ATLANTA — Last Saturday, for the ninth consecutive year, NASCAR star Chase Elliott had his number 9 NAPA Chevrolet specially decorated by a child to bring attention to and help raise funds for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Elliott won the race, his first victory in 44 tries.

Even better? The car’s design originated from Thomasville native Rhealynn Mills.

11-year-old Mills, chosen among submissions from patients at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s, was diagnosed with Metastatic Osteosarcoma in October 2022. She had her right leg amputated, one of 19 surgeries she has undergone.

Her winning design illustrated her desire to be a nurse and featured symbols of hope and healing, including childhood cancer ribbons, stethoscopes, heart monitors, and the words “Cure Cancer” and “healing kids like me” on the car.

It was an important part of what would turn out to be a storybook week for Elliott.

“For her to kind of exemplify and show the fight that she’s gone through and that attitude that she’s had throughout the process, I think, is really important,” Elliott said of Mills’ design. “I was excited to have her at the race and spend some time with her family, too. I’ve said this before, it’s not just her, the whole family, and what they go through and deal with through the process. It’s a lot of weight on a lot of different people.”

During his post-race interview on the track, Elliott made sure to highlight his good luck charm: “Thanks to all you guys, because this right here, you can’t dream of this. Rhealynn Mills designed a fast NAPA Chevrolet tonight.”

When the TV reporter then asked Mills how she felt seeing her creation win the race, her response, delivered through a beaming grin, was simply perfect: “It was cool!”

Trey Mills, Rhealynn’s father, was blown away by the experience.

“We were kind of shocked when we found out she’d won,” he shared. “We actually forgot about the deadline because we were on the road headed back from treatment in Atlanta. She sat down at our bar in the kitchen and drew it out 30 minutes before the deadline.”

“I really was thinking about what I wanted to do when my mom told me that I was in the contest, and I was thinking about the question ‘Dream Big: what do you want to be when you grow up?”, Rhealynn recalled. “I was writing them down in a notebook, and then when my mom got the papers, I started to sketch out the nurse and all the other stuff. I just thought back to all the things I saw when I was in the hospital.”

Elliott added a personal touch to let Rhealynn know her design had won.

“Chase sent a video that told me I won,” she said. “He said my design was chosen, and he wanted my family and I to come and be at the race with him. I was very excited.”

When asked about her favorite part of the experience, Rhealynn was clear.

“My favorite part was meeting him. He was very nice and easy to talk to,” she said.

When asked about his favorite part of the experience, Trey echoed his daughter’s sentiments.

“I think our favorite part of being backstage was just getting to sit down with Chase and have a simple, easy conversation,” he said. “He’s a very humble guy, and easy to talk to. He was very interested in Rhea’s story, and that made us feel welcomed.”

Rhealynn also had an explanation for Elliott’s victory.

“He won because he told us beforehand that he has wrecked every drive-by design car the last 8 years,” she stated. “So him winning was extra special because it was year 9 of the contest and his car is number 9!”

“This experience has been so overwhelming for our entire family,” Trey concluded. “We really never dreamed that it would turn into what it has, but it is an experience that we will never forget. Chase Elliott and his team went above and beyond anything we could’ve ever imagined. He made Rhealynn feel like she was part of the team, and that’s what mattered. We could only hope that her story would reach thousands of people so that it could possibly educate others and raise funding for pediatric cancer families as well as the research side.”

Fans can enter an online sweepstakes fundraiser at desi9ntodrive.org to win part of Elliott’s race-worn Atlanta uniform. All donations will benefit the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s. The sweepstakes closes July 7.