Monday’s teen news – local(∆) and national

Teen walks for homeless children – 14-year-old David Ashby is walking from Orlando to Washington D.C. to raise awareness of homeless youth. He is not raising money but rather asking people to donate their time. He has been visiting, eating, and sleeping at homeless shelters during his journey. “The fastest-growing homeless population [in the country] is families with children.” (N&O) photo by Marsha McLaughlin

HS students help prepare NASCAR car – By winning the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition, Matthew Ludwig and Justin Dwyer had the opportunity to work with Matt Kenseth’s racing team. To win the title, Ludwig and Dwyer needed to correctly diagnose and repair a car with numerous malfunctions, including the starter, flow sensor, air conditioning system, power windows and lights. The winners got all the bugs out in 42 minutes, 51 seconds. (USA Today) photo by Charlie Hyde

Jury awards $675K in music downloading case - A federal jury on Friday ordered a Boston University graduate student who admitted illegally downloading and sharing music online to pay $675,000 to four record labels.Tenenbaum said he downloaded and shared hundreds of songs by Nirvana, Green Day, The Smashing Pumpkins and other artists. (N&O)

Teen sues Amazon for deleting Kindle book report – A high school student lost his notes for a book report when Amazon deleted the novel 1984 from Kindle. The attorney also argues that a precedent case is needed here. “Technology companies increasingly feel that because they have the ability to access peoples personal property, they have the right to do so. That is 100% contrary to the laws of this country,” he said. (Geek.com)

College grad can’t find job, wants $$$ back – Trina Thompson, a graduate of Monroe College, is suing her school for the $70,000 she spent on tuition because she hasn’t found solid employment since receiving her bachelor’s degree in April. She says the business school doesn’t do enough to help graduates find work, of course the school disagrees. (NBC New York)

Large and loving it - Profile of young women who love their large bodies despite national war on obesity. (N&O) photo by Ross Cameron

Orange Co. Speedway, Rockingham Dragway – photos

(click to enlarge – photos by wjzo.com)

The Kid: Michael McGuire

All you have to say is “The Kid” and everyone at the Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, NC knows exactly who you are talking about. There he is signing autographs for a line of adoring fans. There he is at the drivers’ meeting, standing with men twice his age and double his size. There he is on the track, driving the 22 car clean, taking turns like a video game. There he is on the leader board, second place in points in the Limited Sportsman division. There he is emerging from his red and black car, talking strategy with his veteran race crew. There he is, 13-year-old Michael Mcguire, smiling boyishly ear-to-ear, a natural born racer, happy, The Kid.

“We don’t normally let drivers out there that young but we made an exception for him, he’s something special,” explains Chief Track Official Terry Deal. “He proved himself early in go-carts and he continues to impress everyday. That boy’s got a bright future ahead of him, he’s one to watch.”

“There ain’t nothing stopping that kid and I mean nothing,” agrees Joey Throckmorton, the only driver ahead of Michael in the points standings. “I mean we were all a little nervous the first time he came out, but once you race him a few times, you quit worrying about him being young, cause you just trying to beat him.”

Michael won his first go-cart race at age 5 and has been steadily rising up through the ranks ever since. “I think starting so young gives me an advantage because I already have so much experience. I’m doing something at 13 that most people don’t get to do until they’re 18,” states Michael, sweating from the heat of his driver’s uniform. “We’re going to start racing Late Model (the next division up) in the next weeks then keep going up and try to make it to the (NASCAR) Sprint Cup Series.”

Throckmorton believes NASCAR is definitely in Michael’s future. “He’s got all the talent the world. If he’s driving like this now, imagine what he’s going to be like in a few years. And he’s got a great team around him, his family really knows what they’re doing. All he needs is that right backing, someone to see him and give him a chance to drive.”

Michael is quick to credit his family race crew for his success, which includes two wins and six top-five finishes this season. “My whole family used to race so I can tell them what’s wrong with the car and they know exactly what to do, how to make it better.”

From under the hood, his crew chief Tony McGuire disagrees, “We do what we can with this car but he’s the one out there driving. You might not know it to talk to him, but you not going to meet anybody more competitive than Michael. Every time he gets out there, he thinks he’s going to win. That’s not something you can teach, that’s just something you have.

“Yeah, I want to win but I just love racing,” says Michael, with his eyes steady on the track. “This is what I want to do.”  For more information about Michael McGuire, please see his website.

0-100 mph: Kelli Blake

Kelli Blake is a firecracker waiting to explode.  As soon as that light turns green, she’ll be gone, hurtling down the Rockingham Dragway, just like her momma and daddy used to do.

“I was a baby out here watching them race.  And seeing them do it made me want to race.  I started begging with them when I was three,” laughs 15-year-old Kelli, an honor student at Richmond Senior High School.  ”They let me race for the first time when I was 9 and I’ve loved everything about it ever since.”

For her very first drag race, her father put her behind the wheel of a small-engine go-cart.  ”I told him this wasn’t going to work.  I needed to go fast.  I felt like a snail out there.”

Soon thereafter, he found Kelli a more powerful vehicle but decided to suspend his own racing so that he could concentrate full-time on her safety.  ”Junior racing is a big family commitment and takes a lot of dedication from everyone,” notes Ronnie Blake.  ”But we’re doing this just to have fun, to enjoy it.”

That’s not to say that Kelli doesn’t enjoy winning, which she does on a regular basis.  ”My favorite part of racing is the rush.  I love going fast.  The next best part is all the friends I’ve made out here, friends I’ll have forever.”  But then smiling, she adds, “Well, we’re friends off the track, because out there, I’m trying to beat them.”

She obviously inherits part of this competitive streak from her mother, who used to drag race before female drivers were commonplace.  ”When I first started racing, guys didn’t think I should be racing, which made me want to beat them even more,” remembers Debbie Blake.  ”But once you showed them you had the skills, they started to respect you.”

Now, according to Kelli, the only difference between male and female drivers is the boys “are always trying to intimidate you at the Christmas tree.”

The Christmas tree is the multi-colored starting light, where drag races are won and lost. Tonight, in the marquee match-up, Kelli’s “Heartbreaker” dragster is paired against the “Whatever” car of another female driver.  The back wheels of both cars are spinning furiously, a thick smoke rising off of the pavement into the air.  The noise is building, deafening, like an airplane about to take flight.  The crowd is standing, her parents are smiling.  Then the green light.

(photos by wjzo.com)

Rockingham Dragway – July 3, 2009

(click to enlarge – photos by wjzo.com)