NASCAR cars are like moving billboards, and driver Jack Sellers is using his to pay tribute to a fallen friend.
Sellers will race with a chihuahua painted on his car at next weekend's K&N Pro Series at Havasu 95 Speedway as a tribute, according to MSNBC. The pet chihuahua pictured on the hood of Sellers' car — named Lily — was recently killed by a golf-club wielding man in Menifee, Calif. Sellers, a longtime animal advocate from Sacramento, will reportedly dedicate his upcoming race to the dog as he attempts to raise awareness about animal cruelty.
The car will feature a photo of Lily, along with a caption that says, "Stop Animal Cruelty. Protect the Innocent. Be Their Voice."
Barbara Hitchman, who was Lily's owner, found the dog down the street dead in January, and a neighbor reportedly told her that a man wound up and struck the chihuahua with a golf club. The man who killed the dog said that he hit it with the club because it was trying to bite him, but witnesses said that the attacker wound up and struck the dog as if he were driving a ball on the golf range, stopping only when the witnesses intervened.
The attacker was arrested, released on $5,000 bond and currently awaits possible trial on felony animal abuse charges.
Sellers, however, didn't want to wait to show his support because he has such strong feelings about the incident.
"This heinous crime was just, justice has to prevail," Sellers said. "I'm afraid that without this campaign that we’'e having here, that it would be just set aside."
Hitchman has adopted two chihuahuas since Lily's death, but she still hopes proper justice is served.
Check out the video report below, courtesy of MSNBC, to hear more.
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