I took Tuesday off this week to take part in a very special charity fundraiser event to support the Special Olympics of Connecticut.  7 friends of mine, 4 of whom where stationed in Iraq last year, and I put together 2 teams to take part in an Endurance Karting challenge.  The challenge took place at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut, where 14 teams of 4 drivers raced for 4 hours straight.  The only requirement was to have 15 driver changes throughout the race.  All proceeds from the team entry fees and anything else we could put together went to supporting the Special Olympics of Connecticut being held at Southern Connecticut State University this year.   Thank you to everyone who helped out.

You couldn't have asked for a better day to race, the weather was perfect.  The karts in this race are not your average kart.  These use a DINO Racing Chassis and are mounted with a torque 10 horsepower 270 cc Honda Engine.  Top speeds on these karts reach 50 mph. The race began with a Le Mans start at 1pm, and for the next 4 hours we drove full throttle (mostly), drifting and sliding and screeching around the various hairpin and blind turns around the track.  As pathetic as it sounds, I'm still sore and cramped.

We were up against some steep competition (4 out of the 8 of us were rookies), but the main aim of this was to just have fun and support a good cause.  There's not much a bunch of rookies can do against a handful of teams of professional drivers.  Some of these teams brought helmet communication devices, full racing apparel all the way down to the shoes, personal lap timers that plugged right into the transponders on the karts, and various other pieces of racing equipment that brought this to a whole serious level I hadn't expected.  Our teams placed 7 and 12 out of a field of 14.

Standings and lap times can be seen here, and additional photos of the event will be hosted here soon.  If you are interested in further supporting the Special Olympics please check out their planned giving website.