FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: When I lived in the Northeast, I always looked forward to attending the AMA round at Mid-Ohio. Last year when my son had his shot to participate there, I wasn’t going to miss it for the world, even though we moved farther away to the south. I’m not sure what it was about last year, but it seemed as though there were a number of injuries inside the camping area where people are allowed to drink and drive golf carts and pit bikes, etc. There were a few occasions where the access roads had to be blocked off or cleared so a few adults and a couple children could be brought out in ambulances due to alcohol-and-machine-related injuries. This year, I heard, was no exception. I never thought that what other people did at the track would affect me until this year. I wasn’t able to attend, but my son was there to participate again, but this year he was involved in one of those incidents and has to go to a leg specialist because of someone being irresponsible. My son was coming back from watching the Superbike riders go through a certain turn, riding his pit bike on a paved trail next to a wooded area when when someone on a side-by-side utility vehicle (Rhino) came out of nowhere and ran into him, leaving him lying underneath his pit bike with an injured leg. Instead of the person stopping to help him up, or see if there was an issue, he rode off–laughing all the way–to avoid dealing with what he had done. I can’t say for sure if it was alcohol related or not because I wasn’t there”¦..it happened so fast that my son didn’t get a good ID on the driver, but it’s hard to think that this person wasn’t under some influence. Nonetheless, Corey has a hole in his leg from being pinched in between the Rhino and the footpeg of his pit bike. His upper thigh, knee and calf muscles are black, blue and red and all about the size of a watermelon from swelling. Corey and Rich–the friend/guardian that he was with for the weekend–went to report it to the on-site authorities, but there was nothing that they could do about it. I know they’re not going to stop allowing alcohol at the track, but with the last two years being such an issue with off track injuries, I would think that Mid-Ohio would bump up the security to keep it under better control. I think this is more of a family oriented sport and if these things keep happening like this, parents won’t feel safe enough to bring their children out to the track. If this letter is published, I’m just hoping that the person who did this follows along with Roadracingworld.com and sees this. I doubt that they would come forward and take ownership of their mistake, but maybe that person and others who did drink and drive inside the facility will think twice about doing it again because injuries do happen. Corey saw a specialist and he’ll take some medication to clear up an infection, but nothing is broken. I’m sure he will be OK, but if you saw the leg it would explain it better. We’re doing what we can to get him back into shape for his next event, but as a parent, I reach out to those who read this and ask for them to think about their actions and potential risk it poses for others. Jeremy M Pupillo Ellijay, Georgia