Getting “Fireball Ready” With Winston Scott
Five Questions with the Team Florida Tech Driver
1. The Fireball Run is, to use a driving analogy, just around the corner. Excited?
Yes. I am anticipating the fun and the adventure of not knowing what to expect. I am also very glad to be part of something with such a good cause attached to it. Team Florida Tech is ready to go!
2. What has Team Florida Tech been doing to prepare?
Our main focus has been on spreading the word about the event and, more importantly, about missing children Journey and Trust Everitt. We’ve been reaching out to faculty, staff, alumni, students and prospective students for help. As a national university, we have a large reach and we’ve been trying to use it to maximize our shot at locating these kids. Of course, now that the Fireball is around the corner, we’ve been zeroing in on the details. Duplicating fliers, mapping our route, and figuring out how to charge everything we need—phones, computers, cameras—using the ZR-1’s single electrical outlet.
3. Just one? What else can you tell us about the car you’ll be driving?
The car is a Corvette ZR-1 on loan from Chevy corporate. It’s jet stream blue and accelerates from 0-60 in 3.3 seconds. For the Fireball Run, it’ll have a special GPS tracker installed, which will monitor our location and speed. If we go too fast too often, we’ll get a text message from the Sheriff to slow down. We can even lose points or be disqualified. But the greatest thing about the car is that it will be fully Panther-ized. It will be decked out in Florida Tech decals from hood to trunk. Which, by the way, is really small.
4. Speaking of which… How are you packing for this adventure?
Taking only what we need to survive. I’m reminded of my days as an astronaut. When you realize the amount of fuel it takes to move just one kilogram out of the Earth’s atmosphere, you learn to pack light. We’ve discussed mailing extra clothes and other supplies we might need to hotels ahead of us.
5. Sounds like you’ve thought of everything. So, what’s your strategy going in?
We’ve been reading the rules, which have changed 3 times, over and over again to make sure we’re prepared. We’ve also come up with a creative way to access the problem-solving brain trust that is the Florida Tech community. We’ll be taking over the Florida Tech Facebook page starting Sept. 24 and turning it into “Fireball Run Mission Control.” There, we’ll be posting our daily missions, which we’ve been told can be quite difficult to solve, and asking for help. With the Florida Tech family behind us, we know we’ll do well.
Image Courtesy of Winston Scott’s Website
