WISCASSET — To the inexperienced eye, Brian Hanaford’s racecar is indistinguishable from any other as it speeds around the track, but as it pulls into the pitstop at Wiscasset Speedway, a few details stand out.

For one, Hanaford, sitting in the passenger seat next to the driver, with his hands wrapped around a second steering wheel. The passenger side also has its own gas pedal and brake, allowing the passenger to take over driving.

The reasons for these strange features? Hanaford’s racecar is designed for people with disabilities. On Thursday, Hanaford and a few friends had hauled the racecar from where they live in New Hampshire to the Wiscasset Speedway to give a handful of disable Maine veterans the opportunity to drive a racecar on a real track.

As the engine is switched off, a couple of volunteers approach the vehicle and begin taking screws off the side, and in a few moments they’ve removed a section of the body roughly approximating a door, revealing the driver inside. Joe Mixon, who works with Hanaford on the vehicle, jumps in to explain.

“Normally on a racecar you climb through the window. There is no door,” he said.

In adapting a racecar for disabled people, accessibility is everything. Hanaford knew that jumping through the window would be a barrier too far for some people, so he had a piece about the side of a door cut out and installed a new seat that would pivot out, making it easier for wheelchair bound individuals and others with mobility issues to get into and out of the car.

“Brian’s been working on this for the better part of 15 years,” said Mixon.

“That was awesome! That was so cool!” said Kathy Farris of Westport Island after she pulled the car into the pitstop and cut the engine. She waits patiently as a couple of men unscrew the car’s side panel so she could pivot out. Farris grinned ear to ear.

“I’ve never done anything like that before,” said Farris, a disabled Coast Guard veteran. “Oh my God, it’s really cool.”

With some guidance from Hanaford in the passenger seat, Farris said it wasn’t too hard to control the vehicle as it sped around the track at 100 mph — save for one thing.

“I don’t have sight in my left eye, so I have to offset that a little bit,” said Farris with a laugh. “That throws it off just a little.”

When the main aspect of the driving experience is turning left, a prosthetic left eye isn’t much help, she noted. Even so, Farris said that by turning her head a little she was able to keep her eye on the road and tear up the track.

Farris, like many of the other disabled veterans trying out the racing experience Friday, learned about the opportunity through Veterans Adaptive Sports Training (VAST), a program out of Pineland Farms.

The VAST program helps disabled veterans to engage in physical activities and sports while also enjoying each other’s company. VAST Director Kristina Sabasteanski, an army veteran herself and a former Olympic athlete, said they offer a variety of activities for free year round.

“We have weekly programming,” explained Sabasteanski. “Right now we’re doing pellet rifle shooting. In the summer we do archery. In spring we do cycling, and in winter we do skiing and snowshoeing, and we also do wheelchair basketball and bowling.”

Farris joined the program in June.

“I’ve done so much stuff through their program alone,” she said.

In just a few month’s time, she tried a giant swing, went out on a catamaran that had been rigged for disabled people, and gone rock climbing.

“You’re an adrenaline junkie,” laughed Sabasteanski.

“I’ll try anything once,” admitted Farris.

In the last year, Sabasteanski saw 220 veterans take part in VAST activities.

James Tardif of Woolwich has been taking part in VAST three years now. A self-described Air Force brat, Tardif bucked the family trend and went into the Army.

“I got disowned,” joked Tardif. “Unacceptable.”

Unlike many of the other participants, Tardif has a bit more experience behind the wheel.

“I used to mess around here back in the ’80s, doing derbies and stuff,” said Tardif.

While Tardif may have thought those days were behind him, on Friday he was able to strap into Hanaford’s adaptive racecar and roar down the track, with Hanaford providing guidance from the passenger seat.

“Half the time I didn’t know whether I was driving or he was driving,” admitted Tardif.

“You were driving most of the time,” said Hanaford reassuringly. “I did two hard laps, but you did most of the rest.”

While racing was a thrill, Tardif, who is missing the lower part of his left leg, said his favorite VAST activity is wheelchair basketball.

“It gets quite violent,” he said. “But I can’t wait for another rainy day.”

Hanaford said it’s the “magic moments” that keep him going and creating opportunities for disabled people to drive the racecar.

“When you see people getting to do something that they thought was long passed — that they were never going to be able to do again,” said Hanaford. “It’s a self confidence builder.”

“It’s all about getting people out of their dark spots,” he added.

nstrout@timesrecord.com