Lou Maestri's Words on
2008
On August 13th the devastating
news of a very special man to myself, my wife Tracy and my Crew
as well as to many of you passed away, Joe DiGangi. Joe was more
than a friend and co-worker he was like my brother, and the best
crew chief anyone could ask for. I could write FOREVER about Joe
and what type of person Joe was but I’m sure we all know who and
what Joe was all about and how special of a guy he was to many.
If you didn’t know Joe for who he was then you missed out on
meeting a truly genuine guy with a heart of gold. Some people
stay in our lives for a little while, leave footprints in our
hearts and we are never the same. When a special life ends in
such an unexpected way, it can be totally overwhelming. Our
hearts are broken but the memories will be held and treasured
forever within our hearts. We will miss Joe more than anything
and shed many tears I’m sure for many days to come but we know
he’s now an angel watching down, and he will never leave us and
will continue the race beside us with God. I will always admire
all of Joe’s talents and I thank him for his many years of
dedication, knowledgeable support and most of all, his brother
like friendship. Joe this CHAMPIONSHIP is for you! It is with
great honor to dedicate this championship to you for all your
hard work and support through the years. We love you Bro and
miss you !!
I would like to thank so many of my racing
friends, Bob Finan, Riverhead Raceway Staff and Ownership and
everyone involved in making the Joe DiGangi/Carl Rackoff Honor
night so special and one that will never be forgotten by so
many. Your support during this most difficult time was greatly
appreciated. There is just too many of you to list but I thank
each and every one of you and will do my best to thank you in
person one day.
To my entire immediate family, I
would need pages and pages to thank all of you for everything
you have done to help us get through this to win this
championship but each and every little to big thing will always
be remembered and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for
all of your support. Love to all of you !
To John & Pat Kirk, Wow, where do I
begin to thank you both? Without your dedication and support to
the Maestri Racing Team we would not have been able to have so
many successful seasons and championships that we had over the
many years of racing. Your friendship to Tracy, the crew, and
myself means a lot to all of us .It is with great honor and
pride to have your name on the Maestri SPT. I prefer to and will
thank you both in person because that is the respect you both
deserve but again I thank you for some great memories and
everything you have done for Joe, the crew and myself.
To my Crew Tommy, Pat, Josh and my
Dad I could never ever pay you guy’s back or thank you enough
for all that you have done for me. We all took a hard hit with
the loss of Joe but you guy’s all came together and stepped it
up to finish out the racing season with a championship! There
are no words to express the gratitude I have for each and every
one of you for all of your continued support and help during
this most difficult time for all of us.
Horse Power Be With You-Thanks for
the power!!! Your support is greatly appreciated.
To my sponsors, Gershow Recycling,
Monetary Recovery Co, G-Force, 5 Star Kennels, Curiously
Creative Candle, Relax The Back, R&A Auto Repair, KS-S
Electrical and Exclusive Tire Service thank you all for
your financial support through out the racing seasons. Your
generosity has been greatly appreciated.
To my racing family, Walter, Richie,
Maryann, Jim, Roberta, Danny, Matt, Doug and Chrissy just to
name a few again too many to list but you know who you all are
words alone cannot thank all of you enough for everything you
have done. From the paint scheme on the truck to the help with
sponsorship and the effort you put into the Honor Joe DiGangi
night on Sept.13th to make it so special for Joe to
all of the support and love you have given to myself and my wife
I thank each of you, but most of all I thank you for your
awesome friendship. We love you all !!!
To my co-workers-Thank you all for
your support at work and for those of you that joined us in
victory lane on the Honoring night I thank you for taking the
time to be their and thank you to those who couldn’t be their
but sent me good luck wishes.
Last but not least -A special
thanks to my wife Tracy for all of her love, and the tremendous
amount of support she has given me throughout my racing years
and this year especially being the most difficult with the loss
of Joe whom was very special to the both of us, but because of
the strength you have given to me I was able to stay strong and
focus on winning the championship for a brother like friend we
both lost and miss very much. You are an amazing woman and I was
blessed the day I met you 20 years ago. I thank you with all my
heart. I LOVE YOU!!
Source: Lou Maestri
Posted:
September 24, 2008
