Sam Hunt Racing (SHR) announced today that 26-year-old Will Rodgers will pilot the No. 26 RaceToEndHepC.com / GoodRx Toyota Supra at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (ROVAL) on Saturday, October 9 alongside teammate Kris Wright, driver of the No. 15 F.N.B. Corporation Toyota Supra. The Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina will be Rodgers’s third NXS start of the season.
“I’m thrilled to be returning to the ROVAL with Sam Hunt Racing this year,” said Rodgers. “I had a great run in 2019, qualifying in the top-ten and running there for most of the race, so confidence is high for the event. After our showing at the Indianapolis Road Course and having more experience with SHR and their equipment, I have no doubt we will go perform at Charlotte. The ROVAL definitely fits my driving style. Being that there is no practice or qualifying, it should give me an edge over some of the competition.”
Rodgers, a member of the 2018-2019 NASCAR Next class and former multi-time winner in the NASCAR ARCA Menards Series, will be looking forward to his second career NXS start at the ROVAL. In 2019, Rodgers competed at the 2.28-mile road course where he qualified tenth. Rodgers was challenging as high as fifth and was within the top-15 of competitors for 55.2% of the race duration prior to a pit-road violation.
The 26-year-old road course star has two races under his belt so far this season. At Nashville Superspeedway, with minimal oval experience in the NXS, he qualified 14th and finished 14th. Rodgers later captured SHR’s highest-ever qualifying effort at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, starting eighth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Race at Indianapolis RC.
“I’m really excited to have Will back in one of our cars next week at the Charlotte ROVAL,” said Sam Hunt, 28-year-old owner of SHR. “He proved at Indianapolis that he is a force to be reckoned with on road courses, and hopefully his prior experience at Charlotte will play into our hands. We’re also extremely excited to welcome much of the GoodRX family to the Charlotte race, and am thankful for them stepping in and being such a big part of this program. I think it will be a great weekend for both Will and Kris and I’m eager to get both cars on track.”
The No. 26 Toyota Supra will be outfitted in bright yellow in support of Rodgers’ 2021 liver health campaign – The Race to End Hep C, a Will Rodgers Liver Health Foundation initiative. The Race to End Hep C is a philanthropic campaign to raise awareness for HCV (Hepatitis C), improve testing and provide a link to treatment.
“Having our Race To End Hep C campaign featured at the ROVAL is very meaningful to me and, of course, my foundation,” said Rodgers, the president of the Will Rodgers Liver Health Foundation. “Promoting education, awareness and prevention of liver diseases like Hep C at this level is imperative to hopefully one day reduce the number of individuals affected. I hope fans will recognize the car and our messaging and take steps to be more aware of their liver health and how to prevent conditions like Hep C. Of course, representing GoodRx for our third race of the season is very motivating. They have been behind me from the start of this campaign, and I look forward to giving them the best run possible.”
At the young age of three, Rodgers, the Maui, Hawai’i native, was diagnosed with a chronic liver disease – Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC). Rodgers has since lived healthy with PSC and is on a lifelong mission to use his platform as a professional athlete to help in the fight to eliminate liver diseases for both himself and others around the world.
The Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina at the ROVAL will be televised on NBCSN at 3:00 PM ET on Saturday, October 9. Follow along with Sam Hunt Racing on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram throughout the event.
