¦ August 31, 2011
INFINEON RACEWAY DAY AT THE RACES 2011
Wow.... what an awesome day at the Infineon Day at the Races!

  Over 70 people attended our Day at the Races Infineon event on August 27, 2011.  A large percentage were children with some type of spinal cord injury/disease and also several paralyzed or amputee Veterans.  Most of our guests came from Sacramento and the surrounding area, but one of the wounded warriors and his family traveled 6 hours to attend.  Our guests at Infineon were from BORP (Bay Area Outreach and Recreation), Access Leisure, Paralympic Sports, Ties Sports Org, Sacramento PVA, Soldiers Angels and Wheelchair Foundation.
 
They had no idea what was in store for them when they first arrived at the track early that morning in cars and buses.  After gathering together as a group, Infineon Raceway operations manager Bobby O’Gorman met us at the front gate and escorted us to Andretti Autosport's awesome “view from the top” to enjoy an especially tasty lunch.  Several attendees commented on the “yummy rainbow trout!”  As luck would have it, Mario Andretti was available to join us for lunch, signing autographs and posing for photos with many of the guests.  After spending the first couple of hours “on top of the world”, we were escorted back down the hill to a special parking area right next to the paddock.  Everyone was so excited to head to the garage and see the cars up close and personal. 
 
Martin Plowman was the first driver there to greet everyone with a big smile, autographed hero cards and to pose for photos.  After touring the garage area we headed for our front row seats in the grandstand to watch the cars qualify.  Several also ventured to the pits to get an even closer look at the cars and crews at work.
 
The V.I.P. treatment continued, as Firestone mascot Firehawk shot t-shirts straight in our direction, IZOD IndyCar officials handed out face shield protectors, and drivers stopped to autograph hats, t-shirts and calendars.  Infineon Raceway officials led a large group of our guests to the winner's circle to watch the end of qualifications and wait for Pole Winner Will Powers, who acknowledged all the kids by pointing and smiling at them.  Then “Charles in Charge”, head of security for IZOD IndyCar joined the show, posing for photos with the group and taking time to chat.  Many of the guests were still not ready for the day to end, so they continued to the fan zone to have some more fun before heading home.

It was a long day of dreams come true and unique opportunities!  When the BORP group reboarded their bus you could hear the squeals of delight as they found in each gift bag a miniature race car compliments of United Medical Providers and the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation, to keep as a memory of their special day.

Of course, without our sponsors this day would not have been possible.  THANK YOU to Andretti Autosport and your hospitality crew, Infineon Raceway, Sam Schmidt Motorsports, Firestone Racing, IZOD IndyCar; United Medical Providers (UMP), New Mobility, American Honda and Stem Cell Action.

For more information about the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation Day at the Races program, click here.