A kid at heart: Brian Scott enjoys giving back to pediatric care

Published Feb. 16, 2014 12:15 p.m. ET

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Richard Childress Racing's Brian Scott has certainly had a lot to be excited about in the past few weeks.

The Nationwide Series title contender was recently married to girlfriend Whitney Kay, the couple honeymooned in Tahiti, on Sunday he will attempt to qualify for his first Daytona 500, and his No. 33 Chevy was among the top 5 in both practices on Saturday.

Yet when asked about his recent visit to Halifax Health's Speediatrics care unit, Scott's face lights up.

Working closely with the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma and the NASCAR Foundation, Scott spent his Valentine's Day with children and families in Halifax Health's NASCAR-themed pediatric section.

"I think the biggest perk of being a NASCAR driver is having the ability to give back," Scott said. "For me, my favorite and most rewarding way of giving back has always been dealing with kids and pediatric wards."

Scott visited with seven patients and their families, handing out NASCAR Nationwide Series stickers, autographed hero cards, as well as support and well wishes.

At just 26 years old, Scott still thinks of himself as a big kid, but with the responsibility of being a parent he says he is able to relate to both the children and their families.

"Kids are near and dear to my heart," he said. "I've got a little three-year-old girl that I'm responsible for, so I can relate with a lot of them, what they're going through. In some cases, I can't even imagine what they're going through. It's tough, and if I can just bring a smile to their face and say an extra prayer for them, and hope they pull through it and heal up and are able to get out of the hospital, because that's where kids belong. They want to be playing and not in a hospital bed."

With the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma a major part of RCR's philanthropic arm, Scott is always eager to visit pediatric wards and bring relief to the patients and their families.

"I'm just proud I can be a part of this and help in any way possible," he said. "It's great because every time we go and see a pediatric ward, you also see medical advancements and it's nice to see where money and funding goes when you fund pediatric-type initiatives. To see it really pay dividends, and see kids that are able to overcome unbelievable illnesses and things that used to be life threatening or wouldn't be able to overcome normally. It's great to see the fruits of the labor of everyone that gives and helps pediatric health."

While he continues to learn more about the medical advances that help the patients, he likes to stay away from specifics when visiting with the children. 

"That's a touchy subject. I never like to go in there and ask what specific issues kids are dealing with," he said. "Sometimes they're open and they'll tell you, but it doesn't matter. There’s no one disease that's worse than the next. There are some that are harder to overcome or more life threatening, but really any kid that's in there and battling anything, you just hope that medicine and technology and everything we're doing can help a little bit."

Scott plans to continue working closely with the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma, but that is not the only way he gives back to the community. The Idaho native is also heavily involved with his family’s J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation, focusing on improving education.

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