Young Long Island Race Car Driver Shoots for Safety

AMITYVILLE, N.Y., Sept. 27 - Race car drivers and marksmen both need excellent eye sight, good reflexes and perfect timing to excel in their sports.

They also need to emphasize safety, which is why up-and-coming race car driver Matt Lee of Syosset, N.Y. volunteered to participate in the fifth annual ThinkFirst Sporting Clays Freedom Shoot at the Pawling Mountain Club, 306 Penny Road in Pawling, N.Y., recently.

The event was a benefit for the ThinkFirst National Injury Prevention Foundation of Rolling Meadows, Ill., a not-for-profit foundation that educates young people about personal vulnerability and risk taking. It stresses that one can have a fun-filled, exciting life without injuries if one "thinks first" about safety. The foundation hopes to decrease the estimated 500,000 brain and spinal cord injuries that occur in the United States annually.

"I shot skeet," explained Lee, a 15-year-old junior at Syosset High School who competes in the national Formula BMW racing series. "It was my first time with sporting clays, but I did pretty well for my first time. About 70 shooters participated.

"Besides raising some money for charity, we talked about safety," he continued. "It's always important to think about safety first, whether you're racing cars like me, shooting, or just riding a bike around the neighborhood. We talked a lot about the importance of wearing helmets and other protective gear."

Lee volunteers his time to help ThinkFirst's mission: to lead injury prevention through education, research and policy. As his schedule permits, he visits hospitals and schools in areas where he is racing to emphasize to children the importance of wearing bicycle helmets when biking, skate-boarding, etc., and to always wear seat belts in a motor vehicle.

Lee will be wearing a complete safety harness, firesuit and similar clothing, HANS device and helmet when he drives a Formula BMW sponsored by Credit Suisse in two races at Road Atlanta Motor Sports Park in Braselton, Ga. this weekend. His car, No. 44, is entered by Twin tooth/BRM Motorsports of Amityville, N.Y.

For more information on the ThinkFirst Foundation, see thinkfirst.org. For more information on Matt Lee, Twin tooth/BRM Motorsports and the Formula BMW series, see twintoothracing.com and formulabmwusa.com.

Source: Restart Communications, Inc.
(http://www.restartcommunications.com)