Circle Heart Racing
Racing to bring a better tomorrow for children in need of a smile today
“Miles of Smiles”
2011 SEASON KICKS OFF WITH A PAIR OF SECOND PLACE FINISHES
The Circle Heart Racing #28 Honda S2000 begins their season with 2 second place in class finishes at South Carolina’s Carolina Motorsports Park track. This a tough technical 2.3 mile Road Course with lots of twists and turns that will challenge the best of drivers. Rigdon’s practice time were a little higher than expected however he improved his time enough to qualify 4th overall and 2nd in class for Saturday’s race. Flickinger made adjustment throughout the day making the car faster and faster. Saturday was plagued with several full course cautions that bunched up the field of 46 cars making it extremely difficult to pass and establish a rhythm causing him to finish in the top 5.
Sunday was a gorgeous day with temperatures nearing 70 which was perfect for racing. The #28 Car picked up a tenth qualifying 3rd overall and again second in 2nd class. Rigdon was determined to get to the front only to be spoiled by a spin on the first green flag lap at 120 mph on the back stretch through the kink. “I thought I could flat foot through the kink only to spin out into the sand trap. This is the toughest corner to figure on the whole track and it got me this time”, said Rigdon. He is currently 2nd in points heading into the Road Atlanta race in March.
Local VFW Post Sponsors Team
The VFW Post 5255 in Lawrenceville backs Circle Heart Racing for 3 races this season. They will proudly display the National VFW and VFW National Children’s Home logos for several races. Rigdon is a Life Time Member with the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars). He will be racing to bring attention and donations for the VFW’s National Children’s Home during their Awareness Week 2011.
“We need to do everything possible to support our service men and women’s children;
they put their life on the line for our freedom and it’s the least we can do to give
back”, says Rigdon. For a small$35 donation you can become a Life Member and know
that you helped a child in need. He will be handing out information at NASA-
HELP -
AWARENESS WEEK 2011 -
Road Atlanta Proves to be Challenging
The weekend began with a test and tune session on Friday. They were able to improve their lap times by more than 2 seconds with a time of 1:40.9 which was good enough to be on the pole. Saturday, Rigdon and Flickinger were plagued by mechanical issues and finished the race in the top 5. Sunday’s race did not go any better blowing the engine on the first lap of the race, not the result they were looking for.
Overall the weekend was a success for the VFW National Home For Children. Over 50
race teams supported their cause to raise attention and money for the National Home
For Children Awareness Week 2011. “It was amazing the support that we received from
all of the Race Teams competiting in the NASA-
The VFW National Home is an awesome non-
Look for us at Carolina Motorsports Park in April.
Huge Comeback Places Circle Heart Racing 1st in Honda Challenge Points
After destroying an engine at Road Atlanta, Circle Heart Racing’s Rigdon and Flickinger wins two straight races at the challenging Carolina Motorsports Park track in Kershaw, South Carolina. Flickinger worked day and night for weeks replacing the Honda S2000 engine after a catastrophic failure. “I’ve never seen an engine explode into pieces like this one did, so I took the extra time to make sure the new engine was right,” said Flickinger. And right it was!
It began Saturday with Rigdon qualifying 2nd in a large 40+ car field with a 1:48 lap time. “It took a few laps but the car came to me after getting a little heat into the tires”, said Rigdon. He had a slow start as they took the green flag but within a few laps the #28 car was running up front after passing Kondor and Woods, two of Honda Challenge toughest competitors. “The S2000 ran like it was on a rail and the new engine was absolutely spectacular boosting me into the lead,” Rigdon boasted.
Sunday’s race was equally challenging, qualifying forth overall for the start. The track had lost some of it’s grip from the previous day’s races. However, the #28 was running up front after a few highly contested laps with the Thunder Cars driven by Darrell Hamilton and Brad Daugherty. Those guys were really up on the wheel trading positions almost every lap and kept fans on their feet the entire race. “Special thanks needs to be given to our sponsors and especially Flickinger for providing us with a competitive car earning two consecutive wins and 1st in points for the Honda Challenge 1 series,” Rigdon said looking forward to Road Atlanta in June.
Rigdon Chosen as Director Of Honda Challenge Series
Ron Rigdon was selected by NASA-
Rigdon currently competes in the Honda Challenge series, racing a Honda S2000. With more than 4 wins this season he is leading in the points. Rigdon will be racing at Road Atlanta August 6th & 7th, come watch as he defends his points lead.
Charlotte, NC.
Circle Heart Racing’s Ron Rigdon and Jason Flickinger celebrated the 4th of July
weekend racing their Honda S2000 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was their first
experience racing on a high banked race track which is sloped over 31 degrees. The
track configuration was a challenging 3.1 miles in length with 12 turns that included
3 high speed turns on the famous Charlotte Motor Speedway’s NASCAR track. Three of
the turns were the fastest in the NASA-
They came away with a first place finish on Saturday and a second place finish on Sunday in the Honda Challenge series keeping Circle Heart Racing in 1st place in points. Flickinger changed the set up on the car Saturday during practice and qualifying making the car faster with each adjustment. “It was a little more difficult than usual since there were three high speed turns on this track,” said Flickinger.
Circle Heart Racing also continued their support for Gwinnett Children Shelter in Buford, GA. The shelter provides quality care for children in need throughout NE Georgia. “They have programs for children of all ages; especially for older teens’” said Rigdon. “It’s up to us and others to support the shelter’s mission.” Their mission is Strengthening children, youth and families in crisis by providing a broad array of counseling and support services in a safe and nurturing environment. Visit www.gwinnettchildrenshelter.org to see how you can help.
Circle Heart Racing Takes on the High Banks of Charlotte Motor Speedway
ROBERTSON RACING JOINING CIRCLE HEART RACING FOR SANTA’S TOY RUN ENDURANCE RACE IN DECEMBER
Circle Heart Racing’s Ron Rigdon wins NASA-
The races in the December Santa’s Toy Run was a huge success for the charities. They
were able to provide over 400 homeless children with toys for Christmas and raised
over $8000 in donations for 8 different charities. They also provided more than 50
women with gift cards in the battered women’s shelter. We had lots of support from
NASA-
The #28 Honda S2000 did not fair so well blowing the motor and crashing during the 8 Hour Endurance Race.“I was real disappointed with the out come of the Toy Run (for the car), but happy that we were able to make a difference in some kids life,” Ron said, “Money is real tight however we hope to have the car back together by April, God willing.” Sponsorships have been real tough for Circle Heart Racing in 2011 and especially in 2012. .
Look for Circle Heart to be a contender for the 2012 Honda Challenge Series because you can’t keep a good dog down. They will find a way to get back on track because there is a lot of people depending on them.
Rigdon Wins more than Championship
Local Race Team Supports VFW National Home For Children
Circle Heart Racing from Lawrenceville GA assists VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Post 5255 and Boy Scout Troop 595 placing flags on the graves of veterans in observance for Memorial Day. Ron Rigdon, owner/driver of Circle Heart Racing is a lifetime member with the VFW and raced for the VFW National Home for Children for the previous two months gaining support and donations. “I want to give back and what better way than supporting the VFW National Home for Children and all the good they do for the families and kids of our Veterans,” Ron noted.
“It’s awesome to be a part of this great nation and as a veteran myself; I want to honor current and especially our fallen heroes that sacrificed their life for our freedom,” said Rigdon. He and a local group of Boy Scouts and Veterans took time to place more than 1000 flags in two of Lawrenceville’s cemeteries. There were a number of Father and Sons working together making it a family tradition and is a good lesson for our youth to learn respect and honor for our Veterans, past and present.
Veterans across Gwinnett will be celebrating Memorial Day with a parade through town
at 9am. At 1pm Post 5255 will pay respects to a local family as they sadly add their
son’s name to the Veterans Wall located the Gwinnett Justice Center. Come, show your
support. Contact VFW Post 5255 at 770-
Robertson Racing’s Andrea Robertson will join forces with Circle Heart Racing’s Ron Rigdon on December 2nd to compete in the 4th annual Santa’s Toy Run Endurance at Road Atlanta. Robertson is an accomplished professional driver in the ALMS (American LeMans Series) driving a Ford GT. She made history in 2011 with a podium finish in the world famous Rolex 24 Hours of LeMans road race in France. This is the first time a woman has ever received this prestigious award and will be a fierce competitor at Road Atlanta in December driving Circle Heart Racing’s Honda S2000.
Rigdon has been racing his Honda S2000 in the Honda Challenge Series 1 securing the 2011 Points Championship. “I’m really excited about having a world class driver like Robertson come drive my car” Rigdon said; “More importantly, we will help provide toys for local children this Christmas.” Robertson Racing has graciously supported the Santa’s Toy Run for the past 3 years and shares Circle Heart’s compassion for children in need.
This is the 4th annual Santa’s Toy Run event hosted by NASA-
You can play an important part for the Endurance race by pledging a donation based on laps or miles completed by Rigdon and Robertson. Click here for an official pledge form or by visiting www.SantasToyRun.org for more information about this great event to help unfortunate kids this Christmas. Click here for an opportunity to take a ride with Andrea in the Championship Honda S2000 on Saturday. Autographs and pictures are available immediately following the Endurance Race. Racing will begin at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA on December 2nd at 8:00 am with an endurance race followed by sprint races on Saturday and Sunday’s Toy Run; a must see. Click here to view a video describing their mission!
Santa’s Toy Run 2012 Provides for Local Kids
Once again the NASA-
The NASA-
The Directors of NASA-
NASA-
Success is measured in money donated, toys and gift cards received, joy of racing, hearts overflowing with Christmas spirit, and children’s happiness. Circle Heart Racing lives up to their motto creating “Miles of Smiles”
There were three major contributors to this year’s event. First and most importantly
was NASA-
Please join us next year as we again support charities that assist homeless, foster, disabled, and military children and their families with Santa’s Toy Run. Visit www.SantasToyRun.org for more information on how you can play a part of this great event to help kids at Christmas. Merry Christmas To All!
Circle Heart Racing Prepares for Award Winning Santa’s Toy Run 2012
NASA-
Click here to watch video about National Community Service Award.
Santa’s Toy Run 2021
NASA-
In 14 years Santa’s Toy Run has helped more than 7000 children receive toys for Christmas.
Contributions are estimated to be in excess of $90k since it began in 2008 when Ron
Rigdon approached NASA-
Recipients for 2021 included Gateway Domestic Violence Center, Henry Haven House, Gwinnett PADV and Fulton PADV; all domestic violence shelters. Also supported with this event is A Friend’s House, group foster home and Hopewell children outreach program. The VFW (Veterans of Foreign War) National Home for Children received more than $600 in donation this year. New are the Salvation Army Red Shield Services for homeless Veterans with children. There are also a large number of individual families that received toys for their children who otherwise would have done without this Christmas. All of these organizations are 501c3 nonprofit and well qualified recipients. See more about each of the groups at www.santastoyrun.org.
Tremendous thanks goes to Jim & Julie Pantas NASA-
THANK EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!
We are already looking forward to the 15th Annual Santa’s Toy Run in December 3rd & 4th, 2022 at Road Atlanta and hope to have your continued support. God bless everyone that helped us bring, “MILES OF SMILES”, this year.
Ron & Michele Rigdon – Circle Heart Racing LLC
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
In June at Road Atlanta, NASA-