NASCAR Cup Series

Ben Kennedy, Scott Zipadelli raise $20K to fight pediatric cancer

Published May. 12, 2015 1:12 p.m. ET

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This past weekend's SpongeBob SquarePants theme at Kansas Speedway was a great way to bridge the gap to young potential NASCAR fans, but it also helped out a good cause.

While a number of drivers had character-specific cars during the Sprint Cup Series race, Ben Kennedy and his Red Horse Racing ride in the Camping World Truck Series carried SpongeBob and all of his friends during Friday night's race.

Taking it one step further, Kennedy's crew chief Scott Zipadelli wore a SpongeBob SquarePants onesie pajama set atop the pit box for Friday's race.

The gimmick began on April 21 when Kennedy jokingly tweeted a picture of the one-piece SpongeBob SquarePants pajama set and told Zipadelli he had to wear it while calling the race. The 23-year-old member of the France family had spent the day visiting a children's hospital in Kansas.

In turn, Zipadelli said if together they could raise $10,000 to fight pediatric cancer he would wear the one-piece suit.

Not only did Kennedy, Zipadelli and Red Horse Racing meet the $10,000 mark, they raised a total of $20,000 for the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation when Nickelodeon matched the amount raised.

"Pediatric cancer awareness means a lot to me since my daughter was diagnosed with cancer three years ago," said Zipadelli. "Anytime I can use what I do for a living to try bring awareness, I try to make it happen. It's pretty cool, and more so, really amazing. The coolest thing was after all the people had donated more than $10,000, Nickelodeon was so gracious and impressed that they donated as well."

On Wednesday of this week, both Kennedy and Zipadelli will attend the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation Catwalk for a Cause to present the check.

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