DOVER, Del. - 25 years later, people across Delmarva are finding different ways to remember the lives lost on September 11, 2001.
At Dover Motor Speedway, that remembrance included rolling up their sleeves and giving blood.
The speedway and Blood Bank of Delmarva hosted the 21st annual 9/11 Memorial Blood Drive Friday, giving donors an opportunity to honor the victims and first responders of 9/11 through an act of service that directly helps patients throughout the region.
"Opening up our facility to encourage folks to come out to give blood. It's obviously such a powerful, monumental day for so many people," said Gary Camp with Dover Motor Speedway. "Anything we can do to just help in a little way is something that we're glad to do and take a lot of pride in."
Donors also had the chance to drive their personal vehicles around the speedway's one-mile oval after their donation.
The annual blood drive dates back to 2006, but the speedway's connection to 9/11 goes even deeper.
Dover Motor Speedway was the site of the first nationally televised major sporting event following the attacks.
Camp remembers the enormous effort that went into making the facility safe enough to host the event and the emotional response from the crowd.
About 135,000 people filled the grandstands, many of them chanting "USA."
Camp, who was at the speedway at the time, said the energy and patriotism inside the facility were overwhelming.
"It was incredibly powerful, not a dry eye in the place," Camp recalled.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. went on to win the race and carried a large American flag around the track during his victory lap — a moment Camp said remains one of the most memorable in the speedway's history.
"It's still one that fans talk about and take a lot of pride in the fact that they were here at that event," Camp said.
Now, the speedway is once again providing a place for the community to come together on September 11 — this time to help patients who need blood.
The Blood Bank of Delmarva says the need for blood remains constant throughout the year.
The connection between 9/11 and blood donation dates back to the days immediately following the attacks, when people across the country responded by donating blood.
In the week following 9/11, more than 2,800 people donated through Blood Bank of Delmarva — nearly twice the number of donations the organization receives in a typical week today.
A typical blood donation takes about an hour, and one donation can help save multiple lives.
