The City of El Monte in collaboration with Irwindale Speedway hosted its first annual “Racing Against Bullying”  September 19, 2018.

The event hosted over 1,000 students from the Mountain View School District middle schools. Along with city dignitaries, media outlets, and professional stunt driver Sammy Maloof of the Fast and Furious films.

The event focused on making students aware of the issues of bullying and why people need to seek help if an issue occurs. The City of El Monte Councilman, Juventino “J” Gomez made sure to impact the students on such critical topic that revolves around every single individual.

“We are going to stand up to bullying. We are the team that is not going to take it anymore. Nobody is going to bully any other students because you’re the team that’s going to help and stop it. You’re the team that’s going to make a difference. If you hear something, say something. You are the initial team that’s going to help us turn this around. We have counselors, we have teachers, principals, we have parents, we have a great police department, we don’t take any bullying,” said Councilman Gomez.

Maloof provided many reasons on why it’s never good to give in to people’s negativity. Instead, embrace the comments and become friends with the individual because they could also be going through a tough time.

“Don’t ever let somebody stop you from what you’re believing in. Remember, hurting people go hurt people. Overcome those people through good, sometimes those hurting people just need a good friend,” said Maloof.

After his speech, Maloof entered the track with his car and performed several stunts for the students. They were left with motivations to improve themselves by his words. Veronica Sifuentes, President of Mountain View School District Board said “It’s exciting to see the partnership between the schools and the city. It’s important to demonstrate to the students that they are important and we are here to support them.”

The City of El Monte and Irwindale Speedway were happy with the outcome of the event and plan to host them annually.