June 4, 2009

WATKINS GLEN -- Watkins Glen Elementary School students got a taste of what it's like to be a racecar driver Thursday.
     Kids in grades K-4 drove three laps in their school buses at Watkins Glen International for a job well-done on this year's Read for Speed program.
     Read for Speed is a reading incentive program supported by local businesses to help students gain a love for reading.
     The students read a total of 24,345 books between February and May -- surpassing their goal by more than 4,000 books.
     Third-grader Amanda Armstrong earned the highest points during Read for Speed, and she enjoyed her day at the track.     
     “It was awesome.  I didn't expect it to be that big.  I thought it'd be a lot smaller, but that was like really awesome,” she said.
     The kids also got to meet professional racecar drivers Bruno Junqueira, Mark Wilkins, and Burt Frisselle.
     “I struggled when I was young reading. I have dyslexia.  So, to see kids that are dedicated, to have a prize like this that they get to enjoy, it's awesome,” said Frisselle.
     The drivers will compete at this weekend's Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen at WGI.