Posted on July 25, 2007

For these two racing organizations, it’s all about the kids…

by Chris Corter About The Author	Email   Print

The aroma of racing fuel and burnt rubber hangs heavy in your nose. You can feel the belt that straps you in tighten against your body with every bump and crack of the track, and you are just about to make the inside move coming out of turn four. The checkered flag is only a few more feet away and you have a full car length over second place. For many young racers, this dream will never be fully realized…until now. Thanks to the tireless efforts of two amazing organizations; Young Racers of America and Keeping Kids on Track.

Based in Keller, Texas Young Racers of America (YRA) and Keeping Kids on Track have been helping young racers for over 3 years get the funding and marketing exposure they so badly need. The most impressive feature that I find with these services is that each organization does not just blindly hand over cash and/or marketing services, they actually spend time with the drivers they sponsor by attending races, talking with them and sharing emails. They hold the drivers accountable for the gifts. Not in re-payment, but in teaching these racers valuable life skills and making them responsible for “paying it forward” to the sport that they love by teaching them how to help others, as well as themselves as they progress throughout their racing careers. Each young driver is held to several criteria that they must maintain; like keeping good grades, showing maturity and courtesy on the track, no drugs, and signing a contract. Just like they would have to do when they get picked up by a sponsor!

I had the privilege to interview Gayla Lutyk, Founder of Young Racers of America, Cyndi Coker, Young Racers of America Board Member and Denice Carroll, Founder of Keeping Kids on Track for about an hour. Let me tell you this, I could have spent another four hours just listening to these women describe the absolute passion that they have in helping young racers. Each of them has given so much in time and money to help young racers and their families realize their dream of racing, there is no way to accurately measure it. The bottom line is that Gayla, Cyndi and Denice do what they do because quite simply put, it is all about the kids.

I asked Gayla how she got the idea to put together Young Racers of America and she told me, “I started doing this for kids, on my own for six years.” Gayla continues, “My father was a race car driver and passed away at 35 racing, I have kids, I do pretty well in life and I wanted to give back, so I picked a subject that I was born and raised with and that was racing.” What that translates into is Gayla paid out of her own pocket to sponsor young race car drivers. “I said there has to be something out there like this, and we started it.” Gayla continued to explain, “The racing community is like a family, and even though these people are not related to you, you want to take care of them like a member of your own family, and so I started to do that.” It was not long before Gayla realized that she was going to run out of money, so she got a couple of friends together and started a non-profit known today as Young Racers of America.

“You feel for these kids” Gayla told me, “and some day’s I am just so overwhelmed with it that you feel like you just don’t want to do it anymore.” But the hard work and effort pays off, “When you get an email, or you talk to those kids, or you set up an interview, or any of the things we do for them, and you see the look on their faces and realize just how appreciative they are is just amazing and that just keeps me going” Gayla told me. Cyndi Coker added, “I ran into one of the drivers we sponsor at the track and he ran up to me and gave me a big hug. They are like one of my own kids.”

I then asked Denice Carroll how Keeping Kids on Track got started. Denice told me, “I own a graphics company that supplies the graphics for race cars. And I saw that there was a need to help those families that strive so hard and put every last nickel and dime into something that is both positive and challenging for their kids, like racing.” Denice continued, “There is such a need to help these families stay involved in racing because the parents get involved, the kids get involved it is challenging and exciting and then all of a sudden there is this money issue that comes up and boom, they are out of racing.” Keeping Kids on Track is not a non-profit; it is more of a marketing concept. What Denice does is help the racers with graphics for their cars, teaches them how to build a web site to attract  potential sponsorship, helping them learn the business side of racing so that they will learn that racing is not just all about fun, that racing could be a life long career. These skills are an absolute must and Denice puts her time and energy into each driver she works with to teach them what they will need to know so eventually they will be able to help themselves.

Combined, Young Racers of American and Keeping Kids on Track is an absolute miracle to those families and racers that they help. And it is amazing to learn that each organization started about the same time, three years ago, in the same place, Keller, Texas and neither knew the other existed. It was by chance that Gayla found the phone number for Denice on a poster advertisement in a local restaurant, and made the initial contact. Even more of a coincidence is that two of the drivers that Young Racers of America were working with, were also working with Keeping Kids on Track.

Racing is not just a sport for one member of a family; it is a group activity that every one can get excited about. From the crew members in the pits to the track workers to the fans, everyone gets to share in the thrill that we call racing. The harsh reality of this is to race it costs money, and if the families can not afford to continue or are not given the education to learn how to market their driver, then the dream ends. There are very few drivers who have an “in” to the hierarchy of racing or who may be blessed to have parents who may have the extra income to support the cost of racing. This is where organizations like Young Racers of America and Keeping Kids on Track need to raise the awareness of the type of drivers they support, and the funds to continue to offer that support. Without people like Gayla Lutyk, Cyndi Coker and Denice Carroll who openly give of themselves, both in time and money, there would be a lot of young race car drivers who will never have the opportunity to excel in the upper classes of the series that they choose to race. In fact, the only thing some of these racers will have is a huge disappointment in what could have been. No child should have to bear that load if there are people willing to help, like Young Racers of America and Keeping Kids on Track.

Young Racers of America will be having a benefit concert to raise such awareness to the cause that they support. It will be September 30^th, 2007 at the White Elephant Saloon (in the Historic Stockyards) in Ft. Worth, Texas. You can view their website at www.youngracersofamerica.org to learn more about it. Keeping Kids on Track also has a web site and you can view it at www.keepingkidsontrack.com to learn more about the services that they offer.

As a writer I get to spend time with lots of people, and listen to their stories. I get to tell those stories using my chosen words to describe and relay to you, my readers, what these people have told me. In this interview, I had a list of specific questions that I was going to ask and in a specific order. After about five minutes in, I all but threw out my outline and just tried to take it all in. The energy, the passion, the pure emotion of what Gayla Lutyk, Cyndi Coker and Denice Carroll shared with me was to some point overwhelming. I do not know how to put into words what these three women shared with me. Their vision that has yet to be fully realized is beyond the normal scope, and yet so attainable, because of what Young Racers of America and Keeping Kids on Track have already done to help young race car drivers succeed. With their support, total commitment, and unwavering love of the sport, the dream I started with at the beginning of this article will be the reality a lot of kids will get to finish.

You can contact Chris at btwapparel@sbcglobal.net

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