Win One for Me, Daddy
The 1987 season was a tough year. Up to that point, I was at the top of the
world of racing. I had won three NASCAR Winston Cup championships. I had
won about seventy races in NASCAR Winston Cup and many poles. Racing had
been very good to me. But in 1987, I was with a new team, and things weren't
going very well. It had been expected that this new team would go gangbusters.
We were the dream team. I had the best backing from the Hendrick Motorsports
Group, an excellent sponsorship, and the best engine builder in racing.
However, going into the last part of the season, we still had not won
a race. This had not happened to me since I got my first NASCAR Winston
Cup win in 1975. In addition to my not winning races, we found out that
Stevie, my wife, was pregnant. All of this was emotionally tough for me.
Stevie had three miscarriages previously, including one in 1986. She had
never been able to carry a baby to full term, and I felt badly for her.
I leaned on her so much. She is my best friend and had always been with
me at every race.
Now she was not able to go to the track each weekend with me. That was difficult.
Stevie has always been such a part of my life and my racing career. We
had always gone to races together. I had not experienced life at the track
without Stevie. I have been deeply in love with her since we met in high
school back in Owensboro, Kentucky. She has stood by me with much encouragement
through the ups and downs and boos and cheers of fans. She had set a new
standard in racing by being a part of my race team on Sundays at a time
when women were not allowed in the pits. It was tough on me to be racing
without her there.
On September 17, we were blessed with our first child, Jessica Leigh. We were
very excited! I had to leave to go on to the next race later that week. The
race was at Martinsville, Virginia, where I had won several times before. But
I had no expectations of winning this time. As the race progressed I really
had no hope of winning, as I was a lap down with just twenty-five laps to go.
Dale Earnhardt was leading. When he stopped for fuel, I got back on the lead
lap. Then a caution came out with about seven laps to go. On the restart, I
was in third place behind Earnhardt and Terry Labonte. Both of these guys were
previous champions and were tough, hard racers. There was no way I was going
to get by them with just a few laps to go. They could make it very difficult
to get around them. On the final lap in the final turns of 3 and 4, Terry had
gotten up beside Dale and left just a little opening for me to pass both of
them, beating them to the finish line. I won my first race of the year! It was
much more special, though, than just being my first win of the season and my
first victory with the new team. For earlier that Sunday morning, appearing
from nowhere, I was surprised to find a little rosebud in the seat of my car
with a note that said, "Win one for me, Daddy!" My first race of the
season was sweetened by it occurring on the same day that I was first called
"Daddy."
By Darrell Waltrip with Max Helton
Learning from Dylan
Riverhead Raceway, a
NASCAR-sanctioned track, is a
tight quarter-mile facility that
runs up to six classes on any
given Saturday. Those divisions
are the Blunderbust, Charger,
Late Model, Super Pro Truck,
Figure Eight and Modified. The
Modified division is the featured
division. A demolition derby or
other novelty attraction may be
scheduled on any given night. In
the summer of 2000, we (the local
division of Racing 4 Kids
Charities) decided to host a
night at the races for a child and
his or her family.
The child chosen was eight-year-
old Dylan Hronec, who was
brought to our attention by
Henry "The Phantom" Cataldo
and his crew chief Kenny
Webber. Dylan has cerebral
palsy. Webber was by trade a
contractor, who met Dylan while
working at Dylan's home,
installing a handicapped ramp.
Webber had observed Dylan
playing with a toy Matchbox
race car, rolling it down the
ramp.
After watching the boy play
for a while, Kenny asked if Dylan
was a race fan. An excited Dylan
quickly answered "yes." After
work, Webber relayed the story
to his race team at the team's
shop.
Soon after, Henry stopped by
to meet Dylan at his home.
Dylan proved to be a very
friendly, intelligent, upbeat
young man with a positive dis-position,
despite the disability
that life gave him.
When the day arrived, Dylan,
along with his brother Gregg
and his parents, met us outside
the back spectator gate, where
we proceeded inside the facility.
Once inside, we found our seats
behind the starter's stand by the
start/finish line.
Dylan's family was provided
with free admission, dinner, sou-venirs
and munchies throughout
the evening. Many drivers,
crewmembers, car owners and
track officials made the long trek
from the pit area to the spectator
area to greet Dylan and his fami-ly,
some giving him team T-shirts
and autographed pictures.
During the week leading up to
the races, several teams even
had special messages for Dylan
placed on their race cars.
During the evening, the track
announcer, Bob Finan, came
down from the press box to say
hello to Dylan and his family.
The announcer also asked Dylan
to help with the NASCAR
Modified Victory Lane presentation.
At one point, driver Kevin
Metzger won the evening's Late
Model feature race. During the
Victory Lane ceremony, Kevin
acknowledged Dylan over the
track public- address system.
After he pulled his car out of
Victory Lane and off the track, a
track employee came up to
where we were all sitting.
"Where's Dylan?" he asked.
After being pointed out, the
track worker handed the win-ner's
trophy to the stunned
Dylan.
"Kevin Metzger asked me to
give this to you," he told the
happy and surprised youngster.
Later that evening, Chuck
Steuer won the Modified feature.
Dylan was brought down on to
the track, where he helped Bob
Finan with the Victory Lane celebration.
"Congratulations!" Dylan said
as he presented the trophy to
Steuer. There were many photos
taken of Dylan and Steuer in
Victory Lane, as well as videos
by track photographers.
Henry Cataldo, Kenny
Webber, and other drivers and
officials came onto the track
unknown to Dylan, as he was
busy with the celebrations.
When everyone was together,
we called Dylan over to where
we had gathered.
"Dylan," I said over the public-address
system, "on behalf of
Henry Cataldo, Kenny Webber,
John Wellman of Big Brothers
and Big Sisters of Long Island, all
of the drivers in the Modified
division, the Riverhead Raceway
officials, promoters Barbara and
Jim Cromarty, and Racing 4 Kids,
we'd like to present you with
this helmet, which was signed
by all of the Modified drivers
who have been at Riverhead
Raceway in the last three
weeks."
The stunned youngster said
"Thank you" as he stared at the
helmet in disbelief, while thou-sands
in attendance applauded.
It was both heartwarming and
surprising to watch the competitors,
officials and Dylan's
parents who were standing
trackside, all with tears in their
eyes. And there sat Dylan with
an ear-to-ear grin, his head
capped with his new auto-graphed
helmet, holding the
trophy that was given to him.
In the weeks following, we
received a package from Dylan
containing pictures, drawings
and notes of appreciation from
him and his family. My wife and
I were left with a feeling of com-plete
joy, knowing that Dylan
was able to experience something
so wonderful. We were
trying to show Dylan that there
were people out there who real-ly
care, and who want to help.
But Dylan already knew that;
the lesson was one that the rest
of us learned.
Mike Fields
¬2003.
¬2003. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Matthew E. Adams, Jeff Aubery, Kirk Autio. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission
of the publisher. Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 3201 SW 15th Street,
Deerfield Beach, FL 33442.
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