As the sun rose over Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, anticipation filled the air. Peter Hanson and the Sanders Motorsport Team were back for our much-anticipated annual fan appreciation event. Despite the brisk temperatures, a remarkable crowd gathered, eager to witness the thrilling season’s culmination. Fans shared stories, exchanged hugs, and expressed admiration for the teams […]
Racing For Kids is doing what it does best – brightening the days of hospitalized or chronically ill children—with special events in Florida, Michigan and Wisconsin as it celebrates its 35th Anniversary season.
The national children’s charity –the oldest in motorsports – began this year’s INDYCAR season with a visit to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, featuring INDYCAR drivers Santino Ferrucci and Sting Ray Robb, followed by a Kids-at-the-Track Day entertaining the hospital’s outpatients in March. The children and their families had a fun-filled day meeting race car drivers including the AJ Foyt team, a Firestone tire tour, racing memorabilia gifts and a delicious track side lunch provided by Lundy Catering. “Green Savoree and the Firestone Grand Prix really helped make this happen” said Pat Wright, CEO of Racing For Kids. “It was such a great way to kick off Racing For Kids’ 35rd year of helping sick kids get better faster through motorsports.”
Next up was a whirlwind weekend at the Detroit Grand Prix, starting with a visit to Children’s Hospital of Michigan, where Racing For Kids was founded in 1989. Racing For Kids brought popular INDYCAR racers Jack Harvey, Sting Ray Robb, Agustin Canapino and Theo Pourchaire to visit with the young patients in Brush Mall behind the hospital. The drivers spent time with kids, who were hopping in and out of the Detroit Grand Prix showcar They handed out Racing For Kids caps and Wikki Stix, signed autographs, posed for photos and talked about their racing careers, how fast they go and what it’s like to drive an INDYCAR.
On Friday, the RFK entertained dozens of area children, including some of the kids on the Racing For Kids Courageous Kids team, to a fun day at the track, courtesy of Firestone Racing. The children and their parents and siblings enjoyed a catered lunch as well as pit and paddock tours as they watched the driver practice and qualify for Grand Prix positions.
The engines had hardly cooled down from the race in the streets of Detroit, when the Racing For Kids team was off to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for the XPEL Grand Prix presented by AMR at Road America. The race’s annual Welcome Party at the landmark turn-of-the-century Siebkens Resort was designated a Racing For Kids fundraiser by the party organizers. The event featured libations and refreshments, a live rock band, a celebrity bartender contest and a silent auction. Racing For Kids gear was on sale and hundreds of partiers turned out to support the cause. The next day, dozens of children from the Sheboygan Falls’ Boys and Girls Club enjoyed a fun day at the track, watching qualifying and meeting drivers.
“So far our 35th Anniversary Season has been a great success and we are all so grateful to be able to continue helping sick kids through motorsports even after all these years” says Pat Wright. “There is nothing to match seeing the excitement on a child’s face when they get to meet a real race driver, sit in a race car or watch the action on track. We are especially appreciative of our supporters who make this all happen.”
