Whitefish woman is local speedracer

By RILEE LARSEN / For the Pilot

Imagine being behind the wheel of a car without a speedometer. Now put that car on a track, give it 400 horsepower and hand controls for the gas and brakes. Kimberly Barreda, of Whitefish, doesn't just have to imagine such an experience — she has done it.

"It was fast, and it was fast from the very first second you touched the gas," she said.

She also happens to be an avid skier, an associate editor for "Active Living" magazine and a double above-the-knee amputee with a gusto for adventure.

On June 13, Barreda and a group of other lucky recruits were the first people to put Accessible Racing's car on the track and to the test. Born of the minds and motives of Brian Hanaford and Peter Ruprecht, Accessible Racing gives disabled people the chance to drive under full super-speedway conditions.

So what is the job of their selected drivers? To do outreach to the public, raise awareness and get people involved.

"We are kind of the cheerleaders for the program," Barreda explained. "We'll go to children's' hospitals and let people check out the car."

The group of drivers had to raise their own money to get to the event, so all of the girls on the list joined forces for fundraising and were pleasantly surprised at how quickly their funding came together.

Glad to see how much public interest and support was on hand, the drivers headed to White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, N.H., for the highly anticipated day of learning and driving.

The entire day was spent with the car, beginning in the morning with skid school, where they were taught all of the basics, like car control and handling, and the time it takes to stop from full speed. Next, the drivers were set out on an autocross course to learn how to maneuver and control the car while driving.

"As you got better and better, the instructor stopped talking," Barreda said.

Finally it was time to get out on the half-mile long track.

"It was a lot smaller than it seems," she said. "It's tiny inside. Your helmet is so big, banging around in the car, and everything is just so strange and unbelievable, so you just sit there, drive, and laugh."

Barreda said the event was filmed "for a pile of people, there were cameras everywhere" and one driver in particular grabbed peoples' attention.

"Ian Brown, he's a fighter pilot, got this grin on his face, and just flew in that car," she said. "He didn't hit the brakes once, really just on the turns. He had the entire parking lot stopped and watching him drive."

When Barreda's turn on the track came, she was hit with a variety of emotions.

"It was terrifying because there's so much to think about, and the guy's sitting next to you and teaching you as you're driving," she said. "All kinds of lights are flashing in the car, and people are standing in towers with different colored flags, and you have to know what they all mean — which I didn't," she laughed, "but it was just so much fun, it was so overwhelming, like, how many people get to drive a race car? At all?"

When asked if Accessible Racing will be seeing more of her, Barreda immediately responded.

"Oh yeah, I'm there at the top of the list. I'm on the list to be an instructor."

Accessible Racing's next event will be a VIP event to raise funds for the car on Oct. 24-25 in Atlanta, Ga. Celebrity drivers such as Bobby Allison will be present, and people will have the opportunity to check out the car.

To learn more about Accessible Racing and their car, visit online at www.accessibleracing.com. Anyone can get behind the wheel by either paying their own registration or by finding sponsors for charity and publicity.

As Barreda puts it, "It's a win-win situation — the people win, and the program wins."