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 […]
Two of the most popular drivers from the Red Bull Global Rallycross series gave children at the HSC Pediatric Center, a reason to brave the heat Thursday. Tanner Foust and Connor Martell showed off the Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross show car and met with several dozen children throughout the morning.
The two racers signed Racing for Kids caps and personal racing posters then spoke with children about their upcoming race Saturday as well as racing in general. The drivers even let children “drive” their show car and almost all the children got pictures of themselves behind the wheel and with the drivers.
Therapists at the HSC Pediatric Center, located in Washington, D.C., said the visit helps children because it gives them something positive to distract them from their medical situation. Distraction techniques are an important way to ease anxieties and lessen fears for hospitalized patients and their families. Events like these are used to make the hospital experience a more positive one for children of all ages by offering developmental, educational, and emotional support. They help children cope with hospitalization and promote the continuity of normal, daily childhood activities.
Tanner and Conner are in town for the Red Bull GRC event in the parking lot of RFK Stadium. Championship leader Foust represents Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross while Conner represented Dirtfish Motorsports.
Racing for Kids is a Detroit-based national charity that uses the popularity of Motorsports to focus public awareness on the health needs of children. It was founded in 1989 and charity drivers have visited more than 28,000 children during more than 550 hospital visits around the world. It has raised more than $6 million for the hospitals visited and other children’s health systems.
The HSC Pediatric Center is a children’s specialty hospital that provides rehabilitation and transitional care to children and young adults from infancy through their early twenties. Th hospital is guided by a family-centered philosophy to not only help youth with complex medical issues, but assist the entire family in understanding and living with the challenges ahead.
