AMBASSADOR QUINN CODY
VOL. 52 ISSUE 45 NOVEMBER 10, 2015 P85
ter like we did last year just because financially
it's a large burden and it helps out a very small
portion of the race," Cody said. "Basically, [only]
the lead riders."
The Foundation would much rather fund more
cost-effective solutions that will apply to all the
racers, not just the front-runners. That said, they
are still going to run the opening vehicles.
"We try to open the first 20 or so miles of the
race so we have two different vehicles that clear
the course with lights and sirens," Cody said. "We
just try to wake everybody up and make sure they
know the race is about to start. That's one of the
scariest things I've encountered down there—be-
ing one of the first bikes off the line."
EDUCATING YOUTH
KCF has also begun to play a
big role in American off-road
racing, namely the AMA Na-
tional Hare & Hound Champi-
onship Series, and the Youth
program, which it sponsors.
"We started this year using
the King-Devick test for the
Youth Hare and Hound Se-
ries," said Cody. "We collect a
baseline from all the kids that
are racing in the series, and if
they have an injury we can re-
test them and assess whether
they have a concussion or not.
And the King-Devick is really
effective. It's developed with
the Mayo Clinic and they've had
a lot of studies and it's close
to 100% accurate in detecting
concussions. It's a cool thing
we can do with the youth and
also raise awareness of the fact
that head injuries are some-
thing they need to be con-
cerned about and not some-
thing that you just shake off.
"It's becoming more and
more of a topic right now.
Everyone's been really re-
ceptive to it. The parents are
really glad that we're doing
something. Even if it's a minor
change it's a step in the right
direction.
"Our generation, it was
never an issue. You crashed,
hit your head and 'Aw, I just
rang my bell. I'm okay.' You
never thought twice about
racing the next weekend. It's
good to teach these kids that
there's more to it."
OUR GENERATION, IT WAS NEVER
AN ISSUE. YOU CRASHED, HIT
YOUR HEAD AND 'AW, I JUST RANG
MY BELL. I'M OKAY.' YOU NEVER
THOUGHT TWICE ABOUT RACING THE
NEXT WEEKEND. IT'S GOOD TO TEACH
THESE KIDS THAT THERE'S MORE TO IT.
Cody (right)
and the
Kurt Caselli
Foundation
at work at the
Glen Helen 24
Hour, conduct-
ing ground-
breaking
research on
mild traumatic
head injury.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
JEAN
TURNER
