ALMS Stars bring smiles to kids
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| "Danielle" makes quick friends with Lowe's Fernandez Racing's Luis Diaz (left) and Adrian Fernandez. |
The American Le Mans Series and Lime Rock Park hosted its annual media and community day in Hartford, Conn., on Wednesday to kick off the second half of the 2009 season. Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz, drivers from Lowe’s Fernandez Racing, united with LMP2 adversaries Guy Smith and Marino Franchitti from Dyson Racing outside the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, alongside Bill Auberlen from BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team, who represented the competitive GT2 class and BMW as the official car of Lime Rock Park.
Strategically positioning the BMW 335 diesel in between the two battling prototypes on the grounds of the medical center, patients and their families began flooding the corridors and sidewalks to meet their drivers and their exotic sports cars, which will be featured on the common area television sets within the medical center on Saturday for the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix, live at 2 p.m. ET on SPEED.
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| Dyson Racing's Marino Franchitti (left) and Guy Smith meet and greet the crowd at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. |
Following an introduction by Lime Rock Park President Skip Barber – who introduced the American Le Mans Series – the drivers were quizzed during a question-and-answer portion. They also visited hospital rooms and signed numerous autographs.
The main intent was for the patients to find friends in the drivers for whom they will either watch Saturday on SPEED or visiting in the paddock. An open invitation was made to the patients with tickets donated by Lime Rock Park for a number of visitors to attend the event and witness the fan-friendly approach of the American Le Mans Series.
The American Le Mans Series will continue to be actively involved in its race communities. Coming soon is a visit in Columbus, Ohio in conjunction with the Series’ official charity, the Austin Hatcher Foundation, on Wednesday, August 5.
The American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn., is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. EDT on Saturday, July 18. The race will air live on SPEED. American Le Mans Radio presented by Porsche and Live Timing & Scoring will be available at Racehub on americanlemans.com. You also can follow the Series on Twitter (almsnotes). An RSS feed of Series news also is available.