Race for Autism

Who We Are

Carlos Vieira Racing Inc., known as Team 51FIFTY, is a race-car team from Livingston, California.  We are a part of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, the Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series and the K&N Grand National West Series.  Our home track for the All-American Series is The New Stockton 99 Speedway in Stockton, CA.  Our mission is to be a competitive racing team and to be an essential part of our community by helping to raise money for organizations that help families and individuals in need.  The team has been involved in many fundraising events since the beginning and has been a huge part of our total success.  The team has also attended numerous events to help promote Autism Awareness.

What is Race for Autism?

Race for Autism is a fundraising campaign that Carlos Vieira Racing, Inc. started in 2009.  It originated from a fundraising dinner that we held in 2008 in which $22,700.00 was raised and donated to Challenged Family Resource Center of Merced, CA.  From there Team 51FIFTY decided to dedicate our whole 2009 racing season to raising money for Autism Awareness.  Throughout the season we donated all of our race winnings and held multiple events to help reach our goal of $51,500.00.  The first season we hosted a Take-Out BBW, a Casino Night, 1st Annual Race and Ride for Autism and a Steak Dinner and Dance.  At the end of the season we had surpassed our goal and raised a total of $53,468.00, which was all donated to three different organizations that help families living with Autism; Autism Speaks "Central Valley Walk Now for Autism", Challenged Family Resource Center of Merced, CA and Families for Effective Autism Treatment (F.E.A.T.) of Madera County, CA.

In 2010 Carlos Vieira Racing, Inc. held additional events to help raise funds and promote Autism Awareness.  We had a fireworks booth for the 4th of July in Atwater, our 2nd Annual Race and Ride for Autism at The New Stockton 99 and a Monte Carlo Night with a Steak & Lobster Dinner.  We will continue to host several events throughout 2011. Check out the News & Events page to learn more about our upcoming events.

About Autism

Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder of development that last throughout a person's lifetime.  Because persons with autism exhibit different symptoms or behaviors, ranging from mild to serious, autism is considered a "spectrum" disorder, or a group of disorders with a range of similar features.  Autism is characterized by varying degrees of impairment in communication skills, social interactions, and restricted repetitive and stereotypical patterns of behavior.  At worst, a person with more profound autism may never learn to speak or care for themselves.

U.S. Facts

  • Autism now affects 1 in 91 children and 1 in 58 boys
  • A new case of autism is diagnosed nearly every 20 minutes
  • There are 24,000 new cases in the U.S. per year
  • Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent diseases
  • Autism is the fastest growing developmental disorder in the U.S. today
  • There is currently no medical detection or cure for autism

California Facts

  • More than two new cases each day - 7 days a week in California alone
  • From 1987-1998 there was a 633% increase in Autism in the State
  • From 1998-2002 there was an additional 96% increase
  • There were 35,626 reported cases of Autism in California as of September 2007

 For more information on Autism or for support visit these sites.

http://www.autismspeaks.org/
http://www.feat-fmc.org/