Comcast announced Jerry Caldwell, Daniel Dye and Wayne Auton as the three finalists for the 2025 Comcast Community Champion of the Year on Thursday, Oct. 9.
“We are inspired each year by the incredible stories of individuals making a lasting impact through the NASCAR community,” Matt Lederer, vp of brand partnerships & engagement, Comcast, said. “This year’s finalists embody the true spirit of the Comcast Community Champion of the Year Award through their unwavering commitment to service and making a difference in the lives of others.”
Nominations for the 2025 Comcast Community Champion, which has been an annual award rewarding extraordinary philanthropic efforts of individuals within the NASCAR community since Xfinity joined NASCAR as the entitlement sponsor of the secondary series in 2015, opened on May 1, 2025. The nomination period closed on June 16.
Caldwell, president of Bristol Motor Speedway, is a finalist through Speedway Children’s Charities – Bristol chapter. Dye is representing his Race to Stop Suicide campaign. Auton, the former NASCAR Xfinity Series director, is representing The Corner Table, an outreach ministry in Newton, N.C.
In 2024, SCC-Bristol raised a record-breaking $1,028,325, bringing its lifetime total north of $21 million donated directly to more than 70 child-focused organizations throughout the region. Bristol Motor Speedway was mobilized as a community resource last year when Hurricane Helene devastated the area. Caldwell worked with Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to establish a regional relief center at the World’s Fastest Half-Mile to deliver essential aid across Tennessee, Southwest Virginia and Western North Carolina, becoming a model now studied by FEMA for future disaster response efforts. Bristol also hosted the Speedway Classic in early August, setting the regular-season game attendance record at 91,032. The MLB donated $50,000 from ticket sales to Hurricane Helene relief efforts spearheaded by Caldwell.
Dye, driver of the No. 10 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series, founded Race to Stop Suicide in 2018 as an eighth grader. He was inspired through conversations with friends and family, as well as his own personal loss of his cousin, who was only 23 years old. The nonprofit was created to break the stigma surrounding mental health and suicide. Along with the help of his father Randy, Dye created The March to Stop Suicide, an annual event held at Daytona International Speedway, allowing participants to walk the hallowed grounds for 98 minutes and eight seconds in honor of the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 988. The 2025 event raised nearly $230,000 for Beyond the Brotherhood, a nonprofit supporting Navy SEALs transitioning to civilian life, and local mental health resources. The No. 10 car is often wrapped in the Race to Stop Suicide colors.
Auton, who retired as the Xfinity Series director at the conclusion of the 2024 campaign, began volunteering with The Corner Table, an outreach ministry in Newton, dedicated to fighting hunger and supporting those facing hardship through multiple feeding programs. He dedicates two days per week to support its three core programs: the Backpack Program, which provides weekend meals for children at more than 40 local schools; the Community Kitchen, which serves hot meals five days a week; and the Debbie Payseur Frozen Meals Program, which distributes meals to individuals and families in need throughout the community. Auton volunteered to load and deliver food bags to schools and manage donation pickups.
Since 2015, Comcast has donated more than $1 million to 30 nonprofit organizations through its Comcast Community of the Year program. The winner is awarded $60,000 with the two finalists earning $30,000 apiece.
The 2025 Comcast Community Champion of the Year will be selected by a panel of Comcast and NASCAR executives, along with 2024 winner Erik Jones.
Dustin joined the Frontstretch team at the beginning of the 2016 season. 2020 marks his sixth full-time season covering the sport that he grew up loving. His dream was to one day be a NASCAR journalist, thus why he attended Ithaca College (Class of 2018) to earn a journalism degree. Since the ripe age of four, he knew he wanted to be a storyteller.