The Arizona Sports Racing Association had their final race of the year on Saturday. The event included the local Make-A-Wish chapter. 30+ children were there to take “parade laps” on the racetrack in Vipers and other street/track cars for ~15 minutes during the lunch hour. While speeds were far from hot laps, moderate burnouts were allowed along with some spirited acceleration and moderate cornering to complete the experience. The drivers also brought presents that were wrapped on site and distributed to the children . In keeping with the spirit of an event called a “SANTA DASH” , each of the drivers signed a red “Santa” hat for the child they drove around the track to keep. The Arizona Viper Club presented a generous check to Make-A-Wish from the proceeds raised at an auction held during the Christmas Party the night before that included some entertaining bidding. (so just how will Frank look without the beard?)
Susan and I shared the driving time for this and were privileged to drive a terrific child around the race track answering questions about the car, racing, why her dad was a fan of Michael S., to how competitive her brother was.
Tying this in with a local race event seemed fairly easy to do. No special racing licenses were required, just some courage. If your club has the opportunity to participate in something like this it is worth your time. Words cannot capture the excitement of these children as they buckled into the cars, nor can words capture the emotion of the drivers. It is something you have to experience personally.
Susan and I shared the driving time for this and were privileged to drive a terrific child around the race track answering questions about the car, racing, why her dad was a fan of Michael S., to how competitive her brother was.
Tying this in with a local race event seemed fairly easy to do. No special racing licenses were required, just some courage. If your club has the opportunity to participate in something like this it is worth your time. Words cannot capture the excitement of these children as they buckled into the cars, nor can words capture the emotion of the drivers. It is something you have to experience personally.
