Racers share thrill of driving, reading

Speedway competitors reaching out to schools

Teachers preach the importance of reading every day. Some kids listen, some kids don't. But when race care drivers teach reading, young minds are jump-started.

"They're so excited they just listen so intently when we read the books and talk about how important reading is," said NASCAR super late model racer Cindy Clark. "They all want to participate and of course they get real excited when they get to see a real race car."

Clark joined other local racers who compete at Las Vegas Motor Speedway's Bullring to volunteer in reading to second-grade students at 46 schools across the valley. Jim Petrie kicked off the program April 1 with a visit to Walker International Elementary in Henderson. Racers will continue to visit schools through Sept. 17.

Pat Petrie Jr., assistant executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Henderson, said he frequently bumps into kids he knows when he's sharing his late model division racing experience.

"I'm probably one of the few drivers in the program that works with kids in their non-race car life," Petrie said. "This is kind of continuing what I'm doing here at the club. When I visit schools, I try to stay in the Henderson area. A lot of kids at the schools are the same kids who come to the Boys & Girls Club."

Petrie said connecting sports to reading is just the trick needed to hold a child's attention.

"With anything, you have to have that hook that grabs their attention and then you can steer them in the direction you want them to go," he said. "Kids like to be read to anyway, but they're more excited when it's a race car driver reading to them instead of just their teacher. Some of the kids just really like that," he said.

The reading program was the brainchild of Speedway representative BranDee Waters.

"I came up with the reading program idea in December of 2001 and started the program in March of 2002," she said. "I wanted to integrate motor sports and reading in valley schools. I believe that reading is an essential part of everyday life. It is important that children understand the importance of reading and that even race car drivers have to be able to read."

When super late model driver Steve Reeves visited Wengert Elementary, he found kids ready to listen to Waters' message.

"Kids always love race cars," he said.

Reeves read a NASCAR story and then followed up with Tres Seymour's "The Smash-Up Crash-Up Derby," a picture book about a child's demolition derby experience. The driver then opened the floor for questions.

"Can you get hurt racing?" one child asked.

"Sure, there are wrecks sometimes at the Bullring. You don't expect to wreck, but you have to be ready," Reeves answered.

Once the reading and questions were done, Reeves took the kids outside to see his racing truck. Students stood back and plugged their ears as the driver revved the engine. Then Reeves turned the truck off and took the hood off so everyone could see the shiny engine inside.

Second-grader and race car fanatic Amanda Miner couldn't wait to see the truck.

"My dad, my mom and my little sister all love to see races a lot," Miner said. Her favorite racer is Sterling Marlin. "He has a great number, number 40," she explained.

Miner's classmate Nathan Reece said the truck Reeves brought was the first race car he had seen.

"It was cool because we got to see the engine," he said.

Even with kids hovering around the car and hanging off doors, Reeves kept his cool. Clark and Petrie said most of the drivers don't worry about car damage when they're at schools.

"They can't hurt it and if they do, I can fix it," Petrie said. "Them being excited about looking at it and climbing on it and sitting in it is more important than any damage they could do. Besides, if that car can't handle kids, it has no business being on a race track."

"There's nothing they could do that I haven't already done and fixed," Clark said.


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