NASCAR vet to keynote CMH event

Citizens Memorial Healthcare selected NASCAR veteran driver Ken Schrader as the keynote speaker for its 11th annual Burgundy Ball.

The event - which last year featured broadcast journalist Roy Firestone - benefits the Bolivar-based health care system's Carrie J. Babb Cancer Center. Scheduled 6 p.m. Sept. 20 at University Plaza Convention Center in downtown Springfield, the gala is slated to include live and silent auctions, according to a news release.

A Missouri native, Schrader has become known across multiple race events, including 28 years as a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver. He also owns Ken Schrader Racing Inc., which covers pavement and dirt racing, has worked as a TV commentator for the ESPN and Speed channels and wrote a book about his career titled "Gotta Race!" Schrader also owns three dirt tracks: Federated Auto Parts Raceway in Pevely, Macon Speedway in Macon, Ill., and Paducah International Raceway in Paducah, Ky.

Schrader joins the ranks of past Burgundy Ball speakers who include Amy Grant, Henry Winkler, Kyle Petty, Vicki Lawrence, Sugar Ray Leonard, Carl Edwards, Ozzie Smith, Anne Jillian and Kevin Sharp, according to the release.[[In-content Ad]]