Hi all,
Mike Rand here, trying to relive my youth.
50 years ago at age 16 I hitchhiked from Fairfield County CT out to Bridgehampton on the far eastern end of Long Island for a USRRC race. Slept in a sleeping bag in the woods, jumped the fence, just HAD to be there.
Now, 50 years on, my neighbors 15 year old grandson is repeating the process.
He is car and racing nuts, specifically open wheel road racing, odd enough in this day and age, couldn't really care about stock cars or oval racing. Kind if odd coming from Michigan, home to literally dozens of paved and dirt ovals.
Anyway, I have wired cash for him to bus down tomorrow arriving Mansfield around 6:30PM, hopefully he'll easily make it to M/O before Twilight Testing ends.
John Walko has enthusiastically agreed to take him on as someone to do the grunt work, wiping down cars, cleaning wheels, fetching fuel, all the drudge work.
He is a good, quiet, enthusiastic kid who will be taking some sort of automotive engineering courses in the fall, seems exactly like the type any overloaded team would love to host.
So transportation to M/O is good.
The issue is the return.
The bus schedules are really limited going north from Mansfield and it seems his choices are 6AM Sunday or 6AM Monday.
Hate for him to miss all the fun and games on Sunday, and his mother is understandably anxious about a 15 year old on his own in Mansfield overnight Sunday.
So, anyone willing to help a kid get back north Sunday evening after the races are over ?
His name is Dominic Solomon, super kid, and he and I would be in anyone's debt who can help out in any substantive way.
He lives in Hastings Michigan, hometown of Indy 500 winner Gordy Johncock, sort of equal distance from Kalamazoo and Lansing and Grand Rapids.
If he can just get say a half hour or 45 minutes away that would be beyond fantastic.
Looking through the F1600, F2000, Atlantic entry lists has not flown any flags yet, and I suspect there are numerous folks in either FV, F600, or DUFFUS heading north Sunday evening.
I will send out emails asking the organizers of those series if they have any likely suspects but would really appreciate any thoughts and offers. He could help with gas as I have sent him cash for round trip bus fare if that helps.....