The grandstands of Phoenix International Raceway hold app. 77,000 racing fans. When the ticket-holders for these seats file into the track on Saturday night for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 Cup race, they will all have one goal: to see an exciting NASCAR event with their own eyes instead of on the screens of their television sets, and to experience other sensations not felt in a den’s easy chair, such as the vibration of the stands when the engines fire. While sitting in the presence of thousands of other like-minded individuals, seeing a live race is a heady experience that should be experienced by every NASCAR fan at least once.

It is impossible to know who you will be sitting with until you arrive and find your designated seat. It could be a group of fans several states away from yours, or one family from your home state who root for a handful of different drivers. It might be a newlywed couple who are rabid fans of one particular driver, or grandparents who are bringing their grandchild to his or her first NASCAR race.

There is a great likelihood that you will also be sitting with someone with arthritis, diabetes, or some kind of heart condition. In the USA, these conditions, as well as many others, are unfortunately quite prevalent.

As April is Autism Awareness Month, it may surprise you to learn that there is a chance you could be seated by someone with this disorder as well. You will likely hear the latest statistics about Autism as a news byte on television, or read them as part of headlines to various articles. Artie Kempner, Director of NASCAR on Fox, will make sure the phone number for the Autism Society of America will be on-screen, and the drivers who sport special paint schemes for the cause will be featured in interviews. He has a vested interest in spreading awareness of Autism as the parent of a child with the disorder, as do I.

Our personal reasons don’t have to be shared or cared about by NASCAR fans, though. We can still be confident that people will care, especially given the latest statistics: 1 in 150 children born today have some form of Autism. If the grandstands of Phoenix Raceway represented this, then amongst the 77,000 people, over 500 of them will be afflicted with the disorder. For people who are contemplating having children, a statistic like this should give them plenty of food-for-thought.

As the cars begin their laps around the raceway Saturday night, and you happen to spy the ribbon made of puzzle pieces associated with Autism, I hope that it, as well as the reality of the statistics I have mentioned, give you inspiration to want to educate yourself about Autism, and support the Autism Society of America in any way that you can. Odds are that Autism will likely touch you in your life, one way or another. You might as well be ready.