Tide Racing returns to the track at California Speedway Feb. 25-27 with a special paint scheme honoring longtime charitable partner Give Kids The World, a nonprofit resort for children with life-threatening illnesses. The #32 Tide/Give Kids The World Chevrolet will feature star decals that have been signed by children who visited Give Kids The World Village during An Evening with the Stars – a special event Feb. 14 at which children signed their names on the decals and posed for photographs with a replica star-covered Tide race car and Tide driver Bobby Hamilton, Jr. FOX Sports analyst Jeff Hammond also participated as the events emcee. Along with this special car at Fontana, Tide will be represented by a local family who recently visited Give Kids The World Village. The Marks family of Los Angeles visited Give Kids The World in April 2003 at the wish of Zachary, now age seven. Called Zachie by his family and friends, Zachary was diagnosed with a genetic disorder called Neurofibromatosis, Type 1 (also referred to as NF1). Many children’s manifestations of NF1 are skin tumors, café-au-lait spots and internal tumors. Zachary has two tumors, one in his optic pathway which impairs his vision and another in his brain. He receives treatment every Friday, but is doing extremely well. Zachary has a twin sister, Cassandra (Cassie) and an older brother, Nicholas (Nick), age 14. His parents, Joyce and Ron, own an audio/video company in Los Angeles. The entire family will attend Sundays race as honorary members of the Tide Racing/Give Kids The World team. As the star-filled paint scheme shows, the stars at Give Kids The World are the children – and the stars that adorn the #32 Tide/Give Kids The World Chevrolet in Fontana help symbolize the more than 67,000 children the Village has served to date from all 50 states and more than 50 countries worldwide. For more information about Give Kids The World, please visit www.gktw.org.(PPI Motorsports Site) and see an image on my #32 Team Schemes page.
(2-25-2005)
