[media-credit id=18 align=”alignright” width=”223″]
[/media-credit]Ten years ago this race weekend, terrorists attacked the United States resulting in loss of life at the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, DC, and on Flight 93 that went down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
For thousands of families, their fathers or mothers or sisters or brothers never came home that day. But for the children who lost their parents, September 11th took away the most important people in their lives.
Because of the magnitude of loss in New Jersey, a family serving agency began a therapeutic healing arts program to help children in their community who had lost their parents in the terrorist attacks.
And in one particular healing arts group, primarily comprised of boys, it was soon determined that another bond outside of 9/11 bound them together, their lost fathers’ love of NASCAR racing.
It was also discovered that the dads who had been killed in the Twin Towers all fancied one particular driver, four-time champion Jeff Gordon, as their favorite NASCAR driver.
With this information and the connection established, the healing art professionals decided that one of their healing projects would be to have the young boys build pine wood derby race cars in memory of their dads and to honor their love of racing.
The group worked diligently on their race cars, crafting them and decorating them, many with the No. 24 displayed prominently, as well as plenty of Gordon-like flames. And as they worked, the boys wondered if there might be any way that they could share their projects with their favorite driver, or better yet, get his autograph on their race cars.
Gordon’s Foundation, then the Jeff Gordon Foundation, was contacted and agreed that they would do their best to get the race cars autographed, turning them around quickly before the first set of holidays that the children would endure without their fathers. The boys packed up their newly-built race cars, with a few notes to share their meaning, and mailed them off to the Jeff Gordon Foundation offices.
In just a few weeks, a package arrived for the group. It was filled not only with races cars bearing Jeff Gordon’s autograph, but also notes to the children and other memorabilia from the NASCAR champion.
Gordon’s healing impact on this particular group of children devastated by September 11th, 2001 was palpable. They raced their autographed pine wood derby cars in their fathers’ memories and enjoyed them as special mementos and memories throughout the holiday season.
“I don’t think there is anybody in this country that will ever forget where they were and what that experience was like on 9/11,” Gordon said. “Just remembering the devastation and those that were lost, especially as much time as I spend in NYC, having a greater appreciation of the impact that it has had.”
“I sat there I shock like so many others did that day.”
As the days, weeks and months passed, the children grew and learned and healed. And they began to think of some way that they could repay the kindness of one NASCAR driver.
When they learned that Gordon and his wife Ingrid Vandebosch became parents themselves, they crafted a special memory box for Gordon’s daughter Ella Sofia. It was presented to the champion at one of his appearances in New York City.
“Now our world that we live in takes on a whole new responsibility in meaning and pride,” Gordon said. “We want to show how strong we truly are and how this experience has not only made us come together and be a tighter and stronger group and to go out there and show the rest of the world why we’re proud to be Americans.”
This year, on the tenth anniversary of this tragedy that shook the country, Jeff Gordon will be racing his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger/Chase Card Services Chevrolet at Richmond International Raceway. Gordon has already secured his place in the Chase and also in history, with his 85th career win in the sport last weekend at Atlanta.
But there is no doubt that a group of now young men will be carefully watching as the four-time champion takes to the track for the 400 laps of Richmond racing. And they may just have their own special race cars by their sides, remembering the quiet healing impact of one NASCAR driver.
Thx for such a wonderful article!