Racing for Children’s Returns to Simcraft 24 Hours of Orlando
As of August 1st, 2019, the Racing for Children’s Karting Team has officially registered for the 2nd Annual Simcraft 24 Hours of Orlando! Racing for Children’s will be competing in the Pro Category again this year and will be fighting for the overall win. The 2019 race was a bitter/sweet experience for the team. After analyzing the lap time data, the team was on pace to fight for a podium result. A broken frame and a snapped throttle cable resulted in the team spending a little over 2 hours behind the wall to make repairs, resulting in an 11th overall finishing position. Despite the disappointing on-track result, the real win came from the team’s fundraising efforts. In just its first year of the karting program, Racing for Children’s raised over $3,000 for the Children’s of Alabama Hospital. With the 2019 event in the rear view mirror and the 2020 race just 2 months away, the team is aiming to raise more money than was raised in 2019 while also returning home with some hardware!
Racing for Children’s will be returning to the 2nd Annual Simcraft 24 Hours of Orlando with the same driver lineup from 2019 plus one additional driver. This year’s driver lineup will include Michael Gay, Nick Lefferdo, Patrick Wilmot, Andrew Pinkerton, and Erik Evans. Erik is the newest, and a very welcomed addition to the team. With five drivers instead of four, the drivers will be able to get more rest in between driving stints. More well rested drivers will result in better performance behind the wheel.
Along with the drivers, Racing for Children’s will also be returning with its technical partner, DCT SpeedSport. In addition to providing a brand new piece of equipment for the race, DCT will be bringing additional mechanics and tuners to assist with set-up changes and pit stops. DCT did a fantastic job last year providing a competitive piece of equipment last year and the team is excited to be partnered with them again this year.
Lastly, Racing for Children’s will be joined by social media guru, Ren Henry. Ren did an amazing job last year running the team’s live stream link throughout the event as well as capturing and posting content on social media. Ren will be working on the team’s live stream again this year so all of the team’s fans and donors can tune into the race. In addition to race coverage and social media interaction, Ren will be assisting with on-site operations throughout the race weekend.
Racing for Children’s headed to the Orlando Kart Center December 21-22 for a full weekend of testing. The team worked on dialing in a good set-up for the race, getting drivers plenty of seat time and practice, as well as walking through a race strategy. Be sure to stay tuned for updates! Thank you again to all of our partners and donors! We could not compete in this event without your support and we’re so very thankful for your willingness to contribute to our mission: raising money and awareness for pediatric cancer.