CITY FOCUS:Racer is driven to help kids

A pair of recent morning assemblies gave students with disabilities at Edison High School a taste of what it’s like to ride the dunes of Baja California or race hundreds of miles over desert from Las Vegas to Reno. At the same time, a donation from presenters moved the school closer to having new wheels of its own.

Off-road racer Mike Bilek of Tustin showed off his cars and talked up the racing life to the school’s Special Abilities Cluster students May 3, also presenting them with $5,000 to help buy a new van.

Bilek said his chief mechanic had a family connection to the school.

“How do these things sound?” Bilek asked before a member of his crew revved up the 180-horsepower engine of one car. Students then applauded when they heard the full-on roar of its 700-horsepower sibling.

“In the last group, everyone liked the sound of that one better,” he said. “I don’t know why that could be.”

Later, students swarmed over the cars for a chance to climb inside; others sat watching race videos filmed recently.

Teachers hoisted 18-year-old Matt Blake off his wheelchair and fit him through the driver’s side window into one of the high-tech cars. Blake, who must use a wheelchair because he has cerebral palsy, said he loves to watch car racing and goes to NASCAR events once a year. Classmates cheered as they helped fit a visored helmet on his head and set his hands on the wheel.

“I liked it a lot,” he said of his moment in the driver’s seat. “I just had a feeling of accomplishment and freedom. Actually it was very comfortable; I felt right at home.”

Bilek regaled students with stories of the world of off-road racing. Telling them how a truck can burn gas at fantastic rates or how tires run $600 a piece drew a hush of surprise. The $5,000 in race winnings Bilek donated may have an even more lasting effect.

The school has been using the same van for 13 years, said Heather Kimbrel, an instructor for the Learning Inclusively and Networking in the Community program.

“We use that van for field trips and to take students with moderate and severe disabilities to their jobs in the community,” Kimbrel said. “It definitely needs to be replaced.”

The school is still seeking more donations for the van so it can afford a wheelchair lift. Donations may be sent to Special Abilities Cluster, c/o Heather Kimbrel, 21400 Magnolia St., Huntington Beach, CA 92646.