HUNTERSVILLE, NC (7/2/10) – With the drop of the green flag on this weekend's Prairie Meadows 200 at Iowa Speedway, ARCA sophomore driver Joey Coulter, will be racing for the win in remembrance of Ellie Potvin. To mark the occasion, the Miami Springs, FL native will use his car as a memorial to not only Ellie, but also her entire family and their Lift Up Ellie dedicatory website.

"Cancer is a disease I have unfortunately come to know all to well, and the passing of Ellie really hit me hard," commented Coulter. "I want to help celebrate her life lived with both her family and friends, and the only way I know how to do that, is to turn my car into a memorial for her."

Innocent, kind and sweet, Ellie Potvin (a twin), at six years old was diagnosed with a rare pediatric stage-4 cancer (Rhabdomyosarcoma) in her abdomen and lungs. Ellie began her cancer treatment on Saturday, July 5th, 2008 and had completed 30 straight days of radiation to her lungs and abdomen by the end of October 2008. She completed a total of 42 rounds of Chemo through May 2009. Over the last year, during 2010, Ellie had been through additional Chemo, tests, and failed treatments. She was released to go home to be with her family in her final weeks of life. On Wednesday, June 23rd at 11:35 AM Ellie gained her wings. Her spirit still lives on and she will be remembered through her website LiftUpEllie.com.

Coulter, working with his sponsors and the Charlotte Checkers, decided to turn his No. 16 Darrell Gwynn Foundation, Rip It Energy Fuel Chevrolet into a truly commemorative memorial to Ellie. MAD Industry designed a car solely around Ellie’s pink butterfly logo, and Motorsports Designs wrapped the car in over 250 of them. Simpson Race Products donated a helmet, which Coulter sent to Emsee Custom Paint for a special “Lift Up Ellie” paint job. After racing with the helmet, Coulter will present it to the Potvin family as a lasting tribute to Ellie.

The Coulter Motorsports team will also hand out over 100 pink butterfly decals to fellow competitors, track personnel and safety crews for the Prairie Meadows 200. Iowa Speedway has graciously offered to place butterflies on all of their at-track vehicles for the weekend as well.
“The amount of support everyone has shown for this race is truly amazing,” said Coulter. “Even the people who never got the chance to meet Ellie have said they want to put her logo on their car. I want to thank everyone for helping to make this a special event, and I want to thank all of my sponsors for helping to make it a realization.”

In preparation for this weekend’s event, Coulter and his crew spent two days testing at the 7/8th mile track in Newton, IA. Coulter has run well at the Rusty Wallace designed track in the past, earning his first career ARCA pole at last year's event (7/11/09), and then leading 47 laps before finishing third.

“Harold (Holly) and my guys prove their dedication to this team week in and week out, and provide me with some of the best racecars at every ARCA event,” said Coulter. “We spent two days in Iowa testing, and really got the car dialed in. Our goals for this year haven't changed, and we have some great momentum after finishing second in our last ARCA race (MIS, 6/11/10). I can’t wait to get to Iowa, and get back racing."

Make sure to tune in for LIVE television coverage of the Prairie Meadows 200 at Iowa Speedway beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern on SPEED and to catch Coulter in his No. 16 LiftUpEllie.com, Darrell Gwynn Foundation, Rip It Energy Fuel Chevrolet. Live ARCA Racing Network audio coverage and timing and scoring presented by ARCA Nation will be available at ARCARacing.com.

You can also get LIVE updates wherever Joey goes by following Joey on Twitter.
Please log onto www.LiftUpEllie.com to help support the Potvin family.
You can also vote for Joey Coulter as the most popular ARCA driver for 2010.
Please be sure to check out Joey's official website.
Catch Joey's LIVE radio show, 5 @ 5 with Joey Coulter, every Wednesday at 5:00 PM EST exclusively on www.RaceFanRadio.com

Also please be sure to support Joey's sponsors at:
Rip It Energy Fuel: www.ripitenergy.com
Tempest Cycles: www.tempestcycles.com
MAD Industry: www.areumad.com

About Darrell Gwynn Foundation (DGF)
www.darrellgwynnfoundation.org
The Darrell Gwynn Foundation (DGF) is a certified non-profit 501(c) 3 agency. DGF exists to prevent, provide for and ultimately cure spinal cord injuries and other debilitating illnesses. To expedite specific cures, the Foundation assists in the funding of targeted research. DGF is also dedicated to injury prevention, with special emphasis on programs targeting children. The Foundation helps improve the quality of life for those already afflicted with injury or illness, by providing necessary equipment or special services. DGF is an official charity of the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction, National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and has a close affiliation with NASCAR and the NASCAR Foundation.

MEDIA CONTACT
Nic Moncher
Coulter Motorsports
Director of Public Relations
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