The million-dollar racer of the Ferrari Challenge

NIKA ROLCZEWSKI SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Houston-based race car driver Mandy Reimert stands 5 feet 6 inches tall, but she has enough heart to make all Texas proud.

In a state that thinks big, Reimert's accomplishments as a Ferrari Challenge Series driver are sizeable — she's raised more than $1 million for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Her number 19 Ferrari 360 Challenge car is adorned with the Make-A-Wish children's charity logo on the scarlet-red car. The roof is covered with the names of donors who have helped grant the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses.

Reimert's involvement began at a local Houston charity event where she was deeply touched by the words of one young child whose wish was granted by Make-A-Wish. It was one of 127,000 wishes granted to kids over the past 25 years.

Reimert has combined her commitment to Make-A-Wish with a lifelong passion for cars and racing. Growing up as a certified "tom boy," Reimert admits she wore a baseball jacket over her pink frilly dress and she was found more often climbing trees then baking cookies.

She also loved racing. Her first sports car was a Porsche 996. In 1999, she pushed her driving skills to a higher level with her visit to the track, and added a Ferrari 355 to her garage.

A visit to her Houston Ferrari dealership to get the car tuned up was where she met Scott Gresham, the service manager. He mentioned the Challenge series to Reimert and eventually coaxed her to try it. Now Gresham is Reimert's crew chief at race events.

"I don't know if Scott claimed me or punished himself," Reimert says in a slight Texan drawl.

Gresham says he respects her driving skills. Reimert is "easy on the car" and the "perfect" racer to work with. She's also sensible on the track and with a high-endurance level "she doesn't fade on the track like some others do."

Challenge series competitors receive no prize money and the driver's usually use their own money to fund their team. That appears not a big deterrent, if you judged it on the crowded field at the last Challenge race at the Montreal Grand Prix. Twenty seven cars, including Reimert's, took the green flag.

The Ferrari Challenge is in its 12th year. Ferrari dealerships across Canada prepare the cars for the races. Factory-built race cars are dedicated for this series and they are only slightly modified for improved track safety.

For the last five years, the Ferrari 360 model has been used. Next year, Ferrari's powerful new 430 will be introduced as the series progresses.

After the Montreal race, in hot, humid conditions, Reimert jokes that her mascara still looks fresh. She also says she competes in motorsport because it goes against her "better judgment." She admits racing scares the dickens out of her.

"Of course" she adds, "I race because I can."

For more information about Make-A-Wish Foundation of Canada go to:

www.makeawish.ca.