PORTLAND, Maine – Travis Dunbar has been running in circles his entire life it seems, both literally and figuratively. He’d love nothing more than to give young people the choice to break free from their own circles.

When Dunbar, 30, hops behind the wheel of a Pro-4 Late Model, he’s racing for more than victory lane.

His No. 44 adorned in a familiar array of colored puzzle piece decals, Dunbar’s stock car racing efforts are for the Autism Society of Maine. His purse winnings, the donations he collects, the time he spends educating other racers and fans about the need to help families whose lives are affected by autism – it’s all for a cause bigger than himself.

"I don’t want to give up," said Dunbar, a native of Vermont who now lives in Lisbon, Maine. "It’s not going to happen. It makes me feel good that maybe I can break a cycle for someone else. We will make it happen."

A neurological disorder discovered in 1 out of every 150 small children, autism affects the brain’s ability to communicate and reason, particularly in interpersonal relationships. According to the Autism Society of Maine, roughly 1.5 million people have autism – making it the third-most common developmental disability, more prevalent than Down’s Syndrome.

In two years of Mini Cup competition across northern New England, Dunbar has raised nearly $2,000 for the Autism Society of Maine, despite winning only one feature race in his career. He’d like to triple that amount in 2009 and has plans to compete in upwards of 30 races this season.

"IT'S WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO"

After eight years working at the Margaret Murphy Center for Autistic Children, Travis Dunbar was at the end of his rope.

"I remember telling my wife, ‘I’ve got to do something,’" Dunbar said. "I was burnt out with work, but I wanted to do something with kids.

"I’ve done early intervention all the way up to 25-year-olds. You get burnt out with the one-on-ones. It’s hard work. When I stopped doing that, I asked my wife if I could get into racing. As I got into that, I thought that it would be a great way to get autism awareness out there and possibly get donations for the (Autism Society of Maine). We started really small."

Small, but expanding.

Dunbar started the team with one Mini Cup car in 2007, adding Brad Tripp as a teammate in a second car last season. This winter, Dunbar bought a Pro-4 Late Model to race at Unity Raceway on a weekly basis, while Tripp will continue campaigning the Mini Cup ride.

During race events, Dunbar spends time during intermissions addressing the grandstands about the importance of raising money for battling autism. He collects donations, gives trophies to children in attendance and encourages people to get involved in the cause.

When he’s not racing, Dunbar takes his race cars to retreats for families with autistic children, letting those children connect with a world many have never encountered.

"You take a low-functioning (autistic) child who can’t have loud noises or anything, and sometimes they’re stimulating themselves by looking into the sky and maybe they’re not even really aware that you’re there," said Dunbar, who now works as a technician at West Side Neuro Rehab in Lewiston, where he uses race cars as a therapeutic tool. "You take a child like that and put them in the race car. They grab hold of that steering wheel and it’s like a light bulb flashes."

Dunbar becomes excitable telling the story, his eyes lighting up and a wide smile growing across his lean face.

"They’re smiling. It’s just awesome." he said. "I love it. I actually would say that it’s the same feeling I get when I win a race – it’s incredible. That’s why we do what we do."

In addition to racing on Friday nights at Unity, invites have been extended to Dunbar on behalf of Spud Speedway, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway and Canaan Fair Speedway to hold autism awareness nights to raise money for the Autism Society of Maine. Dunbar also hopes to attend several year-end events in the fall across New England.

In most cases, Dunbar’s car does not fit within rules for the tracks’ own weekly divisions. In every case, tracks are making a concession to help Dunbar get on the race track to spread the word.

"YOU JUST WANT TO DO SOMETHING"

The first time Dunbar ran, he was a freshman in high school. He vomited at the end of practice.

Three years later, the night before he won the Vermont state cross-country championship as a senior, he hopped into an Enduro race at Claremont Speedway. He crashed.

In both cases, it was a great escape for a teenager who grew up around drug and alcohol abuse, in a house where the sounds of domestic violence roared like race engines on empty aluminum grandstands.

He ran in circles to stay away from home.

But after his foray into the Enduro ranks, the Hartland, Vt., native began his Olympic training. In the summer of 2003, though, that promising career was dealt a blow with a brain injury suffered away from competition. Dunbar’s running days were over.

Clouded by post-concussion syndrome, Dunbar was frustrated by a lack of competition. He could no longer run those circles he loved. It ate at him every day – the lack of competition and the stress of eight years working in the emotionally taxing world of autism combining to wear him down.

"It’s hard to explain after a brain injury, but you just want to do something," Dunbar said.

Two years ago, cleared by doctors, he found something to satisfy his cravings. The Mini Cup challenge behind him, Dunbar is ready to hop into a full-size car – at a track, Unity, that he’s never even seen before.

"I didn’t want to go back to Mini Stocks, and I didn’t want to race Street Stocks," Dunbar said. "I didn’t have the money, though, to go from a Mini Cup to an actual Late Model car. Then I saw these (Pro-4s). It’s exactly like a Mini Cup suspension-wise, but there’s more power.. so it made sense to jump into this.

"I’m going to make use of all the practice time, I can tell you that."

But making use of practice time is something Dunbar has done his entire life. Now he’s racing for autism awareness.

"I’m nervous that I’m at this level now," he said. "On top of the autism thing, which is my main goal, I’m also going to be honest, it has helped me open doors for us as a team to find sponsors and get help. Hopefully, that will get me a break someday."

A break in the circle.

Posted at 11:30 a.m. by TBarrett