Doctor to Race Daytona for Checkered Flag and Patients

When Ron Yarab Jr. MD of Poland, Ohio, takes to the track at Daytona International Speedway on January 30, to race in the Rolex 24, he’ll be racing for the checkered flag but also to raise funds and awareness for children, including some of his patients, living with neurofibromatosis (NF). Dr. Yarab is a physical medicine and rehab physician who has worked extensively with children affected by NF and will raise funds for their cause through Racing4Research, a unique fundraising campaign established by the Children’s Tumor Foundation (www.ctf.org).

“The opportunity to do work that I love, bettering the health of physically challenged children, coupled with the sport that I love, auto racing, is like a dream come true. With each lap that I complete we raise funds to research various forms of cancer, bone abnormalities, learning disabilities and many of the other forms that NF can take in children, it’s an honor to have that opportunity.”

This is the fourth year the Children's Tumor Foundation’s Racing4Research program will compete in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the nation’s premier endurance auto-race. For 24 straight hours Dr. Yarab and four fellow drivers will race with each lap the team completes raising money pledged by donors for clinical trials of potential NF treatments.

“The endurance aspect of the race is similar to the endurance aspect of leading a life with neurofibromatosis,” said George Orfanakos, Executive Director of the Children’s Tumor Foundation. “After 24 straight hours of racing the cars are often very beat up and very run down. The Children’s Tumor Foundation is competing in a race to prevent children from suffering the potentially devastating effects that a lifetime of neurofibromatosis can have on the body and Dr. Yarab is helping make sure we win the race.”

Neurofibromatosis is a progressive disorder that affects more than one in every 3,000 children born and causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body. NF is more prominent than cystic fibrosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Huntington’s disease combined. The Racing4Research program has raised more than $500,000 for NF research since its inception. This program has already raised more than $225,000 for the 2010 Rolex 24 campaign.