Teen put to test, receives royal treatment at Pocono

LONG POND, Pa. -- It's summer vacation but school definitely was in session Saturday for one lucky Brooklyn student treated to a NASCAR-style spelling bee inside the garage at Pocono Raceway.

Thomas Harkins, the recently crowned New York state spelling-bee champion and an avid NASCAR fan, thought he was going to the track to watch practice. But little did the 14-year-old know he had to put on his thinking cap and go to work calling on several different NASCAR figureheads and drivers stationed and at the wait to give the student a word challenge.

Should Harkins spell all the words correctly, a prize awaited him at the Sprint Cup Series hauler.

David Hoots, managing event director for NASCAR, held the final challenge on a folded piece of paper.

"I want you to spell Jimmy Jacky," Hoots said. "The definition is the act or acts of upsetting the race director or NASCAR race control."

Of course, the officials at Scripps Howard might contest the factuality of the word but hey, this is NASCAR; the sport has its own dictionary.

And in impressive fashion, Harkins spelled the word correctly and went on to collect his prize: A pace-car ride before Sunday's Pocono 500.

"Awesome," he shouted. "I don't know how many times I've used that word [Saturday] but that is just awesome."

As if being inside the Cup garage wasn't exhilarating enough, namely when Tony Stewart came tearing by with a tore-up Chevrolet, Harkins was treated to a royal visit from Richard Petty.

The King, who jokingly placed his iconic cowboy hat on Harkins' head, asked him to spell "dynamometer" and gave him a clue that would lead him to NASCAR's executive chef where he was asked to spell "acidulation." Prior to those challenges, Brian Vickers and Ryan Newman had words for the student as well: carburetor and magnaflux.

To sweeten the experience, Pocono officials supplied hot passes and race tickets for Harkins' parents, who accompanied their son through the garage.

Leslie Maxie, a NASCAR spokesperson, said she noticed Harkins spelling-bee victory in a New York newspaper where the student proclaimed to be a huge NASCAR fan and dreamed of one day becoming a driver.

"This was one way we could show our appreciation, embrace a fan because it's all about the fans," Maxie said. "And my hope, as a mom, is to see the passion and have young people connect with the sport on a unique level. We also wanted to give [Harkins] something kids normally don't get to do to celebrate his accomplishment."

Harkins said he is an avid reader who enjoys the challenges spelling competitions bring but he realizes he can't grow up and be a professional speller and get paid for it.

"Yeah, I just like being up on stage," he said. "But who knows, the spelling bee got me here in NASCAR [on Saturday]."