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thedrifter
08-23-05, 06:12 AM
From one set of pros to another
August 23,2005
CHRIS MAZZOLINI View stories by reporter
DAILY NEWS STAFF

A group of Marines stands quietly in line, eagerly shifting from foot to foot. Fast cars, painted in flashy colors, wait close by. The grumble of high-powered engines is steady in the background.

One eases behind the wheel - the grumble explodes into a growl - and the first screech of burning rubber elicits shouts from the Marines craving just that.

"Whoo!"

"That's what I'm talking about!"

It's the response organizers and professional drivers of Operation Wheels of Freedom expected when they set up shop Monday at New River Air Station. Their goal is to give service members a taste of speed, and some rudimentary instruction on how to drive like a pro, all wrapped in a message of roadway safety.

Along with the fast cars, there were drunk-driving simulators, safety briefings and a device - called "The Convincer" - that demonstrates the importance of using a seatbelt.

It's all about safety, said event organizer John Graffius - and the fast cars are a great way to get that message across.

"This is the eye candy, this is the lure," Graffius said. "You pull these cars onto the base, you get a lot of attention."

"It's a thank you and a safety talk rolled into one," said professional driver Kim John Crumb. "We'll bring some fun toys. Come play with us."

Cpl. Travis Thibodeaux, with Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron-29, was one of those who came to play with the fast cars, mostly because he doesn't get that experience every day.

"It's the first thing I get to drive that's fast," said the 26-year-old from Houma, La. "I drive a Mazda Tribune. It's cheap on gas, and I have two kids. I drive my Mazda to be safe and reliable."

Waiting in line to hop into a yellow SSR, Chevy's roadster pickup, Thibodeaux said he didn't see himself cracking the leader board.

"I'll probably be overly cautious," he said. "But it's pretty sweet. It's a nice escape from work for a day."

The organizers brought nine cars out with them. Six were used for Marines to drive two different courses, which were marked out with yellow cones on the air station's flight line. After handing over a poker chip, each Marine gets two laps around the course, one for familiarization, the other for speed. The times are put up on a white board, so they can be compared with the times of the professional drivers and to promote some friendly competition.

Each Marine has a professional driver riding shotgun, who has a kill button that can stop the car if something goes amiss.

Thibodeaux clocked about 48 seconds on his second run.

"My Mazda drives more like a truck," he said grinning. "This drives like a car.

"I didn't do so hot," he added. "I got to screech the tires once. That was nice."

Pfc. Terry Graf, a 21-year-old Marine from Jacksonville, got the kill switch pulled on him after the Ford Mustang convertible he was driving slammed through some coins and drifted off the course.

"It was a real good adrenalin rush," he said. It's the closest he's come to driving like a police officer on a high-speed chase, he added.

"I was almost there, but she killed me."

Graf said the driver told him to look beyond the turn and to "look where you will be, not where you are." It's a tip, he said, that he'll take with him on the road.

"If you're driving, look to see what's coming down the road," he said.

'Fast and furious'

It's not the only safety tip that was relayed that day, said air station tactical safety specialist John Kratochvila, who said he is always looking for ways to teach Marines to drive safely - to avoid drinking and driving, to wear seatbelts and avoid reckless speed.

Kratochvila said he's especially concerned when troops return from deployment.

"The whole fast-and-furious thing is killing us," he said. "They come back, they've saved their money, and they want to buy a new car. They say, 'I survived a war, I'm bulletproof.' A month later, they are dying here on our streets."

"It's too terrible an irony to even think about," Graffius said. "If we can do anything to curtail those incidents, then we're doing some good."

Kratochvila said he doesn't think giving Marines a taste of speed will cause more reckless driving. Instead, the safety message from professional drivers will show them that there is a time and a place for speed - and it's not on the roads.

"We're hoping that the safety message comes through," he said." We are pushing safety, safety, safety. "Here's professional drivers. Who better to talk about safety than professional drivers?

"We get lectured to death (about safe driving). This is safety on the fly. I don't know if there's any better way to learn something."

Crumb, one of the professional drivers, said safety is all about doing what's comfortable.

"Trust your instincts," he said. "If it feels dangerous to you, it is."

And what about those fancy cars?

"The driver is still the same," he said. "Buying a car doesn't buy more skill."

Contact staff writer Chris Mazzolini at cmazzolini@freedomenc.com or at 353-1171, Ext. 229.

Ellie