As race cars zoomed around Pocono Raceway on Sunday, NASCAR driver Ryan Ellis manned pit lane and handled social media for popular Monster Cup series mainstay Matt DiBenedetto, driver of Go Fas Racing’s No. 32 Ford Fusion. Ellis, a third generation race car driver and former full-time racer, is in his second full season as DiBenedetto’s Director of Public Relations and Marketing after taking a step back to have a steady salary and support his family.

Ellis handles sponsors, day of event hosting, and Twitter, but on Saturday, August 25, he’ll put his gloves back on and return back behind the wheel at Road America – a road course midway between the cities of Milwaukee and Green Bay.

“I’m only able to race on cup series off weekends obviously with my gig and that is one of our two off weeks,” Ellis said. The driver was in the top ten during the final laps at Daytona during his previous race this year. “I focused on Road America because I grew up road racing and that is definitely one of my strengths.”

Ellis, who grew up in Ashburn, Virginia, will also be debuting a new helmet he had painted in support of his favorite hockey team. While the driver has placed RMNB’s Deadguins sticker on the back of his head protector in the past, this professionally painted bucket will leave no doubts on which professional sports team he’s most proud of.

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Designed and airbrushed by Off Axis Paint, Ellis’s helmet features a tribute to the 2018 Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals. The left and right sides of the red and blue helmet feature the Caps’ Weagle logo while an ice texture background breaks through in certain parts of the bucket. Ellis’s name is emblazoned on the side.

“I just was thinking of something I’m passionate about and figured I’d do the Caps since it’s something I’d always wanted to do,” Ellis said. “I was hoping to get it done around March or so but it definitely is a process because there is usually a little bit of a waiting period.”

That wait turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

“At a certain point, the playoffs came and I was like ‘Hm…maybe, just maybe, the Caps might win it all,” Ellis said. “I’ll paint it after the Caps win the Cup and get the Cup logo on it. Of course I kept that private as to not jinx them.”

Ellis saw two playoff games at Capital One Arena during the team’s playoff run – Game Five of the Caps-Pens series and Game Four of the Stanley Cup Final.

Off Axis has painted sports schemes before. They’ve done a St. Louis Blues helmet for Kenny Wallace and more recently an Eagles helmet for Alex Bowman.

My @StLouisBlues DIRT racing helmet would not fit in the luggage bin above my seat in the airplane. No problem. I have it Right Herrrrr!😀. pic.twitter.com/u6exI9Lhvv

— Kenny Wallace (@Kenny_Wallace) April 6, 2018

They’ve also painted several hockey masks.

As for Ellis’s ride happening in less than a month, he will be driving a BJ McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet.

“We’ve basically been trying to make this work since we ran together at Daytona and almost had that Top Five,” Ellis said. “I had a few great local businesses come on board such as Superlite Cars, Bachtel Excavating, Pit Stops for Hope, Degler, Dogwood Crossfit, Pet Paradise, and a big sponsor I’ll announce this week. We are still searching for a few smaller sponsors, starting at $1,000 for logo on the car.”

Unlike drivers who have deeper pockets, Ellis has had to scratch and claw for every opportunity he’s received. Next month, he’ll race again in the XFINITY series and try to show why he’s always deserved a full-time spot.