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NASCAR announced a one-race suspension for Xfinity Series driver Josh Williams on Tuesday (March 21). Williams was suspended for disobeying the orders of race officials and parking the car on the start-finish line at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The 29-year-old has been suspended for the upcoming race at the Circuit of the Americas.
Despite the ban, Williams will continue his hospital tour. The #92 driver has been on a hospital tour visiting sick children for several years. The tour aims to raise funds for non-profit organizations in the education and health sector.
Josh Williams made an appearance on FOX Sports RaceHub, where he spoke about the initiative and its purpose. The 29-year-old said that he first made a hospital visit in 2015 to visit a girl who was battling leukemia. Since then, he has completed more than 100 visits.
The #92 DGM Racing driver said:
"We brought our ARCA car, our speedway car from Daytona. We got to meet with her, and some of the kids came down and checked out the race car..... We go to leave, everybody says bye, we load the car up and I'm crying. That's the toughest thing I've ever done and it changes your outlook on things."
Williams spoke about the emotional aftermath of the first visit and his decision to continue such visits. He said:
"To see the joy they got, the hour-two hours we were there that's worth it to me. So I said 'We need to do this again'. So we went back and here we are still doing it and we're over 100 hospitals strong and we keep growing."
Williams also has a strategic partnership with robotics company OhmniLabs, which began in 2022. With the Ohmni robot present on the track, it allows children to virtually drive the robot from their hospital rooms. They can explore the track and cruise around the garage alongside Williams. The kids control the robots via a tablet, computer or a phone.
The NASCAR Xfinity driver recently announced the launch of the 'Park It' shirt. The proceeds of the sale will be directed towards organizations such as the Ryan Seacrest Foundation and Ohmni Labs.
NASCAR weekend at COTA will be a star-studded event
As NASCAR heads to the Circuit of the Americas, many drivers from different categories of racing will take part in the Cup series race on March 26.
Former F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen will drive the #91 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing. Jenson Button, the 2009 F1 Champion, will be making his debut driving the #15 Ford for Rick Ware Racing.
Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will be making his second appearance of the season, driving the #84 Chevy for Legacy Motor Club.
Endurance driver Jordan Taylor will make his debut substituting for the injured Chase Elliott. It will be a busy weekend for regular drivers too, as many will be pulling double duty at COTA.
