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Date: 7/5/2023
PALMER — Revving engines and screeching tires break the silence among the tranquil setting. Modified BMWs zip about Palmer Motorsports’ unforgiving, twisting and diving track.
Among the racers are the Just Hands Foundation members, a beacon for individuals with physical disabilities, leading an unlikely venture into motorsports.
Torsten Gross, the foundation’s founder, hailing from Sharon, Connecticut, is no stranger to overcoming physical barriers. A C6 quadriplegic after a diving accident at 15 years old, Gross has ventured into realms many non-disabled individuals would steer clear of.
On the racetrack, he found equality, a place to nurture his adventurous spirit and guide those unwilling to watch passively.
“Being on track in a chair or using hand controls, you’re 100% equal to everybody else,” Gross said. “The car doesn’t care if I’m in a chair. No one on the track knows I’m in a chair unless they saw me before I got in.”
After his first track experience, Gross was hooked and began to take the sport seriously. “I said to my wife, we need to buy another race car,” he recalled. “And she said no, we already have one. I said no, this one’s not for me. This one’s for other people to use, and that’s when Just Hands was born.”
Gross is intimately aware of the challenges that physical disabilities can pose. However, he said everyone has struggles, whether visible or not. Some visible.
“I would argue that everybody has their wheelchair, meaning people with PTSD, depression, ADHD. We all have something that pulls us back and makes things a little more challenging. Mine happens to be visible. But everybody’s got their own,” he said.
Despite experiencing a severe crash during practice at Lime Rock, Connecticut, Gross holds no reservations about returning to the track. Arguing that only two types of drivers exist, those who crash and those who will.
He reassured that safety was paramount in motorsports, as the cars are equipped with roll cases, six-point harnesses and racing seats. Fear at the start is expected.
Gross distinguished between high-performance driver education and racing when asked about his return to the track. Member Chris Collins underwent high-performance driver education before driving around the track.
Palmer Motorsports is not a place for daredevils or reckless behavior. Responsible and mindful driving reigns.
Chris Collins, of Hollis, Maine, ended up in a wheelchair after a 2008 motorcycle accident. An avid skier, he was drawn to Just Hands’ mission. He was intrigued by the challenges the foundation offered.
“I gave them a call and from there, things moved fast. They got me on track within a month, and I enjoyed it a lot,” Collins said.
Collins’s talent for racing was immediately recognized by his instructors, with one even calling him a natural.
After his successful trial run at Lime Rock, a historical racetrack in Connecticut, where he reached 120 to 130 mph speeds, he joined the foundation’s board.
“There’s a thrill in the cornering, getting as fast as you can into a corner and feeling the car shift and move around. That’s the exciting part for me,” Collins said.
Palmer Motorsports marked his third track day with Just Hands. He was eager to gain more experience and understanding of the car, a BMW 3 Series.
Paralyzed from the chest down, he described the intricacies of hand-controlled racing.
“Once you’re in the car, you’re locked right in. The only thing you really must worry about is your arm and your hands,” he said. “The controls are quite easy to manipulate.”
Collins sees the adaptations as not limitations but adjustments to differing requirements. The automatic system, the choice of left or right control setup and the souped-up suspension are all part of racing.
His experience underscores the need for accessibility and inclusion in sports and the transformative power of the Just Hands Foundation.
Despite the recent crash setback, Gross anticipates returning to high-performance driving as early as October.
Gross recalled a woman thanking him for helping her a wheelchair bound husband reclaim his hero status in their son’s eyes.
She said, “‘Sons look at their fathers as heroes. When my husband landed in a wheelchair, my son lost a hero. You brought back a hero to my son. It’s my husband,’” he recalled. “We give people an understanding they can do more than they thought. If they can figure out how to race cars, I can figure out how to do fill-in-the-blank.”
Gross remains focused on changing society’s perceptions of what individuals with physical disabilities can do.
“It’s about more than just driving or racing. It’s about empowerment, it’s about equality, and it’s about reclaiming one’s narrative,” he said.
A recent donation by Hoffman Auto Group, a 2015 Porsche Cayman, is a significant upgrade to the foundation’s collection.