Ten finalists have made the cut in the “Our Everyday Heroes” Race Car Design Contest hosted by Ford Customer Service Division (FCSD), with more than $40,000 already raised for JDRF and a month left to vote.

Fifty-one children from around the country with T1D (type 1 diabetes) have been raising funds for research toward a cure for the disease they all share with the hopes of seeing their artwork on the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car driven by Bob Tasca.

Ten finalists have made the cut in the “Our Everyday Heroes” Race Car Design Contest hosted by Ford Customer Service Division (FCSD), with more than $40,000 already raised for JDRF and a month left to vote.

Fifty-one children from around the country with T1D (type 1 diabetes) have been raising funds for research toward a cure for the disease they all share with the hopes of seeing their artwork on the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car driven by Bob Tasca.

Finalists include: Blake Lillicraf, 13, of Trumbull, Conn.; Max Jacobson, 9, of New Orleans; Tyler Zoldak, 7, of New Kensington, Pa.; Ty Seabourn, 9, of Dallas; Meredith Meidl, 7, of Antigo, Wisc.; Grace Bouda, 5, of Brookfield, Wisc.; William Samberg, 8, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; Caroline Simms, 12, Butler, Pa.; Maddilynn Kelly, 9, of Cypress, Texas; and Carson Magee, 10, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

The top 10 fundraisers will now be paired with Ford dealers in their hometowns who will help them raise even more money for JDRF. Voting continues at CLICK HERE TO VOTE until May 28, 2013. All proceeds go to JDRF.

The winning designer wins a trip to see the car that he or she designed race in the Route 66 NHRA Nationals, June 28-30, 2013, a professional drag race where the JDRF-themed Funny Car will race at speeds faster than 300 mph.

“Our goal this year was to raise $50,000 for JDRF and we are well on our way to reaching it,” said Mary Lou Quesnell, director of marketing, FCSD.

In 2012, Libby Ledford, 11, of Stanton, Mich. raised $1,915 in the contest that gave her the racing experience of a lifetime. The 5-foot-4, four-sport athlete was born into a drag racing family, but never dreamed she’d see her own artwork on an NHRA Funny Car.

Ford Motor Company’s relationship with JDRF spans three decades. In 2008, Motorcraft and Quick Lane Racing joined the effort. In five years, the race car design contest has raised over a quarter of a million dollars for JDRF, the world’s leading charitable funder of type 1 diabetes research.

In T1D, the body’s pancreas stops producing enough insulin, a hormone that is needed to turn food into energy. People with T1D must monitor their blood sugar levels and administer insulin via shots or an insulin pump, multiple times every day. Even vigilant management does not ward against T1D complications such as heart attack, stroke, blindness, and amputation. JDRF is the largest charitable funder of research toward preventing, better treating, and curing T1D and its complications.