NASCAR Stars Kasey Kahne, Reed Sorenson To Educate Teens

A NASCAR driver can take some major hits.

From Michael McDowell's scary incident at the Texas Motor Speedway last year, where he flipped multiple times and caught on fire, to Michael Waltrip's vicious accident at Bristol in 1990, racing cars has proven to be extremely dangerous.

Luckily, drivers have SAFER barriers to hit, HANS devices to stabilize them in the car, and medical crews on the ready.

The 5,000 teens that die every year on American highways, and the nearly 400,000 that are injured, do not have these things.

Teenagers either don't wear their seat belts, are texting, talking on their cell phones, or driving recklessly; sadly, it often ends with them losing their lives, or taking the lives of others.

Richard Petty Motorsports drivers Reed Sorenson and Kasey Kahne are hoping to educate teens around the country on driving dangers and how to prevent them, with help from sponsor AllState.

The pair will travel to different high schools to talk to teens, where they'll be asked to visit www.allstate.com/teen. It'll help them and their parents evaluate how safe—or unsafe—of a driver they are, and ways to improve.

Sorenson will be at Campbell High School in Smyrna, Ga., near his hometown of Peachtree City with his mother, Becky, this Wednesday.

NASCAR will be in Sorenson's home state for the Kobalt Tools 500 at the historic Atlanta Motor Speedway. To commemorate the visit, Sorenson and his crew will wear bracelets that say "GA-198," representing each of the 198 teen drivers who lost their lives in 2007.

Thanks to Jayski and Motorsports.com for the information used on this piece. If you'd like more information on teen driving deaths, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/MotorVehicleSafety/Teen_Drivers/teendrivers_factsheet.html.