ARLINGTON — An area resident and his co-driver will soon be cruising across the country for a good cause.
Scott Jensen, of Arlington, will be driving his highly modified 2007 Ford Mustang GT in the 2010 “Fireball Run Adventurally and Race to Recover America’s Missing Children” event, which requires him to make a 3,500-mile drive from Henderson, Nev., to Galena, Ill.
Jensen, owner and president of the Real Performance Group, will team with Saint Petersburg, Fla., resident Bob Stephens, vice president of Bargain Signs, during their nine-day rally.
During their trip across the country, the drivers will be taking a photo of then-10-year-old Lindsey J. Baum, a missing girl who was last seen in McCleary, Wash., on June 26, 2009.
Baum disappeared as she was walking home from a friend’s house. She was last seen wearing blue jeans with rips in the knees, a long sleeve blue hoodie and black slip-on tennis shoes.
“You get caught up in it — talking to organizers is exciting, but once you learn about your child, that is really the responsibility that you’ve accepted and there is a lot of weight that comes with that,” Jensen said.
Each team in the rally is assigned a child from their home region, and posters of that child are handed out while the team makes its trek.
Additionally, a decal of the missing child is affixed to each vehicle, essentially creating a rolling milk carton, said Natalie Zimmerman of the Fireball Run.
Jensen and Stephens’ team name is “Team RPM/High Noon” based on the combination of the two drivers.
While Jensen has not competed in the event before, Stephens took part in the 2007 and 2008 runs, finishing 3rd and 10th, respectively with his team — “Team High Noon.”
The two participants were brought together through event organizers. Typically, Fireball Run participants must raise $8,000 in order to take part in the challenge, but Jensen and Stephens were able to pool their resources to make it work financially.
Jensen’s father-in-law, Tacoma resident Bill Waltrai, helped pay for the Arlington resident’s costs, contributing $2,500.
“He said it would be ridiculous to pass on this opportunity,” Jensen said.
Waltrai will also be staying at Jensen’s home with Jensen’s wife and daughters during his trek, that not only includes the run itself, but also driving down to Las Vegas and driving home from Illinois.
Jensen’s wife, Becky, is a fourth grade teacher at Pioneer Elementary School in Arlington.
This year’s Fireball Run begins on Sept. 23 and ends Oct. 2.
The national event, which began in 2007, will include drivers of everything from Lamborghinis to DeLoreans.
Drivers are required to solve clues and complete challenges in an attempt to earn points. There are also racing challenges.
While participants are encouraged to involved local residents of the towns and cities they’re driving through, Jensen said he has an advantage.
Jensen, who runs the website RealPerformanceMustangs.com, will have residents who follow the site and the community’s Facebook page, along the way who are rooting for him in person and electronically.
“Site members have embraced our part in (the run),” Jensen said. “They’ve taken ownership in it themselves and have done their part by sharing information on posters and online on their own Facebook pages.”
Fireball Run organizers partner with the Klaas Kids Foundation, which was established in 1994 in an effort to help protect children by promoting partnerships among communities, the private sector, law enforcement and legislators.
Jensen said he’d like to thank sponsors Brad’s Custom Auto’s and Bill Pierre Ford in Lake City. Employees from the latter have been working on Jensen’s Mustang, equipping it not only with custom parts but ensuring that it will be able to handle the approximately 6,000 miles it will be running in the next few weeks.
For more information on the event, visit www.fireballrun.com, or to learn more about Jensen’s participation in it, visit www.realperformancemustangs.com or search “Real Performance Mustangs” on Facebook.
