BRAZIL, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — It’s the month of May, and the Indianapolis 500 is just around the corner. Monday, Forest Park Elementary school students got to experience the thrill and magic of the greatest spectacle in racing right here in the Wabash Valley.
The race started like any other Indy 500 with driver introductions, the playing of “Back Home Again In Indiana” and fans on the edge of their seats in anticipation. The drivers wrestling the wheel around the four turns in the Forest Park parking lot are student in their life skill class.
“So, it’s our life skill students, our life skills classroom, so they have various needs. So we just wanted to make something accessible to them. So we had those students participate today…Really exciting to see those students be able to participate and have an event that was fully inclusive and allowed them to be the stars today,” said Dustin Jorgensen, Principal at Forest Park.
Jorgensen says that due to some of these students’ needs, they may not be able to experience the excitement of a race in person.
“The big thing is we want them to be able to experience what race day is like. Some of them may not be able to go to a race, so we wanted to have that experience,” said Jorgensen.
Once the race began, Corbin Clingerman took the lead and didn’t look back.
“Racing is pretty good cause cars go fast and I just like it so much,” said Corbin.
Corbin’s father, Anthony, said this race is something his son has been looking forward to.
“Well, he couldn’t sleep last night cause he was ready to race, so I had to try to get him to go to sleep, but he was all pumped up and ready to go. So I think he’s going to be the next NASCAR racer in the family,” said Anthony.
Community members, Indy 50 Princesses and a professional racecar driver even came out to support.
“It’s very cool. I really like what Forrest Park has done here with the kids. This is our first time attending the event, and they really made it special,” said USAC Driver Chase Stockton.
“It’s so great to see the smile on these kids’ faces. It really kinda represents and symbolizes why we are all here, and just seeing the smile on their face kinda gives you that moment of why we do what we do,” said Indy 500 Princess, Holly DeLong.
As Corbin crossed the finish line, the crowd erupted in chants. Now, there was only one thing left a nice cold glass of milk to wash down his victory.
