Team Rubicon Recruits Volunteers at Daytona 500

When race fans arrive at the Daytona 500 this weekend, they'll see something unexpected alongside the speed and spectacle: volunteers in grey shirts ready to change lives.

Team Rubicon, a veteran-led disaster response organization, is setting up shop at Daytona International Speedway. The group wants to recruit racing fans to join their mission of helping communities before, during, and after disasters strike.

The organization has come a long way since 2010, when founder Jake Wood rounded up eight volunteers to help Haiti after a devastating earthquake. That scrappy team of recently separated Marines treated thousands of patients, working with the speed and determination they learned in service.

Today, Team Rubicon has grown to more than 200,000 volunteers across every zip code in America. These "Greyshirts" respond to everything from hurricanes that dominate headlines to smaller disasters that never make the news.

CEO Jim Brooks says the grey shirt itself tells a story. On their second deployment to Chile after another earthquake, volunteers walked into a store looking for matching uniforms. Grey was the only color available in enough quantity, so they bought them all.

Now that simple grey shirt represents something bigger. It unites veterans, first responders, and what Brooks calls "Kick Ass Civilians" who volunteer their time, skills, and labor to rebuild communities.

The partnership with United Rentals and NASCAR gives Team Rubicon access to thousands of potential volunteers in one place. Corporate partners donate money, equipment, and vehicles that allow the organization to provide all services free to disaster victims.

The Ripple Effect

With billion-dollar disasters now occurring every 18 days in the United States, Team Rubicon's volunteer base becomes more critical every year. Each new Greyshirt multiplies the organization's ability to respond quickly when communities need help most.

The veteran ethos that started with eight Marines in Haiti continues to drive everything they do. It's about showing up with clarity of purpose, building trust with communities, and working together to solve hard problems.

Race weekend gives thousands of fans a chance to join something bigger than themselves, turning their passion for community into action that helps strangers get back on their feet after their worst days.