155 golfers,
made up of NASCAR drivers, NASCAR team crew members, Crew Chiefs, Media
Celebrities and just fans who all remember Tom Baldwin and his 40 years
of dedication to racing came out to play in a charity tournament at the
Bellport Country Club on a day so perfect, it couldn’t have been better
if it came from a weather menu.
The festivities
got started with breakfast provided through sponsorship of the NASCAR
Foundation, followed by a shot-gun start on the course a little after
9am. Each foursome or more-some traveled to their designated starting
holes, where this roving reporter found a bunch of people who were
delighted at the prospect of playing 18 holes of golf with their race
friends on this picturesque South Shore golf course. Each group had at
least one ‘celebrity’ playing with them, and the spectators delighted in
seeing each new group as they played through. Traveling around the
facility, I encountered group after group remarking about what a great
day it was for golf, and helping kids charities.
Lunch was
provided through the sponsorship of Stafford Motor Speedway and the
Arute family, near the clubhouse to those passing by during play, and
some was even delivered courtesy of volunteers to golfers who were
already playing past that point. Soda, water and beer were also
available, not only at the clubhouse area, but from two volunteer teams
that traveled throughout the course serving from coolers on the back of
their carts. Of course, this helped the game of some, while it wasn’t so
helpful to others, but everyone was enjoying themselves tremendously, so
it didn’t matter.
Capping the day
off when the golfing was done, a buffet dinner was served to all the
participants at which trophies were given out for various fetes achieved
by groups and individuals. The winners are listed below. A moment of
silence in memory of Tom Baldwin and Bill France, Jr. was observed, and
the 50/50 drawing was held, with the prize being $1015, a nice sum. I
didn’t get the winners name, but he generously contributed back $500 of
his winnings to the proceeds of the day. ASi Sportswear also contributed
$5000 from the sale of Tom Baldwin T-shirts over the last year. Our
NASCAR Celebrities had to bid an early farewell to go to Pocono and get
ready for the weekend’s racing activities, and after dessert, everyone
started to get ready to head home. Whoever I spoke to remarked what a
great day it was, seeing their racing friends and enjoying perfect golf
weather while remembering one of our own great drivers, Tom Baldwin.
Awards
1st low net: Yokum, Pallai, Pallai, Madigan, & Bergenty
Longest drive: 1st hole, Crowley
Closest to the pin: Eric Beers #10, Innes #12, Slugger Labbe #14
3rd Low gross: Todd Szegedy, Barker, Paquette, Smerigilio, &
Romano
2nd Low gross: Cooper, Cappabiana, Ottaka, Paprocky, Sr &
Paprocky
1st Low gross: Ashby, Ashby, Ashby, Ronzoni, Potabi
The organizers
would like to thank some of the sponsors who helped out so generously:
Car Quest Auto Parts, Hampton Jitney & Ted Baxter, Paul Naples of Long
Island Truck Parts, the Arute Family and Stafford Motor Speedway among
them.
