$325,000 for North Texas Kids: Speedway Children's Charities Hands Out Its Grants Nov. 20 — Then Fires Up 'Elf' on Big Hoss
More than 35 nonprofits serving 24,000 children across Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties split this year's grants at Texas Motor Speedway — and the public celebration after is free, fireworks and all.
FORT WORTH — The biggest check-writing night of the year at Texas Motor Speedway is set for Friday, Nov. 20, when Speedway Children's Charities holds its annual grant ceremony in the speedway infield and distributes $325,000 to more than 35 nonprofit organizations. The groups serve over 24,000 children across the Metroplex's four core counties — Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant — according to the speedway's announcement Monday.
The ceremony, presented by Charles Schwab, begins at 6 p.m. with gates at 5:30 p.m., and the evening is built as a family night, not a banquet. Before the grants, children can take their photo with Santa and write him a letter. After them comes a fireworks show provided by Ben E. Keith, and then a free drive-in-style showing of the 2003 holiday film 'Elf' on Big Hoss — billed as the largest single LED screen of any sports facility in North America — courtesy of Hillwood, with free hot cocoa, cookies and popcorn from Levy Restaurants. Attendees enter the infield through the South Tunnel on South Allison Avenue, off State Highway 114 west of Roanoke.
The growth line is in the comparison. In 2025, SCC-Texas distributed $249,672 to 37 nonprofit organizations serving more than 10,000 children in the same four counties. This year's grants grow the money by about a third and more than double the count of children served. Since 1997, the organization has distributed more than $12.6 million to local children in need, raised year-round through events that include a clay shoot, a golf tournament, 50/50 raffles and charity track rides.
For Metroplex families, the practical news is the simplest: the celebration is free, it is outdoors at a racetrack, and it pairs a quarter-century-old children's charity's biggest night with fireworks and a drive-in movie. The grants themselves go to organizations that work with children in the four counties — the speedway does not take applications at the gate — but the night built around them is open to anyone who wants to watch $325,000 land where it helps.
