Teams

Atlantic Puffin

Garage Headquarters: Westchester County, NY

Driver: Lisa Latella

Mechanics: Cindy Marks, Stephen Marks, Sean Latella, Tom Cunningham

Nuts and Bolts:

“I consider the date of the Red Bull Soapbox Race – October 13 – to be a lucky omen,” predicts Lisa Latella, captain of Team Atlantic Puffin. “I believe our great bird will fly to victory.” Is flying allowed? Beyond that, is this woman one twig short of a full nest? Latella’s teammate Stephen Marks is a neurologist, so we asked him. "As her personal physician, I am certain Lisa is quite daft, crackers, bonkers...whatever technical term you prefer,” Dr. Marks opined. “But it just happens that October 13 is her birthday."

Latella will be celebrating by racing a puffin-shaped vehicle with the support of family and friends: her nephew Sean Latella, the good doctor and his wife Cindy Marks, and Tom Cunningham. Their theme was inspired by the puffins that hang around the Marks’s summer house in eastern Long Island. Cindy Marks believes "the puffin is the penguin perfected.” To which the discerning Latella adds, “Plus (sage nod) they fly." This, evidently, takes her back to her original train of thought. “Have you got any birthday cake to go along with that First Prize?” she demands, followed by a gleeful, “Don’t forget the candles!” If Latella has her way, her performance on October 13 will be a blow out.