Camp Boggy Creek on track

March 10, 2014

Camp Boggy Creek on track

March 10, 2014

boggycreek_3_9_14Already the official charity for IMSA, Camp Boggy Creek will have an added presence in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship in 2014 with Frankie Montecalvo and Gunnar Jeannette debuting a new livery at Sebring for the camp which provides seriously ill children..

Starting from this week’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Montecalvo and Jeannette’s’ PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA PC car will appear in the new paint scheme.

The decision to form the partnership with Camp Boggy Creek is thanks to the late, great Paul Newman.The legendary actor and racer founded Camp Boggy Creek in 1996 with General H. Norman Schwarzkopf. The Eustis, FL facility is part of the SeriousFun camp network which was also founded by Newman.

boggycreek_3_9_14_aJeannette made his professional debut in 2000 driving a Porsche at the Rolex 24 driving with Newman. He drove a number of races with the acting great early in his career including several with liveries promoting camps for sick children.

“When I raced with Paul, quite a few years ago now, we had a couple of cars that were involved with the camps. Having the opportunity to race with Paul and what he did for my motorsports career, the camps have a very special place in my heart,” Jeannette said.

“To get to go to the camp and launch the car and see the reaction of the kids… It’s very special. It’s hard to put into words. The camp offers the kids such a great place to kind of get away from their illness and not worry about other things, other than just having fun and being a kid.

“To see their eyes light up when we put them in the race car and started it up, in my opinion, is really what the camps are all about. It’s about getting them to forget about the other things they’re dealing with and to bring them and their families together for us to become a small part of that.”

The Camp Boggy Creek PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports livery was unveiled at the camp last Friday with a number of former camp attendees revealing the new livery with Montecalvo and Jeannette.

The American young sports car stars made their return to US competition after spending the past two seasons competing together in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the European Le Mans Series.

They made their debut with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports at the Rolex 24 at Daytona with Michael Guasch and David Cheng – finishing fourth. Guasch will join the team for this week’s Sebring event.

“We couldn’t have thought of a better charity to do it with. We got out there and saw the kids eyes light up when they saw the car. It really made a big difference. It was very, very cool to get out there and have the kids pull the cover off the car for the first time and see it, and to have them represented on the car,” Montecalvo said.

“Our team just got larger with a bigger fan base with all of the kids. I’m really excited and looking forward to this season. It’s going to put a little more pressure on us because we’re going to have to do good for those kids.”

Since 1996, Camp Boggy Creek has made it possible for children with serious illnesses to enjoy a camp experience in a safe, medically-sound environment. Located just a short drive from Orlando, Florida, the 232-acre camp serves children ages 7-16 who’ve been diagnosed with chronic or life-threatening conditions.

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