Ninth grader on a winning streak for military veterans.
Notre Dame ninth grader Logan Wenneshiemer was two for two this past week heading into a third race on Memorial Day weekend as his mini-sprint car — which has a Fighting Irish motif and paint job, and features a 636CC Suzuki super-bike motorcycle engine — is getting ready for a full summer of racing that’s also coupled with a big effort to raise money for wounded military veterans.
Wenneshiemer climbs out of his race car after winning a race in Logansport, Indiana.
Wenneshiemer pulled off back-to-back wins, first at US-24 Speedway in Logansport, Indiana, last weekend for their weekly race and then Saturday night for the 2016 Mary Hardy Memorial Race, which featured 20 cars.
But it’s not just winning races that has Wenneshiemer on the road so often with his no. 66 car. It’s also his passion for helping U.S. military veterans — especially those who returned from war with serious injuries such traumatic brain injury and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) — through Paws and Stripes, a nonprofit charity that helps provide service dogs to disabled veterans.
“We are donating a large percentage of race earnings as well as a percentage of our other Intense Racing fundraising efforts to Paws and Stripes,” Wenneshiemer said. “We are very passionate about the work they do.”
The dogs provided by Paws and Stripes, which has “Helping Dogs, Helping Heroes” as its official motto, are specially trained by volunteers who make sure that each dog is a good fit for each veteran and their specific and special needs.
“Veterans are never obligated to pay a penny of the program's cost to enroll,” Wenneshiemer said. “The program is funded completely through donations and we are glad to be a part of it.”
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." The Marist Fathers and Brothers sponsor NDPMA's Catholic identity and manages its educational program. Notre Dame is accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools, the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.