Shriners Hospitals for Children Returns to Sponsor David Ragan at Bristol

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This weekend, Shriners Hospitals for Children® will be the primary partner of David Ragan and the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports’ (FRM) team at the Bristol Motor Speedway. This will be the third and final time the Shriners Hospitals for Children colors will run on the No. 38 Ford Fusion. The weekend will celebrate one special patient.

Ragan and the team will host five-year-old Wyatt Banks, a patient of Shriners Hospitals for Children – Greenville, South Carolina, Saturday at the track. Banks was paralyzed overnight at seven-months-old by a rare neurological disorder that causes inflammation of the spinal cord, resulting in damage to the insulating material covering the nerve cell fibers. Transverse myelitis strikes only 1,400 people in the United States and can be fatal. Banks has been treated at the Greenville Shriners Hospital and is living life to its fullest today. 

Ragan, who has a close relationship with the health care system, will visit Banks, other patients and staff at the Greenville Shriners Hospital on Wednesday during a community-wide event. The Banks family will then be guests at the track, with FRM giving them once-in-a-lifetime experiences such as a tour of the NASCAR Cup Series garage, a pace car ride, attending the drivers’ meeting and watching Saturday night’s race from a luxury suite.  

Ragan has been a member of Shriners International since 2012 and serves as its NASCAR ambassador. He visits Shriners Hospitals during the race season and raises awareness and funds for Shriners Hospitals for Children through various campaigns, public service announcements, donations and activities. 

“This continues to be a great partnership for everyone,” said Ragan. “We enjoy hosting the patients and their families and I think it’s important to spend time at the Hospitals, too. Each time I visit a Shriners Hospital, it’s a wonderful experience. We show them my race helmet, and the patients like to try it on, and it makes them laugh or smile. That’s what we are trying to do – to bring awareness to the amazing things these hospitals do and make the patients feel good. I’m looking forward to seeing Wyatt this week and having a good race for the Shriners.”

Shriners Hospitals for Children provides specialized care to children with orthopaedic conditions, spinal cord injuries, burns and cleft lip and palate regardless of the families’ ability to pay.

FRM PR

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