Long before the Austin Hatcher Foundation existed, its founders forged a deep connection with Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. It was there that Jim and Amy Jo Osborn met and began raising funds for children with cancer, years before their own son was born. Tragically, the track also became the site of one of the few memories they would ever share with him.

Today, nearly two decades later, that enduring bond has come full circle: the track now hosts hundreds of pediatric cancer families each year, transforming a place of high-speed competition into one of the Foundation’s most meaningful traditions of healing.

The story starts in the early 2000s. Amy Jo Osborn was a photographer for Southern Living Magazine on assignment for an editorial project, documenting how Jim Osborn, an orthopedic spine surgeon and professional driver competing in the SPEED World Challenge Series, was using racing as a fundraising tool for nonprofits. The two crossed paths trackside, and what began as a chance meeting grew into a marriage. By 2002 — years before the Foundation existed — they had already begun raising money for children with cancer and hosting Diversionary Therapy visits at the same track where they'd met. *“Diversionary Therapy” is a form of therapy offering families joyful, memorable experiences that provide relief from the stress of cancer treatment.

"Our relationship with the Motul Petit Le Mans began back in 2002, before the Foundation was even formed," said Dr. Jim Osborn, the Foundation’s co-founder. "Fast forward to 2006, and Hatch was there with us as a six-week-old baby, while our race team was unveiling a new bio-diesel car."

That weekend at Road Atlanta remains one of the only trackside memories the Osborns have of their son. Shortly after, Austin "Hatch" Osborn was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of brain and spinal tumors and passed away 11 days later.

"It was after that weekend that Hatch was diagnosed and passed away," Dr. Osborn said.

Later that year, the Osborns founded the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer, turning their grief into action. Their personal journey revealed a critical gap in care: the emotional and developmental support families need when facing pediatric cancer, which is typically unaddressed by hospitals and uncovered by insurance. They built the Foundation to meet that need directly, ensuring no family walks the pediatric cancer journey without support — mental, emotional, and educational. In the years that followed, the bond with IMSA and Road Atlanta deepened into something lasting, carrying forward the same track where their story with Hatch began.

Today, the Austin Hatcher Foundation proudly holds the distinction of a Proud Charity of IMSA and Official Charity of Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, formal recognition of a relationship that has always run deeper than sponsorship. Each year, the Foundation returns to the track for the Motul Petit Le Mans, one of the crown jewels of North American road racing, and transforms race weekend into a source of joy and connection for the families it serves.

Through the Foundation’s Diversionary Therapy program, more than 200 pediatric cancer patients, survivors, and their families are hosted at a trackside chalet each year, at no cost. Families experience the roar of the cars, meet drivers, take photos beside the machines, and take part in activities designed specifically for children and siblings carrying the weight of a cancer diagnosis. For a weekend, the track becomes something beyond just a place of competition. It becomes a place of joy and respite.

The Foundation's roots in motorsports run deeper than race weekend alone. That same automotive DNA now powers the Foundation’s Industrial Arts Therapy program: the only program of its kind in the nation, channeling the mechanics, tools, and hands-on problem-solving of the racing world into a therapeutic outlet for kids and teens navigating cancer. What began at a racetrack has become a lasting model for healing, exploration, and learning.

The partnership has also grown into one of the Foundation's most significant fundraising engines. Throughout race weekend, the Foundation hosts live painting sessions and auctions in various manufacturer corrals, giving fans an up-close, only-at-the-track experience while providing direct support to pediatric cancer families. In the FanZone, the Foundation's silent auction has become a race-weekend tradition of its own, drawing crowds each year with exclusive racing gear, original art, and one-of-a-kind memorabilia. Combined with fan donations tied to race ticket sales and deep connections across the motorsports community, these efforts have helped the relationship with Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta raise more than $500,000 to date for pediatric cancer families.

"This track holds one of our most treasured memories with Hatch, and it's fitting that it's also become a place where hundreds of families find joy each year," said Amy Jo Osborn, CEO of the Foundation. "That's what makes our partnership with Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta so special — it's built on two decades of their unwavering commitment to our mission.”

Twenty years ago, a chance meeting on the track set everything in motion. Today, that story lives on in every family that walks through the front gates, every child who takes a photo beside a race car, and every dollar raised in the Fan Zone. What began with two people has become a partnership that turns one family's history into hundreds of new memories, year after year.