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NASCAR driver's 'need for read' inspires Henry County students

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Published  May 7, 2025 11:08am EDT
Good Day Atlanta
FOX 5 Atlanta
NASCAR driver shares love of reading in Henry County

NASCAR driver shares love of reading in Henry County

NASCAR driver Erik Jones visited Henry County’s Rocky Creek Elementary School on Wednesday, reading to students and helping re-stock the book vending machine installed there by his nonprofit, The Erik Jones Foundation.

The Brief

    • NASCAR driver Erik Jones spent the morning at Henry County’s Rocky Creek Elementary School, reading to students and re-stocking the book vending machine installed there by his nonprofit, The Erik Jones Foundation.
    • Jones teamed up with Speedway Children’s Charities Atlanta and Atlanta Motor Speedway back in 2023 to install the so-called "Bookworm" machine at Rocky Creek Elementary School.
    • Atlanta Motor Speedway is also teaming up again with Henry County Library System for a summer reading incentive program, beginning May 15.

HAMPTON, Ga. - We’re still more than a month away from the Quaker State 400 taking over Atlanta Motor Speedway — but this morning, a top NASCAR driver spent a little time down in Hampton, visiting with local students and giving a new meaning to "speed reading."

NASCAR driver Erik Jones visited Henry County’s Rocky Creek Elementary School, reading to students and helping re-stock the book vending machine installed there by his nonprofit, The Erik Jones Foundation. The driver’s foundation encompasses several missions — including promoting early cancer detection and care and animal welfare — but a chief cause for Jones is encouraging kids to read. And what better way to get kids interested in books than by filling an eye-popping vending machine with books and placing them in schools?

Jones teamed up with Speedway Children’s Charities Atlanta and Atlanta Motor Speedway back in 2023 to install the so-called "Bookworm" machine at Rocky Creek Elementary School. And no quarters or dimes are needed for this vending machine; students buy books using tokens, which they earn at school through hard work and positivity. 

Along with filling up the machine with new books, Jones was on-hand as Atlanta Motor Speedway announced the return of a reading initiative through the Henry County library system: kids (up to 18 years old) who meet their quarter milestone reading goal get two free race tickets to NASCAR weekend in June!

We love NASCAR here at Good Day Atlanta, and we love books, too — so, we didn’t hesitate to head down to Rocky Creek Elementary School to catch up with Erik Jones and students. Click the video player to check it out, and click here for more information on The Erik Jones Foundation.

The Source: Good Day Atlanta's Paul Milliken spent the morning at Rocky Creek Elementary School with Erik Jones, helping the driver re-stock the book vending machine and learning more about his passion for reading.

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