife Madison walked with a child named Liana.
Speedway Children's Charities (SCC) organized the event in partnership with the Joey Logano Foundation, the Kyle Larson Foundation, Samantha and Kyle Busch's Bundle of Joy Fund and Greg Olsen's HEARTest Yard. Sherry Pollex and Martin Truex Jr. founded the event, and the gala has raised nearly $3.4 million since its start, according to the Independent Tribune.
Joey Logano, a three-time Cup Series champion and foundation founder, said the night honors Pollex's vision. "…it lets her legacy live on, for sure, but also how we're able to impact so many different charities within our community here in Charlotte," Logano said in an interview with Jayski.
Marcus Smith, Speedway Motorsports CEO and SCC chairman, said athletes across NASCAR and the NFL welcome the chance to do something beyond the track or field. He called the evening "a really special thing" that brings smiles to children and families facing tough challenges.
SCC, founded in 1982 by Speedway Motorsports, has distributed more than $79 million to children's organizations across 11 chapters nationwide. The Catwalk for Causes was held ahead of NASCAR's Bank of America 400 Chase weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
