Environmentally friendly race car featured in children's book
Race car developer is 'excited' the graphic novel is geared for students that have a hard time reading
First Posted: May 23, 2012 2:35pm
| Last Updated: May 23, 2012 2:39pm
The world's first race car to run entirely on renewable fuel is featured in a children's book titled Gotta Jet.
"We were pretty excited when we (saw) that it's geared for students that have a hard time reading," said Humboldt's Kevin Therres, who developed the biodiesel jet-powered funny car.
The idea for the car was born in 2005 and since then has made appearances from Florida to British Colombia. The vehicle reaches over 250 miles per hour on biodiesel made from canola and cuts green house gases by nearly 80 per cent, Therres said.
The graphic novel follows Chase Duffy, the main character, who meets Kevin Therres and is inspired to build his own biodiesel car.
Author Dawn Ius says Therres is a great role model for kids, leading by example when it comes to following dreams, but also environmental sustainability.
"He has such respect for racing, for the tracks, and for the car and delivers good messages," she said.
Both Therres and Ius will read from Gotta Jet at Humboldt's elementary schools on Thursday. The novel follows curriculum for social studies and language arts and comes with a study guide for teachers.
