(WGHP) — NASCAR's Alex Bowman is flipping the old saying "dogs are a man's best friend" on its head.
Bowman's passion for racing is matched only by his love for animals. Now, he is combining those two passions and helping some furry friends along the way.
Every time Bowman takes the track in his #48 car he also donates $4,800 a week to local animal shelters through the Best Friends Animal Society.
Together, they have raised close to $350,000 for homeless pets over the past few years.
One of the facilities assisted by Bowman's donations is Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department Animal Care and Control. The facility cares for between 200-300 animals at any given time.
"Our kennels are full of animals that are waiting on homes, so monetarily I can't even speak to how much that money helps. It goes directly to programs that are either directly in our care or animals in the community."
Melissa Knicely, CMPD Animal Care and Control
Bowman fell in love with rescue animals at a young age. He saved his best friend Roscoe when he was just 19 years old.
Now, it's Bowman's mission to fight for and help every animal find their perfect match and get adopted.
"The amount of rescue animals that there are -- it really doesn't matter what you're looking for. You can find it by rescuing."
While Bowman understands the impact his contributions have had thus far, he still knows that there is much more work to be done.
Alex Bowman
"It pulls on your heart quite a bit to see so many dogs up for adoption."
Alex Bowman
The first step to solving the problem is getting the word out.
"When you have people like Alex who get your message out about adoption and the need for finding homes for all these animals across the country -- it is the best program, because not only is it talking about how special these animals are, but it's visiting shelters across the country and helping animals who are in the same situation that we are."
Melissa Knicely, CMPD Animal Care and Control
Even though Bowman seeks to win the race every time he takes the track, he races for a bigger cause as well. He knows that even though his finish line leads to a trophy -- a rescue animal's finish line leads to a forever home.
"There's hundreds of thousands of pets out there that need homes so it's definitely important to rescue for sure."
Alex Bowman
Also, when Bowman wins so do the rescue animals. Anytime Bowman wins a race an extra $10,000 get donated to the local shelter, giving him just one extra push to fight for the checkered flag.
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