published: Friday, September 05, 2008

Families enjoy a different kind of track memories

By TREY CHRISTY

trey.christy@newssun.com

SEBRING -- It started small in 1998 with just under 60 people from different families at an event hosted from the back end of a sport utility vehicle.

Since then the event has grown to serve nearly 200 over a three-day period with pizza, pool parties and, of course, racing at Sebring International Raceway.

"I raced for 37 years and we started taking these kids to professional baseball games in Fort Myers for three or four years," said the Rev. Stephen Zoeller of Zoeller Ministries. "I told my wife I was going to the race next weekend and they would enjoy going to a car race more than a baseball game."

The children Zoeller talks about are terminally ill, but in a three-day period starting Friday they will be treated to an all-you-can-eat buffet of exotic race cars.

The event, called Kids Racing for Life, is put on by Zoeller Ministries every year, giving children and their families a chance to have an exciting weekend while riding in real race cars around Sebring's internationally known racetrack.

"The highlight of the weekend is the hour they get to ride around the track in some highly exotic cars," Zoeller said.

The cars are prototype racers and a few of the cars seen during the 12 Hours of Sebring race.

The event is centered on the track but three days provide time for various activities and time for the children and their families to relax and be with their friends.

The group stays together at one hotel, all paid for by the ministry, but it isn't cheap.

The weekend costs nearly $26,000, including travel costs for the children and their families to Sebring, the cost of the hotel, supplies for food, and renting necessary equipment for the event.

"It really mounts up in a hurry," Zoeller said, but after the first event it was obvious to him it needed to continue.

The first year three or four of the children passed away, Zoeller said, one of the children less than two months later.

"He told his mom and dad that was the most fun he had, because he got to be with his friends all the time, spend time with his dad, see the races and ride in a race car," Zoeller said.

The hour long ride session is sandwiched between races put on by the Porsche and BMW Owners Club, so the children can watch the cars race with their families before and after they ride in them.

Zoeller said the children get extra special treatment by the drivers. "Some of the racers would not let their own family in their cars," he said. "But they let these kids crawl all over them. It's amazing to see what they do."

Zoeller remembers a story from two years ago about an 18-year-old boy who repeatedly tried to make the event but couldn't. Finally a surgery was moved and he was able to attend.

"We got him several rides in the race cars," Zoeller said. "One that sticks out is a guy with a blue Dodge Viper, Jim Booth from West Palm Beach."

Booth asked the boy's father how fast he could drive the car, and the man told him he could push the limits as far as his son wanted.

Due to the loud engine and exhaust noise emanating throughout the cockpit, the children communicate to the drivers through a series of hand signals.

Simply put, thumbs up means go faster, thumbs down means go slower, and a thumb towards the door means 'I'm getting sick.'

"He had his thumb up the whole time," Zoeller said. "He hit 130 or 140 (miles per hour) on the back straight and he said he looked over and (the boy) was just grinning from ear to ear."

Booth pulled into the paddock and when the boy's father started to walk over to the car, Zoeller held him back and told him to let the two talk.

It turned out Booth was asking the boy if he knew how to drive a stick, and after a few minutes the two traded seats and he drove the Viper over to the fuel pump.

"We took him to R.J. Gators and that's all he could talk about," Zoeller said.

When the boy died, all of the pictures at the funeral were from the racetrack -- standing next to or sitting in the car, and talking with Booth.

"That was one of my Sebring memorable moments," Zoeller said. "It really tells why we do what we do."

Zoeller, or Race Rev as he is known in the racing community, has held his Sports Car Club of America membership continually since 1967, when he raced a Formula Vee. He also raced in the D Sports Racer class.

To donate to Kids Racing for Life, send a check payable to Zoeller Ministries with KRFL in the memo to PO Box 6885, Fort Myers, FL 33911-6885 or visit racerev.com for more information or to donate money using a Paypal account.

Zoeller Ministries is a non-profit corporation and has been operating for 13 years.