HARRISBURG, N.C. (MAY 19, 2020) – NASCAR made its grand return to on-track competition on Sunday at Darlington Raceway, marking the first live race since the COVID-19 shutdown in early March. This Wednesday, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the track named “Too Tough to Tame” to continue to honor frontline workers as part of The Real Heroes Project. JTG Daugherty Racing is proud to honor one of their own, Chris Little, MD, the godson of team owners Tad and Jodi Geschickter.
Dr. Chris Little will adorn both Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Preece’s Chevrolets at Darlington Raceway, replacing their own names above the doors for 228 laps Wednesday evening. A graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School, Dr. Little was in his second year of surgical residency in Seattle, WA, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit with a vengeance. He hit pause on performing surgeries and dedicated his time to helping the incoming critically ill coronavirus cases.
“The Real Heroes Project was a great success in our first race back at Darlington Raceway last Sunday,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “It’s only fitting that we are able to follow that up by honoring someone that is considered one of our own. Tad and Jodi have done so much for our race team during these unprecedented times and I’m proud to be able to give back to them and their family as we honor their godson during Wednesday night’s race.”
“We are so thankful for all of the nurses, doctors and medical staff that have been on the frontlines during this pandemic,” Ryan Preece said. “Dr. Little put a pause on his surgical residency to help COVID-19 patients, and that’s a really admirable thing to do. We can’t thank him and his team enough for all they have done for the coronavirus patients that were in one of the worst-hit areas of Washington.”
The Toyota 500 on Wednesday, May 20 at Darlington Raceway is the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series’ return to on-track racing since the COVID-19 shutdown. The race will be shortened from the traditional 400-mile intermediate track length and will consist of 228 laps equating to 310.6 miles. Preece finished 20th in Sunday’s race at Darlington, and the top-20 field will be inverted, putting the No. 37 Chevrolet on the pole to take the field to green. The green flag will wave at 6:00 p.m. ET and broadcast on FOX Sports 1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
