While most American families will be gathered around a bountiful feast this Thanksgiving, several American kart racers will be competing in La Conca, Italy for the 2008 Rotax World Finals, a competition that places the top Rotax Max karters on the globe alongside one another to crown a World Champion in three classes.

Team USA will send a team of fourteen racers to the 2008 World Finals this year with an added goal besides making America proud. The team will also be racing for autism. In addition to sponsors, Mazda & SSC Racing, Team USA will represent the autism awareness website, www.RaceNowForAutism.org, as their official charity for Team USA during the World Finals in an effort to raise funds for families affected by autism.

Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others. There is no known single cause for autism, but increased awareness and funding can help families today.

“We are very proud to be associated with RaceNowForAutism.org,” said Joe Ramos, President of SSC Racing. “When we were approached with the idea of also representing an organization with a charitable focus it just made sense. For all of our racers, this makes their mission overseas even more powerful and memorable as they can directly affect the lives of Americans that are affected by autism.”

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the fastest growing developmental disability with a new diagnoses occurring every 20 minutes.

“With insurance companies rarely, if ever, covering therapies or medical needs related to autism spectrum disorder, there is a major need for support from the community,” said Jacquelyn Miller, a RaceNowForAutism.org representative. “1 in 150 children are being diagnosed with autism and there are organizations out there that provide much needed support, programs and therapies for families that need it. The goal of racenowforautism.org is to help these families get what they need.”

There will be fourteen Team USA members, racers from all over the country. One of which, Marc Miller, of Holland, MI is a father of an autistic child and will representing Team USA in the DD2 category.

“I can’t thank my Team USA sponsors, organizers and teammates enough for choosing RaceNowForAutism.org as a charitable partner,” said Miller. “This obviously is a very special cause for me as a parent affected by ASD.”

Team USA presented by Mazda will arrive in Italy on November 23 and 24 and spend the week practicing, qualifying and racing to crown three World Rotax Champions in the Rotax Junior, Rotax Senior and Rotax DD2 classes.

The Team USA presented by Mazda roster is below:

Name / Hometown / Class:
· Justin Coplen / Murrieta, CA / Rotax Junior Max
· Phil De La O / Peoria, AZ / Rotax Junior Max
· Taylor Miinch / El Cajon, CA / Rotax Junior Max
· Jesus Rios, Jr. / Miami Beach, FL / Rotax Junior Max
· Phillip Arscott / Portland, OR / Rotax Senior Max
· Garrison Masters / Thousand Oaks, CA / Rotax Senior Max
· Arie Ouimet / Plymouth, MA / Rotax Senior Max
· Wes Phillips / American Canyon, CA / Rotax Senior Max
· Clayton Snow / San Jose, CA / Rotax Senior Max
· Curtis Cooksey / Las Vegas, NV / Rotax DD2
· Ryan Fowler / Rotax DD2
· Andres Lopez / Opa-Locka, FL / Rotax DD2
· Stuart Marsell / Zellwood, FL / Rotax DD2
· Nathan Mauel / Broken Arrow, OK / Rotax DD2
· Marc Miller / Holland, MI / Rotax DD2

For details on the 2008 Rotax World Finals, including live scoring from the event, visit: http://www.maxchallenge-rotax.com/event2008/grand_final.html