Story By: LISA WARE / RICK WARE RACING – DAYTONA BEACH, FL – In their bid to make the 59th annual Daytona 500, officials from Rick Ware Racing (RWR) announced today that have secured a primary sponsor for their No. 51 Chevrolet SS driven by mainstay driver Timmy Hill.
Spoonful of Music, a non-profit organization that uses music to improve the lives of adolescents with chronic or incurable diseases will adorn the hood on the team’s car for the remainder of Speedweeks 2017. Between RWR and Spoonful, they hope to raise awareness of the amazing impact that music can have on the lives of sick kids and their loved ones.
“We are so proud to have Spoonful on our car this week in Daytona,” said RWR team principal Rick Ware. “It’s been an absolute pleasure working with Brad Procton and learning the ins and outs of Spoonful. They have a great mission, something that everyone at Rick Ware Racing supports and we hope to spread their message with an appearance in the Daytona 500.”
Based in Greensboro, N.C., Spoonful of Music is committed to helping chronically ill children to escape the bonds of their diseases through musical expression. Kids are given hands-on experience with musical instruments and recording equipment, offering them a creative outlet for the emotions they feel as a result of their daily struggles.
The children Spoonful of Music empowers suffer from a range of illnesses from cancer to rare diseases. For some, these illnesses are incurable, and this small organization of passionate people wants to help put smiles on the faces of kids who suffer.
“I’m so thankful to have the opportunity to represent Spoonful,” said Hill, the 2011 NASCAR XFINITY Series Rookie of the Year. “It’s been a big week for us to be here at Daytona, but to now have the support of a movement so powerful – it provides an extra motivation for us to put our car into the Daytona 500 during the duel race on Thursday night.”
Rick Ware Racing announced last month their intentions to field a full-time car in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with a variety of drivers including Hill. The Port Tobacco, MD native has made all of his ARCA and NASCAR-related starts at the “World Center of Racing,” but the 23-year-old looks to make the grandest start of them in Sunday’s “Great American Race.”
After qualifying Sunday, Hill and his RWR team hope to vie for one of the remaining two spots available for non-chartered teams to cement their car into the starting grid in NASCAR’s most prestigious event.
“We’re going to give it our all on Thursday night,” added Hill. “I think we have a good enough car in the draft that if we play our moves right, we’ll have a pretty good shot at making this year’s Daytona 500.”
Veteran Joe Lax is leading RWR’s return to Cup Series competition this season.
Despite no Cup starts at Daytona, Hill has four XFINITY starts at the 2.5-mile oval with two career top-10 finishes including back-to-back top-10 runs for Rick Ware Racing in 2012 with a career-best seventh in the season-opening race.
In addition to their effort in the Cup Series, Rick Ware Racing will also compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) this season with recently announced driver Spencer Boyd at the wheel.