BRAKES makes important stop in Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton area

Matt Reilly was used to seeing his work with the non-profit BRAKES help other people's children.

Then his oldest daughter, Courtney, was driving her sister, Carly, to a soccer tournament earlier this year in their home state of North Carolina.

"The car in front of her hit a piece of metal and it was coming toward Courtney's windshield," said Matt Reilly, who is BRAKES' director of operations. "She reacted, and while the piece of metal harpooned the radiator, it didn't hit the windshield."

Reilly, a former instructor at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving along with the Skip Barber and Jim Russell Racing schools, said Courtney, who is now 22, took a BRAKES' driving school course when she was a teenager. He said the lessons she learned might have helped her avert a serious accident.

On May 20-21, BRAKES' Mopar Road Ready program comes to Bradenton Motorsports Park, offering a free driving course to teens ages 15-19.

It is an important second year for the program in the East County area.

"We always have to make sure we can get the space available," said Reilly, who is BRAKES' director of operations. "We need 500,000 square feet and a lot of places that have that space have curbs everywhere. That makes it tough.

"The other thing is 'Can we get the funding?' We like to see if the community is going to push it and keep it going."

Reilly said the program costs from $350 to $500 per teen so sponsors are critical to the program. Each session can handle 36 students.

Doug Herbert, who founded BRAKES after his sons, Jon (17) and James (12) were killed in an auto accident in January 2008, said he believes the second East County stop will work out just fine.

"I think the first one is the toughest," said Herbert, a professional drag racer who also owns Doug Herbert Performance Parts. "Usually with the second one, the word of mouth is out and attendance usually is better. And here, we have Bradenton Motorsports Park really supporting us."

Reilly said the Bradenton stop is still low on numbers, but filling up. He said the morning sessions are tough to fill because teenagers in general don't want to get out of bed.

If they do get out of bed, they will take courses from instructors such as stock car veteran Doc McKinney, who has more than 40 years of racing experience. McKinney teaches the skid pad course.

"If's funny, but most of the kids come in with a pouty look, 'I don't want to be here,'" McKinney said. "But they watch the videos, and hear Doug (Herbert) talk about his experience, and their eyes open.

"I teach the skid pad where we put plastic over the tires, which takes away most of their grip. They can start to skid at 15 mph. We teach them how to control that skid."

McKinney said he sees an immediate impact on his students. He said the four-hour program, indeed, makes a big difference.

He also notes that once the students are engaged, they are more open to input from instructors than adults would be. He said they have had less time to develop bad driving habits.

And when he leaves after teaching a session, he always feels good that he might have helped a teen to prevent an accident.

"It is a humbling, but gratifying experience," he said of teaching the school.

Reilly said all the instructors are committed to the program.

"I gave up 39 weekends last year," he said. "I gave up my Super Bowl Sunday. I lost my mother-in-law to a teen texting while driving. This means a lot to us."