Rice joins Racing for Kids lineup

2004 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice has joined the Racing For Kids' team of celebrity drivers that will visit sick children in hospitals across the country during the 2007 racing season, according to J. Patrick Wright, RFK executive director.

Racing For Kids (www.racingforkids.org) is a non-profit organization founded in 1989 to use motorsports to focus public attention and funding on the healthcare needs of children. In 2006, Racing For Kids visited 2,200 sick children at 24 hospitals around the United States and in Japan and donated more than $200,000 to children's hospitals across the country, raising its total annual donations to close to $5 million.

"This is my first work with Racing For Kids," said Rice, who will drive the No. 15 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing entry. "But anything I can do to put a smile on the face of a sick child and bring the excitement of my sport to their bedside will be time well spent."
Rice will be joining teammate Sarah Fisher on the 2007 Racing For Kids team roster. Team co-owner Robbie Buhl is the charity's national spokesman.

Rice's first Racing For Kids hospital visit will be Thursday, March 29 at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida.