Goughary Donates to SOS, Reflects on 2011
Following a race win and a third place finish in the inaugural F1600 Formula F Championship Series standings, Jim Goughary, driver of the No. 7 Piper/Honda for Raceworks, has donated his Championship check to SOS Children’s Villages, the official charity of F1600.
“I am donating the third place winnings, because my wife, three kids, and I have been talking about ways to raise money for starving children,” said Goughary, who won the first race in the history of the Series by inches in Virginia.
“I want to teach our kids that their lives here are a true privilege and what better way to do that than helping children that desperately need our help.”
SOS Children’s Villages is the largest organization in the world that provides long-term care for orphaned and abandoned children.
“SOS is making a difference and we want to support that. There needs to be more organizations like that to help kids,” continued Goughary. “Many of us take for granted how easy we really have it. As we speak little kids are dying. Think about that for just one minute. I think it is fantastic that SOS is there to help.”
The Florida native had a banner-year in F1600, and has recently picked up sponsorship for 2012 from ExtremeBidder.com, an auction website.
While most would remember a nail-biting photo finish over John Robinson at VIR that went to Goughary, he noted that Lime Rock was probably the highlight of the year, where he was the car to beat in all practices and sat on pole for both races.
“The first time I ever drove a F1600 car was this past January,” he added. “There was a steep learning curve to figure out how to make these cars go fast.”
Meanwhile, he has not quite made up his mind for 2012. A former Trans-Am and Star Mazda winner; Goughary is still considering his options.
“I am looking at other high profile series for 2012, but no plans are finalized yet. Regardless of where I land in 2012 I hope to be back for the full season next year. The F1600 series is a great tool no matter what level of racing you do. What I mean is that even the most experienced top level racers would benefit from driving in this series,” he explained.
“The F1600 Series is going to launch a new star if it hasn’t already,” stated Goughary. “If you can prove yourself here and win races you will be able to win races at any level of racing. To a certain degree, winning at this level is just as hard if not harder than winning races at the highest level of road racing in the country, and I say this from first hand experience.”