You
Only Live Once...
by Andy
Owen
I’ve raced at Riverhead since 1990 and a good
friend of mine, Kurt Hellberg, by my side helped turning wrenches since
my first Enduro race and hasn’t missed many races since. Along the way
he’s slowly became a huge NASCAR fan as well. Now he’s a full blown,
fully racecar-educated sidekick of mine, and I guess a crew chief of
sorts.
One recent Sunday at
breakfast, out of the clear blue he asks me, “Why haven’t I raced yet? I
want to try it,” further stating, “Heck, you only live once.”
I’m stunned only because
all these years pass and NOW he asks?!! After a long thought process I
say let’s do it. We decided to come up with a game-plan. The game-plan
is: my truck is on death row and it has about 30 races on it. It’s like
a soda can that’s been stepped on and straightened out about a dozen
times. It was time that I put my truck to the truck graveyard anyway. We
decided to get another truck and get it race ready. After he races the
new truck, it becomes my “new” race truck. This will be “his” truck for
one race.
The search for a truck
seems to take forever. Eventually, we find a perfect S-10 6-cylinder
Chevy pickup truck from Craigslist. It wasn’t cheap and with all the
preparation it is going to be pretty expensive, but, this was the only
way to go.
Not a week later, the news
leaks out to another good friend who is going through withdrawal from
NOT racing. Only a few short years ago, my friend, Alfonso Perri, was a
gung ho Formula car, and pro-go kart racer. He has raced in Europe and
all over the USA, and very successful at it too. He has seen the Enduros
race and has also always wanted to race in one. He begged me to try to
let him also get in on this. We all decided, sure, why not. The next few
months pass, and we put the truck together quicker than I’ve ever seen
one put together. With the help of Ed “Scorpion” Colon, another truck
enduro driver, we met on weekends and have just about finished the
truck. With four experienced racecar guys, the truck went together real
quick. We have nicknamed the operation, “DCI” (Daddy Cool, Inc.), poking
fun at “DEI.” The whole deal is about 85% complete and we will have the
truck ready for the first race. There are so many things that can
happen, but hopefully, it’s going to fulfill two racing wishes from two
dedicated racing guys. I’m glad to be the ringleader and I am sure it
will be a something that these guys will never forget. The practice
session will be priceless for both of them. As of now we are unsure
whether or not to put a “rookie stripe” on the rear bumper. Kurt will
run with a 16 on the side, and when Al races, he will run the #57. So,
keep an eye out for the truck this upcoming season. It will be
interesting…
[Photo
Gallery Link]
Source: Andy
Owen/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:
March 17, 2007