Loma Linda University Children's Hospital news
Sprint© brings NASCAR to the Children’s Hospital
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| Angel Garcia enjoys racing in the simulated NASCAR event. He said it was a surprise, and a lot better than what he had planned for the day. |
The Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital got the green flag on April 17 when Sprint© brought in the Kyle Petty number 45 NASCAR racing simulator for the patients to drive. Sprint© sponsors the simulator to travel around the country, following the NASCAR season. The Children’s Hospital stop was in preparation for the April 28 race at the California Speedway in Fontana. This was the first hospital the car has ever visited.
“We’ve visited schools, retail centers, special events,” says Dave Medina, public relations analyst for Sprint©. “But this is the first hospital.”
The simulator is a computer racing game that places the participant in the driver’s seat of a NASCAR racecar about to take off at the beginning of a race. The whole environment, including the sounds of the tires screeching as you hit the accelerator on the starting line and the pit crew chief radioing in competing car positions, is recreated within the hull of an authentic NASCAR chassis. “This car could be retrofitted to run,” smiles Mr. Medina. “It’s identical down to the decals.”
While most of the time the simulator is used to drum up interest in the coming race and Sprint©’s phone service programs, the visit to the Children’s Hospital was special. “This is purely an opportunity for the kids to experience NASCAR firsthand,” commented Mr. Medina. The hospital was the first stop during an eight-day tour of the Inland Empire.
The simulator program has been running three years. It began when Adam Petty was driving. Adam died in a crash during that season, however. Now his father, Kyle, has come out of retirement to drive the car in his son’s honor.
The kids lit up when presented a chance to drive in a real racecar. “It was just fun,” says Angel Garcia, a 13 year old who had come to the Children’s Hospital two days prior. Most of the kids brought down to participate were surprised when they saw the car sitting in the front drive. Austin Hemphill, 8, from Hesperia, thought he was going to have his mouth examined again. He was the first racer in the car, and according to him it was a lot better than the dentist.
Nohely Gonzalez, 8, enjoyed the surprise a lot as well. Spending nearly a month at the Children’s Hospital already, the racing was a welcome change to her daily routine. She said it was her first time in a racecar. She wrapped up the experience in a single word, “fun.”
“This is a giant Hot Wheels™, who wouldn’t like to sit in it?!” says Mr. Medina of the kids’ reaction to the car. Their looks varied from smiles of delight as they zoomed around the course to intense furrowed brows as they steered their car out of a spin. But whatever the facial expression, as soon as the crew chief shouted out “Green flag! Green, green, green!” in rapid succession, the kids had fun racing in car number 45.
|Top| [May 9, 2002 TODAY]
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