Apparently, Chad Henne knows how to drive a car as well as he drives his team down the football field. The second year Miami Dolphins quarterback won $20,000 for a charity of his choice in the first-ever Audi Efficiency Challenge for Charity. He chose Berks County Community Foundation to receive the donation.

“I’m very blessed to be in the position that I’m in, and I accept every opportunity I’m given to give back to our community,” said Henne.

The competition was designed to see who could achieve the best fuel-efficiency in an Audi Q7 TDI clean diesel SUV while driving from the Audi USA headquarters in Herndon, Virginia to Miami, Florida.  Henne achieved an average of 32.6 miles per gallon (mpg).  Other celebrity participants included Bill Simmons of ESPN.com, Mike Silver of Yahoo! Sports, and the New York Giants Osi Umenyiora.  Drivers fought off a variety of weather conditions to find the best route and maintain the best mileage.

The $20,000 donation from Audi in Henne’s name will go to the Gilmore/Henne Community Fund at Berks County Community Foundation.  Grants from this fund will be used to improve recreational facilities around the Berks County area, and to provide scholarships for local high school students. The fund was established to collect proceeds from the first annual John Gilmore and Chad Henne All Star Weekend, which is being planned for June 2010 in Berks County.

“I am very grateful for the opportunity that was presented to me by Audi,” Henne said. “I took the challenge seriously knowing that it could benefit the newly formed Gilmore/Henne All Star Weekend Event.  I'm psyched to contribute the $20,000 prize to our charity.”

The Audi Efficiency Challenge for Charity served to support this year's Audi Super Bowl commercial, which features Green Car Journal's 2010 "Green Car of the Year," the Audi A3 TDI.  The A3 TDI beat out such esteemed competitors as the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight to win the coveted award.  This Super Bowl ad will mark the Audi's third year in the game after a nearly 20-year hiatus.

Henne finished the NFL season with 2,878 yards passing and 12 touchdowns in 14 games, his first ones as an NFL starter.  Arguably his best performance of the season occurred when he completed 20 of 26 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-27 victory over the New York Jets.  Henne had a 130.4 quarterback rating in the game.