The Go Kart Network

Ricky Springer, an 8 yr old go-kart racer, appears on the outside to
be the picture of perfect health, but on the inside his immune system wages
war against the most common substance needed for life: Food. Ricky lives
with an Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disorder, a distinct disease which
affects the gastrointestinal track, rendering the patient unable to tolerate
food protein.

Because of Ricky's battle to obtain an accurate diagnosis, find appropriate
treatment, and live with his disorder, he has decided to take his
experiences and make a difference for others. In 2009 he initiated the
Racing for a Cause campaign. As a dirt track go-kart racer, Ricky is using
his racing platform to educate everyone he meets about these disorders, as
well as raise money to support APFED (The American Partnership for
Eosinophilic Disorders) in educating physicians and the general public about
these disorders. Since 2009, the Springer Racing Team estimates that Ricky
has educated over 7,000 people through main stream and social media, public
appearances and other events, including an awareness tent at the Labor Day
NASCAR races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Ricky, a purple plate racer at his home track of Laurens County Speedway in
Dexter GA, was recently provided the opportunity, through an organization
called Kids Are Heroes, by CTA Digital, a top producer of Wii gaming
accessories, to go to LA for the Electronics and Entertainment Expo (E3),
June 15-17, to demo a new product - an inflatable go-kart for use with Wii
racing games. Ricky sees the opportunity as a means to allow more kids and
young adults the opportunity to "experience" what it feels like to race a
go-kart and hopefully encourage them to enter the world of real dirt track
go-kart racing.

Ricky's ultimate goal with his Racing for a Cause campaign is that "No one
suffers and lives in pain like I did". He races every race with not only
the goal of every racer on the track...the win...but the chance to educate
everyone he meets about Eosinophilic Disorders and raise money to support
APFED in the education of not only physicians but also the general public
about these disorders.

Ricky is currently racing in the Laurens County Speedway Summer Points
Series in the Purple Class and the WKA Georgia Division Dirt Series Raptor
Purple Heavy class and is leading the points championship in both series.

You can learn more about Ricky's Racing for a Cause campaign at
www.springerracing.com