Awareness is the Key to Understanding

Cambridge, ON - September 6, 2014
Photo - Brooke Legacy

If anyone had told me two years ago that someone with Autism could drive a race car, I would have already been formulating the argument against it in my mind by their second sentence.  I would have argued that there's no way someone with Autism could focus enough, maintain concentration enough, have the proper fine motor skills, or have the hand/eye coordination and reaction times required to drive a race car.

I would have been completely and utterly wrong.  In fact, I would have been so wrong that looking back at how I would have reacted, I'm fine with saying I would have been bigoted and prejudiced.  All I knew about Autism was "The Rain Man" portrayed by Dustin Hoffman.  I had never met anyone with Autism, and I was completely ignorant.

However, I'm extremely happy I was wrong.  Austin Riley taught me that lesson, and he taught it to me in spades.  I met him just over a year ago, and he showed me just how ignorant I was.

The reality is that I'm not alone.  Very few people have the vaguest idea what Autism is or what someone with Autism can do.  It's those people that Austin Riley and his father Jason are looking to reach with a 2015 "Autism Awareness Tour".  By telling people about Austin, the Riley family hopes to educate people.  They couldn't have picked a better example in Austin or come up with a better idea.

As with all great ideas, it takes money to make something like this cross-country four month tour a reality.  The Riley family has come up with a way to fund the tour and they could use some help.

On September 27, 2014, the "Racing With Autism Team Karting Enduro" will take place at Goodwood Kartways near Stoufville, Ontario.  A maximum of 18 teams of four drivers per team will compete head to head in a 1 1/2 hour Enduro.  The Entry fee is $400 per team.

I don't have hope that Austin will do well in racing.  I KNOW for a fact that he will do well in racing.

I also know that if Austin can teach me how ignorant and bigoted I was just by driving around a track in a kart, then there's no way he can't teach others the same lesson and make the world a better place.

Keep doing great things, Austin.  Keep doing great things.

Austin's Story

Welcome to Inspiration At Speed

Cambridge, ON - July 28, 2014

Many of you will be familiar with this series of articles from In The Pits Media and CBS Sports' In The Pits Racing Radio.  For the first year of its life the series lived on In The Pits Media's website.  I'm very grateful to ITPM for hosting the series in its first year, but there is so much more that can be done with the series.  We've moved it over to its own independent blog, which provides us with many new opportunities.  While the series will continue to be published on ITPM's website, this blog presents the opportunity to expand on the series and the people featured in the series.

First, we can now provide regular updates on the events and people featured in the series via the News Page of this blog.  That means we can tell you when one of our 'inspiring stories' is racing somewhere, how they do at the events they race at, and what news and announcements they have about their racing activities.  It also means we can create a Twitter account for the series, a Facebook Page, and make use of other social media to spread the continuing stories of inspiration we write and care about.

We're still working on more stories, as there are so many stories out there that need to be told.  They are from different parts of the globe, and it takes time to put those special and unique stories together.  As it sits now, we have two stories in the works, with one waiting for an approval to release and another ready to be researched and written.

We hope that when you're in need of a heartwarming story, a story to encourage you to continue on facing whatever challenge you're dealing with, or you just want to read a feel good story that you'll check us out.

We hope you'll agree with us.  There is 'Inspiration At Speed.'

Colene & Brooke