Speedway Children’s Charities Offers The Gift Of Speed At New Hampshire Hospitals

Delivering speed is what the management of New Hampshire Motor Speedway does for customers coming through the gates at the Loudon, N.H. facility.

Jerry Gappens from New Hampshire Motor Speedway demonstrates one of the new Dream Racers Wednesday in Manchester, N.H.

Though Wednesday track staff was delivering speed away from the facility for deserving children.

Patients at the Children’s Hospital at Darthmouth-Hitchcock in Manchester, N.H. were treated to a surprise by the New Hampshire chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities Wednesday.

The children at the hospital took delivery of two Dream Racers, which are miniature race simulators made of authentic racing material. The machines, valued at $10,000 each, were the first to be installed at a facility in the Northeast. The delivery was made possible through the annual grant process by the Speedway Children’s Charities.

Jessica LaPerle, manager of the Child Life Program at the hospital called the Dream Racers “distraction stations.”

“The children are distracted from being in a hospital, and worrying about their next procedure,” LaPerle said in a release from New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “The parents also get to watch their children having fun, even though they’re in a difficult situation.”

The Dream Racers have been installed at 25 children’s hositals around the country.

The Dream Racer is built to look like a racecar, including hood pins on the front of vehicle, which house the electronic components. The machine has a flat panel TV, a CD/DVD player and Sony Playstation video game console. There is also an IV stand and oxygen bottle holder. The machines are cars are mobile and can be positioned in different rooms and areas throughout the hospital.

“This is a great example of what the Speedway Children’s Charities was formed to do, and big thank you has to go out to all the fans who come out to the fundraisers and contribute the dollars, so that we are able to make something like the Dream Racer a reality,” said Jerry Gappens, New Hampshire Motor Speedway executive vice president and general manager. “With only 25 of these types of cars across the country at children’s hospitals, and for us to have the opportunity to bring the first two up here to New England, it’s a win-win for the kids – and that’s what the [Speedway Children’s Charities] is all about.”

Speedway Children’s Charities was also able to provide a Dream Racer at a hospital in Lebanaon, N.H.