Adaptive Motorsports And Wellness: reclaiming independence and fulfilling dreams!

Brian Hanaford 

859 River Rd

Plymouth NH 03264

603-960-4402




William Cheney has had mobility issues all of his life. Like any other young man, he loves sports! His favorites are football, (Go New England patriots!) baseball, (Gotta love those Red Sox!) and Nascar. He dreams of being able to play with those teams, or race alongside his favorite drivers, Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. He collects posters and memorabilia and is a very enthusiastic fan. 

Until recently, Bill met Brian Hanaford, the owner and inspiration behind Adaptive Motorsports and Wellness. After a brief telephone conversation, Brian invited Bill to his home to see his race car, and what a car it is! 

The side panel lifts off and the protective cage swings out enabling a person on crutches or in a wheelchair easy access to the rotated drivers seat. 

The car is further equipped with hand controls just below and to the left of the steering wheel, and a push button automatic transmission. Although most race cars do not have a passenger seat, this car does. With a second set of controls, this feature allows virtually everyone the opportunity for a hands-on driving experience. "I've always wanted to drive a race car! It's been my long-time dream", Bill stated.  



On May 23, Bill got the opportunity to sit in the race car and rev the engine. "That was great, to hear the engine roar and know that I was the one causing that to happen was fantastic! I'm hoping that we can get some track time and I can drive it!" Bill says.

Brian Hanaford believes with his car that this can become a reality for Bill. His program, Adaptive Motorsports and Wellness, was created to allow people like Bill the opportunity to experience the thrill of being in a race car. He also sees people with acquired spinal cord or leg injuries learning to drive again and get their mobility and independence back. With the use of simulators to reintroduce the driving experience, impaired drivers can learn the use of the hand controls and practice, creating muscle memory which will transfer into the car. 

New Hampshire's Bill Cheney registered to drive  Adaptive Motorsports and Wellness signature product, the worlds first and only “Arrive & Drive” for disabelled vets and physically challenged civilians. 

 Adaptive Motorsports & Wellness (AM&W) is a for profit business in Plymouth NH that provides product and services for disabled vets and physically challenged civilians. AM&W appeared several times on national television, culminating with a feature story that won 2012 National Motorsports Video of the Year and 2013 Scientific Paper from Dr Jeffrey Heckman that brought credibility to the program. VETERANS DAY NATIONAL AWARD WINNING VIDEO OF THE YEAR:  http://tinyurl.com/d6jypsj

Hanaford spent 4 years working with family, friends and sponsors to develop branding and awareness for legal properties.  Several groups such as Army Corp of Engineers Cold Region Research Engineering Lab have conducted studies to measure results and benefits of on-line driver training that yield HUGE results that included civilian benefits as well. http://tinyurl.com/pct3xad

The driving simulator, powered by iRacing.com, offered fun and recreational shared activities. Developing hand eye coordination and muscle memory was a GREAT therapeutic value, but was counter productive at times as far as developing life saving driving behaviors in real world activities. Its easy enough to cross over the line, crash, and hit the reset button in the virtual world.  VETERANS DAY NATIONAL AWARD WINNING VIDEO OF THE YEAR:  http://tinyurl.com/d6jypsj





This is to big a deal to do alone, We need help to accomplish together, what would be difficult to achieve individually.  Atty Jack McCormack shared a story about a Harvard student that designed a plan commonly refereed  to as the "Three Day Bike Ride For AIDS" or "Three Day Walk For Breast Cancer". 

Both programs raised millions of dollars to benefit the cause. Adaptive Motorsports & Wellness designed the "CHALLENGE" , to follow in the foot print of Dan Pallotta's plan,. The difference is customized to rehabilitate and regain mobility needed to reintegrate into society. http://tinyurl.com/alh5gcs (SAMPLE)

 "CHALLENGE" is looking to cross promote the "CHALLENGE" and reward participants that reach fund raising goals,  with fund raising gifts such as driving a racecar, ski vacations, kayaking etc. Top Notch Tree Services are the first to help Bill reach his goal and live a dream. visit us at 

www.accessibleracing.com

Here's some good news from the Pacific Northwest!

 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 
Scientific Paper Acceptance Notification 
 
February 20, 2013 
 

Paper Number:  135 
 
Title: A New Concept for Adaptive Sports in Amputee Rehabilitation 
 
This letter is to inform you that the above paper has been accepted for 
the RESNA 2013 Annual Conference, June 22-June 24, 2013, at the Hyatt 
Regency Hotel, Bellevue, Washington. 
 
You will be receiving information in the coming weeks via email about 
the type of presentation (poster or platform) and the exact date and 
time of the presentation along with other useful information about the 
conference itself. 
 
All presenters/authors are required to register for the conference.  The 
registration form and descriptions of workshops and other information 
can be found on the RESNA website at http://www.resna.org/conference. 
 
We look forward to seeing you in Bellevue! 
 
 
Dawn Paulson 
 
Conference Coordinator 

A New Concept for Adaptive Sports in Amputee Rehabilitation

Jeffrey Heckman, DO¹

1. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, VA Puget Sound Health Care System- Seattle Division

ABSTRACT

We designed an adaptive motor sports program for community dwelling amputees to determine its safety and efficacy. Participants were recruited from a community amputee support group and were asked to respond to a series of questions pertaining to driving and daily living challenges. The program was a one day event which consisted of four components: 1) Training on a skills course using an adapted car focusing on high speed braking using hand controls; 2) Handling and maneuvering drills using a car with an adapted steering wheel; 3) Driving simulator with adapted steering wheel and hand controls; and 4) Adapted stock car racing around a short track with hand controls, adapted steering wheel and a professional driver in the passenger seat with a steering wheel and speed controls. Finally, participants completed the Psychological Impact of Assistive Devices Scale (PIADS) to assess the effects of the program on functional independence, well-being, and quality of life. All participants reported a positive impact following the event and PIADS showed highly positive results in participants’ competence, adaptability, and self-esteem scores with the greatest impact on the adaptability score. This is the first report of the effects of an adaptive motor sports program on amputees. We showed that using appropriate safety measures, training and assistive technology, amputees can participate in adaptive motor sports with profound effects. This provides a unique perspective to addressing psychological issues, including decreased self-esteem. Further study is needed to better understand adaptive motor sports in rehabilitation following amputation.

INTRODUCTION

Suffering an amputation presents multiple problems for an individual, their family and friends. Psychological issues can be difficult to address and individuals can feel isolated leading to depression. During Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF), many service members have suffered traumatic amputation during a time in their life when they were in peak physical and mental condition. During military service they are embedded in teams and involved in combat leading to periods of heightened mental awareness. They rely on this level of stimulation and identify themselves by their unique skill sets as soldiers. Following traumatic amputation these individuals are transferred to top-level military hospitals and participate in rehabilitation programs allowing them to transition to the next phase of their lives. Upon retirement from military service and transition to their communities, many will lose that feeling of being part of a team, which can lead to loneliness. In addition, they may become depressed due to their belief that they can no longer participate in activities that will stimulate them or that they will enjoy.

Furthermore, amputation does not occur to a particular subset of the population; rather individuals following amputation can be an extremely diverse group due varying etiology such as trauma, cancer, infection and vascular problems. Due to this diverse population the rehabilitation care team needs to gain an understanding of each patient’s potential functional level.

Individuals following amputation at a low functional level often have to relearn how to perform daily activities with or without a prosthesis, and they tend to become more dependent on others, leading many amputees to experience decreased self-esteem¹. Others may return to a high functional level. Regardless, the rehabilitation care team must assess the functional and recreational goals of the patient to guide the treatment plan with the mission of creating an environment where there is no limit to what an amputee can accomplish.

Participation in varying activities has a profound effect on an amputee’s life. It has been shown that involvement in adaptive sports increases the quality of life for persons with disabilities by increasing self-esteem². Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that those who participate in these sports have a higher level of confidence and more motivation to complete daily activities³.

In 2009, the Veteran’s Health Administration (VHA) created a national Amputation System of Care (ASoC) to provide our veterans with high quality, specialized medical and rehabilitation care to optimize function upon return to home from service. The ASoC aims to ensure that all veteran amputees receive high quality rehabilitation care to enable them to accomplish their goals at home, at work and in the community. Many interventions to prevent depression and loneliness offered to our veterans through the ASoC include physician visits, medications, therapeutic modalities (such as physical and occupational therapy), assistive devices and adaptive equipment, individual and group therapy sessions, peer support and peer visitation, case management and interactive web-based information and resources. The ASoC also goes beyond traditional methods to include recreational activities such as wall climbing, kayaking, golf, paratriathlon, wheelchair sports and summer and winter competitions through the VA Adaptive Sports Program.

To our knowledge, an area that has not yet been broached by the ASoC is adaptive motor sports (e.g. stock car racing). This study assesses the effect of an adaptive motor sports program on community dwelling amputees to understand how the assistive technology and rehabilitation engineering used can affect functional independence, well being, and quality of life. Furthermore, this study evaluates if the adaptive technology allows participants to more readily participate in other activities.

METHODS

Participants were recruited from an amputee support group affiliated with an academic medical center in a large metropolitan area. Eight members of the amputee support group, ranging in age from 29 to 65 years old, were selected to participate in the one-day event. Upon arrival at the short track speedway, five male and three female participants provided surveys with basic demographic information including driving history and challenges associated with daily living. Then they signed informed consent documentation and were oriented to two adapted vehicles that were used for the one day event.

The first vehicle was a standard 4-door sedan with hand control modifications to be used during training sessions on the street course. The second vehicle was a stock race car with modifications to allow persons with disabilities to safely enter/exit and control the car. These modifications include: a removable outer body panel exposing a door opening in the frame, and a custom designed seat base that moves fore and aft and swivels out into the door opening for transfer into the car. Due to the variety of special needs to drive for individuals with disability there are multiple options for control including: conventional steering wheel and a left foot gas pedal; manual hand controls (a fold up pedal blocker plate is used with manual hand controls to prevent inadvertent leg interference with the pedals); and electric gas and brake controller. All drivers electrically operate the automatic transmission.

Figure 1: Participant has entered the seat base and used the rotator unit on his right leg prosthesis to create space to swivel into the car

The steering column is easily modified to adjust for driver’s needs. The steering gear box is modified for easier steering and there is a tandem vacuum booster master cylinder to make it easier to stop the car. Both the steering and the brake systems have automatically activating back up systems in case of OEM failures such as fluid loss, vacuum loss or electrical issues. Lastly, on the passenger side of the vehicle there is dual steering, brake and gas with switch controls for turning off the engine and activating the back up systems.

The one day event consisted of training, simulation and racing components:

Training:

• Led by driver training specialists, participants were instructed in anti-lock braking systems and introduced to the training vehicle.
• On the street course, each driver demonstrated competency in high speed braking using hand controls and performed handling and maneuvering drills using an adapted steering wheel.

Simulation:

• Each participant trained using the VXP driving simulator equipped with a MOMO Force Feedback Racing wheel and iRacing hand controls and software. The iRacing software offers a wide variety of scenarios preparing the driver both mentally and physically by teaching and testing reaction time, accident avoidance, hand eye coordination and many other necessary driving skills.

Racing:

• Finally, each driver participated in adapted stock car racing around a short track with hand controls, an adapted steering wheel and accompanied by a professional race car driver in the passenger seat with a steering wheel and acceleration and deceleration control.

Following the event, participants were given the Psychological Impact of Assistive Devices Scale (PIADS) to assess the effects of the adaptive motor sports program on functional independence, well being, and quality of life. PIADS is a 26-question survey designed to examine the psychosocial impact of different assistive technologies. Each question is a word or phrase used to describe the affect of the assistive technology on the participant’s personal traits and emotions. Participants ranked each question on a scale of -3 to 3. A negative score indicates a decrease in the particular trait or emotion while a positive score denotes an increase in the trait or emotion. Each survey was then scored using the PIADS scoring sheet. Finally, the individual scores were averaged for each of the three categories.

RESULTS

All participants were able to complete all components of the event. Each person was able to successfully learn how to use the adaptive technology on the simulator and effectively apply that to the actual short track experience. Additionally, all participants reported enjoying the experience and described feelings of exhilaration, accomplishment and teamwork based on the event. The PIADS showed highly positive results in participants’ competence, adaptability and self esteem. As table 1 illustrates, the event had a positive impact on individuals at each level of amputation along all metrics evaluated using PIADS with the upper extremity level showing the highest scores in all three categories.

Table 1: PIADS results by level of amputation

Amputation Level	Competence	Adaptability	Self-Esteem
Transradial	2.50	3.00	2.88
Hip disarticulation	1.42	2.33	1.25
Transfemoral	2.20	2.61	1.84
Transtibial	1.69	2.20	1.81

Figure 3 reveals a strongly positive response from the event in all three categories of the PIADS indicating all participants experienced an increased level of that trait or emotion.

Figure 3: Average PIADS results for all participants by category

DISCUSSION

This is the first description of an adaptive motor sports rehabilitation program for amputees. This event utilized rehabilitation engineering and assistive technology to allow persons with disabilities the opportunity to overcome obstacles and push the limits of their potential. Our experience demonstrates a safe and effective method of rehabilitation for amputees that can improve their competence, adaptability and self esteem. Furthermore, the design of this event using a training program, a driving simulator, and a racetrack experience, is one that can be duplicated and improved upon.

This experience provides a unique perspective to addressing psychological issues using rehabilitation engineering and assistive technology for adaptive sports. It allows the participants to try something new, fun and challenging while in a safe environment. Our goal is to introduce our amputee patients to programs that allow them to overcome barriers and return their locus of control.

Further development of adaptive sports is needed to address the goals of our diverse amputee patient population.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Brian Hanaford, Scot Vien, Danny Christhanthis, Accessible Racing; Mike Kolar, Sonalysts Corporation; Charles Hobson, Vanguard Documentaries; Geoffrey Hall, Rusk Rehabilitation; Peter Rubrecht, Drive-Master Co.; Terry Eames, Waterford Speedbowl; and Dan Sheppard, Serge Lentz, Driver Skills Development for their assistance with this event.

References

1.) Burger H & C Marineck (1997). The life style of young persons after lower limb amputation caused by injury. Prosthetics and Orthotics International, 21(1):35-9.

2.) Valliant PM, Bezzubyk I, Daley L & ME Asu (1985). Psychosocial impact of sports on disabled atheletes. Psychological Reports, 56(1):923-9.

3.) Sporner ML, Fitzgeral S, Dicianno B, Collins D et al. (2009). Psychosocial impact of participation in the National Veterans Wheelchair Games and Winter Sports Clinic. Disability and Rehabilitation, 31(5):410-8

Accessible Racing And Shane Hmiel Conquer The Rock

 

Rockingham, N.C. – Bad weather couldn’t stop Accessible Racing and Shane Hmiel on Saturday, January 26 at Rockingham Speedway.

Two and a half years prior to this day, doctors told Hmiel’s parents that he had a 10 percent chance to live, and that he would never walk or breathe on his own again, after a crash in a United States Auto Club Silver Crown race on October 9^th, 2010.

Shane Hmiel’s indomitable spirit and determination helped him to beat almost all of the odds the doctors said he was up against. Accessible Racing’s President Brian Hanaford, Rockingham Speedway’s President Andy Hillenburg, and Hmiels mother Lisa, teamed up to put Shane back where he never thought he’d be again, behind the wheel of a race car.

Accessible Racing, the brain child of Brian Hanaford, is a New Jersey based Nonprofit Corporation, whose purpose is to “Break Down Barriers and Create Opportunities” for person’s with disabilities. Hanaford said that newly injured persons will reach a plateau after traditional therapies, and will make a mental list of things they can no longer do in life. Hanaford said,” We want to give them freedom, hope and inspiration with our accessible cars and other programs, and teach them skills useful in everyday driving through our multi-tier programs.”

On Saturday, Andy Hillenburg and his team at Rockingham Speedway did everything they had to and then some, to make sure the track was ready. Hanaford and his team had the car dialed in and ready to ride. When they helped Shane Hmiel into the driver’s seat and instructed him on the controls specifically adapted for his needs, it was the quietest garage in the history of Rockingham. Everyone present watched, and waited, and slowly, the largest, most genuine, infectious smile crossed Hmiels face, and he looked out at everyone in attendance and said, “I can’t wait to floor this thing.” There were a lot of eyes filled with tears that morning.

The first two track runs were taken by Lance Corporal Cody Evans USMC (ret), and Scout Sniper Jessie Fletcher USMC (ret), injured veterans who lost their legs in IED explosions in Iraq. They had come to Rockingham on Saturday through Hanaford’s invitation to another program, Racing 4 Vets. Hmiel watched every move being made by these Marine Corp veterans. Hmiel said, ”Those guys are the real heroes here today, they are the ones that have made it possible for all of us to just be here, let alone take advantage of this amazing car Accessible Racing has brought here for us.”

And then it was time. The Accessible Racing team got Hmiel buckled in, and, with David Dion buckled in the passenger seat beside him, the window net was raised, the engine was fired, and with a huge grin and a thumbs up, Shane Hmiel did what no one, including himself, ever thought he would do, he drove a race car 10 laps around Rockingham Speedway. When he pulled in the pit afterwards, a sparkle in his eye and a grin on his face, Hmiel said, “I don’t want to get out, let’s go again!”

Whether a part of the Accessible Racing team, Rockingham staff, media, family, or friends that were in attendance at Rockingham Speedway on Saturday, they bore witness to a warrior conquer an enemy.

Brain Hanaford said, “This is what it is all about, this is why we do this. Through our various programs, such as iracing, and the accessible cars, we can give people of the disabled community a chance to do the things they never thought they could.”

For more information on Accessible Racing, and how you can help:http://www.accessibleracing.com ; https://www.facebook.com/messages/accessibleracing

Or, contact Brian Hanaford, President, Accessible Racing : https://www.facebook.com/messages/brian.hanaford

(Photo Credit: Andi Camassar)

Shane Hmiel Set to Get Back Behind the Wheel of a Racecar at Rockingham Speedway

Shane Hmiel Set to Get Back Behind the Wheel of a Racecar at Rockingham Speedway

Accessible Racing has teamed up with Hmiel to share freedom, hope, & inspiration & to build the morale & welfare of the disabled that will help them reintegrate into society post injury

(Charlotte, N.C. Dec. 18, 2012) Ever since Shane Hmiel’s accident that left him paralyzed while attempting to qualify for a USAC race at Terra Haute, Indiana on Oct. 9, 2010 his Road to Recovery has been nothing short of miracles and has served has an inspiration to many. Doctors initially told Hmiel and his family he had a 10 percent chance to live and that he would never walk or breathe on his own again. He wasn’t supposed to ever move his fingers again. He wasn’t supposed to ever move his arms again. He wasn’t supposed to ever move his toes or his feet again but he has defied the odds and overcome all those things.

For Hmiel, none of this would have been made possible without all the support, prayers, and donations from his loving family, friends, and fans across the country. And now, with continued support, Hmiel has the opportunity to get back behind the wheel of a racecar with Accessible Racing at Rockingham Speedway on Saturday, January 26, 2013. For more information on how you can be involved to help make this special event happen, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/cxq7wfy. Donations are being accepted now through January 26.

Accessible Racing is the brainchild of Co-Founder and President Brian Hanaford and is a program built on the mindset of breaking down barriers and creating opportunities for disabled Vets and civilians. Hanaford grew up in an auto racing family but choose a different path in life. Running became his passion but a car accident resulted in a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) that changed the course of his life. After years of recovery and emotional distress, he decided to modify a racecar to assist the physically challenged. Hanaford explains, "Seeing the look on other disabled peoples’ faces when they took a ride in my racecar was a life changing experience for me. Improving somebody’s quality of life in this way is more fulfilling then any self help book or organization I learned of in 30 years. I want to continue sharing with others what has been a gift from God to me.”

The Accessible Racing driving experience provides an exciting and therapeutic experience that helps disabled individuals rediscover their capabilities. It opens up the possibilities in their lives after an accident, illness or injury. It allows individuals to experience the excitement of competition and the thrill of victory, as well as the agony of defeat. These experiences help prepare individuals after rehabilitation to face the adversity of a disability in their lives and to learn to bounce back in the face of challenge and change. To find out more about Accessible Racing please visit www.accessibleracing.com.

Contributions and continued support will help Hmiel take another huge step on his Road to Recovery and continue the positive impact Accessible Racing is providing for our disabled Vets and civilians.

Race to the Rock Event

 

 

 

Race to the Rock Event

Objective

In conjunction with Accessible Racing & Rockingham Speedway, CMG will be providing support around the January 26, 2013 ‘NASCAR Arrive & Drive’ event on behalf of Shane Hmiel and 3 Wide Life. Through the use of Shane Hmiel’s likeness, the primary focus will be to position Accessible Racing as the leading rehabilitative race car experience for wounded Veterans and the physically challenged through targeted media relations outreach across national, regional, and local platforms in TV, magazines, print, radio, and online mediums.

Assets to Leverage

Key assets to leverage and pitch to the media to increase the likelihood of significant coverage around this event are as follows:

Shane Hmiel – Hmiel continues to defy the odds since a racing accident left him paralyzed proving he is a miracle and inspiration to many. He is a national figure and his story is certainly of national scope. It will be very meaningful news for Hmiel to get back behind the wheel of a racecar and on a racetrack for the first time since his accident.

Accessible Racing – Accessible Racing’s mission in and of itself is a very strong storyline for the media and to add to that, the world’s only hand-control equipped, NASCAR-style racecar provides for a great visual and is an excellent additional news hook for the media.

Rockingham Speedway – The location really legitimizes this event and provides for a visually appealing backdrop for the media. The track’s internal media relations department should also have an extensive media distribution list to help with dispersing news on the event.

Media Relations Outreach

Core tactic will be a month long news bureau leading up to the event that will focus on national media outlets. Secondary focus will be on regional outlets with the tertiary focus being on local outlets. Time on this will need to be spent:

• Researching and identifying all relevant/potential media outlets
• Drafting communication materials and pitches
• Conducting proactive media outreach to targeted media outlets securing interviews
• Conducting aggressive follow-up to strengthen media placement opportunities
• Maintaining contact with targeted media outlets

Sample of target media outlets that will be pitched for this event are as follows but are not limited to:

TV – 3 Wide Life nationally syndicated TV show that’s in 70 million households and reaches nearly one million viewers per week, all ESPN/ABC programming, SPEED Channel, ABC, NBC, CBS, & FOX national news feeds to local affiliates, CNN, HLN, FOX News, ABC World News, NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, local Rockingham TV affiliates (ABC, NBC, CBS, & FOX)

Print / National Wire Services– Associated Press, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, NY Times, LA Times, Reuters, Bloomberg News, Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service, Charlotte Observer, Indianapolis Star, Rockingham daily newspaper

Magazines – NASCAR Illustrated, ESPN the Mag, AutoWeek, National Speed Sport News, Speedway Illustrated, Circle Track Magazine, Sprint Car & Midget Magazine, ESPN the Mag, Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Men’s Journal, Best Life, Men’s Health

Radio – Sirius NASCAR Radio, MRN Radio, PRN Radio, ESPN Radio shows, Sporting News Radio shows, Fox Sports radio shows, ABC Sports radio shows

Online Sites – ESPN.com, NASCAR.com, FOXSports.com, Jayski.com, Yahoo Sports, SBNation.com, CBSSports.com, etc. and also push video of the event out virally to additional men’s interest’s sites and bloggers

Utilize Social Media Channels – Utilize Facebook, Twitter, etc. of 3 Wide Life, Rockingham Speedway, Accessible Racing, & Shane Hmiel to distribute timely news about the event.

Created by Colborne Media Group

 

 

ALL,

 

making progress, just need to fire up the fund raising (http://tinyurl.com/cfwwte7)with this added value below from media and put on best show ever.

-Brian

Race 2 The Rock Hmiel ticket!

 Accessible Racing focuses on Possibilities, not Disabilities

As a person living with disability, you know how hand controls have helped you regain your independence on the road. But what if you could help other members of the disabled community build their self-confidence with the thrill of victory?

Using a passion for racing as a vehicle for change, Accessible Racing has been tearing up national race tracks since 2007. With the worlds only hand-control equipped, NASCAR-style race car, their “arrive and drive” events have put disabled veterans and citizens behind the wheel for the experience of a lifetime.
professionals value sports and recreation to promote physical recovery. With Accessible Racing, individuals rediscover life’s’ possibilities through a fast, fun, hands-on experience that rejuvenates the spirit as well as the body.

And they need our help. Accessible Racing is now raising funds to launch their next NASCAR Disabled Driving Experience event at Rockingham Speedway in January 26, 2013. With your support, civilians and veterans will experience the thrill of victory.
Help fuel this important event and raise awareness for the disabled community at    http://www.indiegogo.com/worlddrivingchallenge.

As a proud sponsor of Accessible Racing, DADC is pleased to share this opportunity with you and your friends.

Thank you for your consideration,
Brian E. Hanaford

Racing for Disabled Vets @ The Rock

 

 

Accessible Racing (AR) plan to expand its race experience by finding sponsors and partners that can bring together the financial, product, and marketing resources to help continue to create compelling motorsports experiences for disabled people of all ages.

 

Accessible Racing will employ a conventional driving simulator to rehabilitate war fighters and civilians with disabilities by teaching them how to drive.

 

VXP driving simulator is a commercial-off-the shelf gaming wheel modified with a low cost hardware simulation of a hand controlled acceleration and braking system powered by iRacing.com advanced training technology.

 

Accessible Racing, Sonalysts Corporation and Dr Jeffrey Heckman have collaborated on a White Paper submission for Driver Rehabilitation Training System (DRTS) to prepare disabled war fighters and civilians to successfully pass all drivers license certification requirements. Sonalysts has an extensive background in military training, as well as computer based military simulation and commercial gaming. We plan to leverage this expertise to develop a comprehensive suite of software training scenarios when funding is procured. 

 

Driver Skills Development Program develop the skills to avoid an accident and transition virtual world skills seamlessly to real world experience where they will learn car control and behavior to anticipate and respond to emergency situations. With the assistance of cooperative insurance in the State of Vermont and vetted in a study conducted by the Vermont center for Justice Research, Driver Skills Development program can reduce the automobile crash rate by 50%. Cooperative Insurance, as well as the Vermont Youth Safety Council PAY their employees and policy holders to attend.

 

Accessible Racing Recreational & Therapeutic value reaches far beyond the highways and speedways with a mentoring program that shares Freedom, Hope and Inspiration with newly injured persons that typically make a mental list of things they can no longer do, this is a road map to recovery and not only learn to do things differently, BUT provide a service and shared experience from participants.

 

Accessible Racing and New England Disabled Sports are strategically planning a Power Sports program that will incorporate the tools above, in addition to marketing in the same fashion as muscle powered sports to control insurance cost and provide Accessible Power Sports benefits to charter members.

 

World Driving Challenge powered by iRacing is a example of one of the recreational activities that we rehabilitation hospitals can feature as a shared activity. Accessible Racing will work with Charter members on develop new Power Sport programs, keeping Social Media out reach current, and help find new ways for Charter Members to contact them.  

 

'Indiegogo' will also be integrated into this project to help charter members access film footage to reach out to family, friends and resources.

 

Accessible Racing will help secure partners that can donate product and services that can help underwrite cost. Major Corporate partners are contingent on the response we gain through charter memberships to help show marketing reach and impact.

 

Accessible Racing needs your help to create a marketing plan that can bring AR to the next level by increasing awareness and positively influencing consideration for Power Sports program and services.

 

 

Lawrence Klamecki, President Racing4Vets, Inc.

Racing4Vets plan is clear, which is to build a grassroots “fun” karting program that’s located near Veterans Administration hospitals, with the opportunity for vets to pursue it as far as they’d like.

 

They WILL establish a U.S. karting rehabilitation and racing program in the USA, integrating with KartForce and the experience of disabled karters in the U.S. to do it correctly.

 

They will  bring an injured veteran’s kart racing team to compete against lads in the UK. 

 

Racing4Vets has so far had a very warm welcome.  I’m getting incoming emails and calls a couple times a week now from people looking to help.  This is a good sign that we will be able to put the necessary resources in place without an inordinate amount of publicity.  Klemechi's greatest concern is the dignity and achievements of the individual veterans. 

 

 

 

 

Motorsports for Injured U.S. Military Veterans Higher Ground program link to promo video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6P_g_V5q1w

 

World Driving Challenge sustainability and fundraising plan  http://tinyurl.com/cfwwte7

 

Also Expected to attend: check out youtube.com/abHeart08 Ansel Brown will be joining us at "The Rock" http://tinyurl.com/cfwwte7 ”

Special Guest: also include Military guest, Childrens Dream Racer, Shane Hmiel, 3 Wide Life (hopefully Steve Pruett also) and possibly  Mario Fiore's Irish connection and guest!