At an average speed of 363.54 mph. in John O'Connor's P-51 Mustang, "American Beauty"  Fred Cabanas of Key West, Florida won first place in the Unlimited Bronze class at the 46th annual Reno International Air Races on Sept 20, 2009. This is the second year that Mr. O'Connor of Chicago, Illinois, has entered "American Beauty" in the air race to raise awareness for paralysis research, a cause of personal significance for both Mr. O'Connor and Mr. Cabanas. The entire winning purse was donated to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation and the Next Steps Rehabilitation Center, Chicago Chapter.    This is Fred's fouth year racing.  He was voted "Rookie of the Year" in 2005, after being the first rookie to race in the Gold Class in the history of Reno Air Racing flying Todd Stuart's Hawker Sea Fury, "Conch Fury."  In 2007, Fred placed 8th in the Unlimited Silver Class flying Mr Stuart's P-51, "Luscious Lisa."  In 2008, he placed 6th in the Silver class in "American Beauty." Racing for this cause has been inspirational and important for everyone on the team.      This year's team lead was John O'Connor, Crew Chief Jack McCloy, Crew: Raymond Cabanas, Joel Schmidt (Iceman), Bob Hanson, and father and son Dean and Josh Sparks. Crew photographer: Ed Duroux.
For more information visit: www.christopherreeve.org, www.nextstepschicago.com, www.airrace.org