12-1-2005
Back From Brazil, Festa Ready for Christmas Parade
Riding on Wachovia/IRL Float in Atlanta Saturday
ATLANTA - After a whirlwind tour of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Atlanta race car driver Chris Festa will take a ride of a very special kind on Saturday afternoon. Festa will represent the Indy Racing League and Wachovia Insurance Services while riding on their float in the 25th annual Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Christmas Parade.
The parade is the second largest Christmas parade in the nation and a spin-off of the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. ABC will cover the Atlanta parade and Festa will be featured in the early portion of the broadcast with footage of his 2005 rookie season in the Indy Racing League’s Menards Infiniti Pro Series and his college career at Florida State University.
“It’s definitely going to be fun,” said Festa. “This parade is very big in the Southeast, and it's great to see the Indy Racing League and Wachovia Insurance Services recognize the importance of children’s healthcare. The parade is important to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta - it's the kickoff for their biggest fundraising period of the year. Working this past year with Sam Schmidt and meeting the people his Paralysis Foundation bring to the track for visits and hearing of the things he does for spinal cord injury patients - it's made me appreciate how important it is to donate both your time and money to charities like these that do so much for all of us.”
Festa finished sixth in championship points in the 2005 Menards Infiniti Pro Series and just returned from the Granja Viana 500, Brazil’s premier go-kart endurance race. He was chosen by the Indy Racing League to be a part of the team of drivers they sent to Brazil to represent the Menards Infiniti Pro Series.
Next season, Festa is looking forward to another year of racing in the Indy Racing League’s developmental series, and he’s involved in discussions that could place him in an IndyCar for a couple races during the 2006 season. |
