Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Busy Month for Muskegon's Kody Weisner
The opportunities in racing continue to grow for Muskegon's Kody Weisner. After another stellar season driving for the UNOH Race team wheeling their UMP modified, Weisner's driving and mechanical skills have caught the eye of Tony Marks Racing. Weisner will not just be wheeling a UMP Modified in Florida during February, he will be on the high banks of Daytona Speedway for the the Lucas Oil 200 on February 15th.
Wesiner caught many by surprise as he was the 14th fastest out of 78 drivers that tested at Daytona Speedway. His speed of 182.674 mph for his first time in an ARCA car turned some heads. He will behind the wheel of the #33 University of Northern Ohio sponsored Tony Marks racing Chevrolet. Wesiner will be teammates with Jared Marks.
Weisner will also be on the dirt of Volusia Speedway racing in the Dirt Car Nationals from February 11th-22nd.
If you would like to VOTE Kody Wesiner into the UMP Modified Dirt Nationals 6 Pack Challenge Click HERE
Give Kody your vote and show that Racing Fans in West Michigan support their drivers!
Weisner will also be on the dirt of Volusia Speedway racing in the Dirt Car Nationals from February 11th-22nd.
If you would like to VOTE Kody Wesiner into the UMP Modified Dirt Nationals 6 Pack Challenge Click HERE
Give Kody your vote and show that Racing Fans in West Michigan support their drivers!
Friday, July 26, 2013
Muskegon's Mike Garvey and Tracy Goodson a Perfect Partnership
| Five Flags: Tracy Goodson never runs on empty Written by Chuck Corder News Journal correspondent Jul. 25, 2013 11:24 PM | pnj.com It’s just past 6 p.m. in the vibrant restaurant. A warm face, belonging to the owner’s daughter, is eager to provide a seat once you shake loose the water from the scattered puddles in the parking lot. But nothing lights up Pensacola’s newest Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, positioned conveniently on Nine Mile Road just east of Pine Forest Road, quite like when the owner rolls his wheelchair through the restaurant and delivers a “What’s goin’ on?” or a wave to his familiar guests. Tracy Goodson, the proprietor of two Beef ‘O’ Brady’s locations, along with several other area enterprises, is the mayor of his many hamlets. Business always moves at a rapid speed when he arrives, and Goodson never slows down in any endeavor. “I’ve always been competitive,” the 44-year-old said. “It’s the same way in business. You want to be on top of the field you’re in.” The racing community knows Goodson as the effervescent owner of the Super Late Model yellow No. 1 that Mike Garvey will once again drive tonight at Five Flags Speedway for the Navy Federal 125. “If it wasn’t for Tracy, I probably wouldn’t have raced again,” said Garvey, 50, in his fourth year driving for Goodson. “You almost feel like you’re racing for him. He loves being out there. It’s such a special feeling.” Born and raised in Pensacola, Goodson has been a fixture at the famed half-mile asphalt oval for 25 years. “I want to support the track, see it succeed,” he said. “That’s why I put in 100 percent.” Goodson’s philosophy has become a harbinger that a brush with death, which stole his right leg a dozen years ago, has never confined him. “It’s not gonna come back,” he said of what’s missing from the stump that’s left. “There’s no reason to sulk over it.” 'Game changer' Goodson was a blossoming late model driver in 2001, beating and banging on several national circuits. He had returned home for a Blizzard Series race — the same series a packed house will witness tonight at Five Flags — one Friday night and promptly won the thing. Less than a week later, Goodson, wife, Tamron, and daughters Madison and Jordan were headed to Pensacola Beach to stand for family portraits — white shirts, blue jeans in a sepia tone hue. Standing suddenly became unbearable. “It felt like a knife was going through my chest and someone was twisting it,” Goodson vividly recalled. Rushed to the hospital, Goodson had sustained an aortic aneurysm. The human body’s largest artery had swollen to a life-threatening size. He fell into a coma for 10 weeks. “I woke up with one less leg,” said Goodson, who battled ITP leukemia at age 8 and then again briefly later in life. “It was definitely a game changer. I saw how short life can be.” Racing was over. Goodson wanted nothing to do with it. He sold off all of his racing gear and admittedly felt little motivation for months to flex the competitive muscle that defines him. “Several people said, ‘Aw, he’s done. He’ll give it up,’ ” Goodson said. “And I did pretty much for awhile. Then, I woke up and said, ‘I ain’t going out like this.’ ” It wasn’t long before he was back at the track, a landing spot for so many years had now become Goodson’s place of refuge. “I never thought I’d be as big into (racing) as I am today,” he said. “I thought it’d just be a hobby, to occupy my time and support racing in the community. It’s in my heart now; it’s in my blood.” The right fit Goodson plowed through a handful of drivers, some that have climbed into the NASCAR ranks, before he united with Garvey before the 2010 season. “ ‘Why don’t you come drive our stuff?’ ” Goodson asked Garvey. “I was playing around. But here we are today.” Added Garvey: “He popped the question when I didn’t expect it. I was doing a lot of consulting for teams, but I was missing driving. He caught me at the right time.” The pair has been wildly successful, winning 13 late model races last year, including dominating the Pro Late Model division at Five Flags en route to a track championship. While they’re without a win this season, they’re right in the thick of the SLM points chase in Pensacola. Plus, they sit fourth in line to capture the inaugural crown for the Southern Super Series, a circuit that races prominent short tracks across the South, most notably Five Flags. “When I first started as a car owner, the wins weren’t nearly as impactful,” Goodson said. “Now, the competition is so much greater, the wins are a lot more appreciated.” Donating his time Racking up late model wins doesn’t begin to touch the surface of what drives Goodson. Goodson, who employs nearly 150 workers in his many business ventures, is extremely philanthropic and pays special attention to the local Special Olympics chapter and cancer societies. His bingo hall alone has donated more than $2 million to local charities in the last decade. He routinely hosts the drivers and teams during Snowball Derby Week at Beef ‘O’ Brady’s and provided all the ice cream for the annual kids bicycle races at the track earlier this month. “There’s not a better ambassador for racing than Tracy Goodson here in Pensacola,” Garvey said. “I don’t know what more the guy can do to help racing in the area. I hope people appreciate that.” “I get bored. Why slow down?” Goodson asked rhetorically. “A guy like me to quit and sit at home? That’ll drive a man to depression.” Whether it’s in racing, business or conquering life’s adversities, Tracy Goodson has never hit the brakes. |
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013
Daughter takes up racing to honor late father
Daughter takes up racing to honor late father
Ginger Nelson made her third start in her late father Mike Becker's No. 42 vintage race car Saturday night at Berlin Raceway. The Vintage Racing Organization of America hosted a memorial race in honor of Mr. Becker. (Photo courtesy of Randy Ellen Photography)
MARNE – The 2013 Vintage Racing Organization of America season would have been Mike Becker’s 42nd year of racing, but the Rockford stock car driver never got the chance.
Mr. Becker died from cancer this past Feb. 27 at the age of 63.
However, West Michigan area race fans are still having the opportunity to cheer on Mr. Becker’s No. 42 vintage hot rod this summer. His daughter, Ginger Nelson of Cedar Springs, has made sure of that.
Nelson decided this season that she was going to race the car herself, even though she had never turned a lap in her life. She was well aware how much her father wanted to race this season – it was going to be year No. 42 for the driver of the No. 42 car.
It was Nelson behind the wheel of Mr. Becker’s car during Saturday night’s Mike Becker Memorial Race, which was contested at the Berlin Raceway in Marne.
“He is my hero, and if I can do this to honor him and have fun, too, than what better way is there to honor him?” Nelson said. “He has seen me race every time because he is right in the car with me. I believe God has him in heaven watching over us.
“I’m sure he is proud to see his No. 42 back out on the track. Not only is his No. 42, but this would have been 42nd year racing. That’s pretty special to us.”
Saturday’s race marked Nelson’s third start in the car, and she finished 16th in the 42-lap race. It was divided into a pair of 21-lap segments, and it was Lou Caposey taking the checkered flag at the race’s conclusion.
Nelson said she isn’t that concerned about her finishes at this point. All she wants to do is continue to improve.
“I’ve never been in the car before, maybe to move it out of the garage. But that’s about it,” Nelson said. “I have been in the car for three weeks, and I have made progress of 11 seconds around the track, so I guess I’m doing alright.”
Mr. Becker graduated from Rockford High School in 1967 and started racing weekly at Berlin in the early 1970s. He continued to race stock cars in Marne until he joined VROA in the early 2000s. The series races a number of times each year at Berlin, so Mr. Becker continued to be a Grand Rapids area fan favorite after he joined the traveling series.
“On the memorial sticker, it says, ‘A friend to everyone,’” Nelson said. “That’s so true. He is my hero, and I’m he sure he is to many others, too.
“It means a great deal that they cared enough (to host Saturday’s memorial race) and thought enough to remember him. To put him in the category with so many other great drivers out there is just phenomenal.”
Nelson said she isn’t sure what her plans are as far as racing is concerned after this year. Don’t be surprised to see her behind the wheel for seasons to come, though.
“Right now I’m racing for this season, and we will see after that,” Nelson said. “I think I know why he never let me in the car. He would have never gotten me back out.”
Mr. Becker died from cancer this past Feb. 27 at the age of 63.
It was Nelson behind the wheel of Mr. Becker’s car during Saturday night’s Mike Becker Memorial Race, which was contested at the Berlin Raceway in Marne.
“He is my hero, and if I can do this to honor him and have fun, too, than what better way is there to honor him?” Nelson said. “He has seen me race every time because he is right in the car with me. I believe God has him in heaven watching over us.
“I’m sure he is proud to see his No. 42 back out on the track. Not only is his No. 42, but this would have been 42nd year racing. That’s pretty special to us.”
Saturday’s race marked Nelson’s third start in the car, and she finished 16th in the 42-lap race. It was divided into a pair of 21-lap segments, and it was Lou Caposey taking the checkered flag at the race’s conclusion.
Nelson said she isn’t that concerned about her finishes at this point. All she wants to do is continue to improve.
“I’ve never been in the car before, maybe to move it out of the garage. But that’s about it,” Nelson said. “I have been in the car for three weeks, and I have made progress of 11 seconds around the track, so I guess I’m doing alright.”
Mr. Becker graduated from Rockford High School in 1967 and started racing weekly at Berlin in the early 1970s. He continued to race stock cars in Marne until he joined VROA in the early 2000s. The series races a number of times each year at Berlin, so Mr. Becker continued to be a Grand Rapids area fan favorite after he joined the traveling series.
“On the memorial sticker, it says, ‘A friend to everyone,’” Nelson said. “That’s so true. He is my hero, and I’m he sure he is to many others, too.
“It means a great deal that they cared enough (to host Saturday’s memorial race) and thought enough to remember him. To put him in the category with so many other great drivers out there is just phenomenal.”
Nelson said she isn’t sure what her plans are as far as racing is concerned after this year. Don’t be surprised to see her behind the wheel for seasons to come, though.
“Right now I’m racing for this season, and we will see after that,” Nelson said. “I think I know why he never let me in the car. He would have never gotten me back out.”
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