There are reasons why people and companies race. For some it is the thrill of winning or the opportunity to compete. For others it may be the building of something from scratch that grows into a proven winner. It could be that you are looking for exposure for your business or for a driver to impress the right person that he lands a great opportunity. As I type this blog, my reasons are a mixture of all of those, but this season adds another element that hopefully enriches my life and helps another life truly live. Our race team has several personalities, there's the driver, Toby Grahovec, a highly talented, passionate, young driver with a great head on his shoulders. A new husband and the son of a proven race car driver, Grahovec has succeeded in everything he has ever tried---I'm glad he decided to try driving for me. The crew, Chase Borden and Eric Hallas, two hardworking technicians that signed on to work as traditional BMW technicians at Classic BMW in Plano Texas that ended up burning the midnight oil and thinking way outside the box, as they grunted and pushed their bodies and their brains all across this great country. The cars are full of personality as well. Heidi is a BMW Z4 roadster that is entered in the showroom stock b racing category. She is Orange with a wide blue stripe down the middle. She's cute, easy to look at and typically does what she is told. Her overall record is legendary as she has finished on the podium, top three finishing positions, 69 times in 70 races. There's also Kate, a heavily modified BMW Z4 she is blue with a wide orange stripe down the middle, who is a day by day trick bag with more complications than any man should attempt to manage. She is now turning into a competitive racing machine and her future looks to be less problematic. Our crew chief is a guy named Bull. His real name is Sheppard, not kidding, Sheppard Bull. He goes by Tom. Tom is racing to the core. You name it, he's done it or he worked on it. He's been everywhere and he's seen everything. You throw a problem at him and he will tell you how to fix it and why it happened in the first place. Tom, Toby and Heidi have won races all over the United States. They have won in Florida, Oklahoma, Ohio, Kansas, Wisconsin, Nebraska and of course they have won on every road course in the state of Texas. The list would be longer if they had raced in any other states---They have won in every state they have ever raced!
Tom Bull has cancer. Diagnosed more than a year ago, Bull has battled through round after round of chemotherapy. He has been given the coast is clear sign and placed on a maintenance drug, only to be told that the bastard was back a few short months off of the radiation. His fingers were regaining feeling, appetite had just returned, hair had begun to grow where it had fallen out. His life had to return to the weekly routine of hospital visits and constant testing. His doctor's created a pattern where Tom takes the poison every Friday for three consecutive weeks with the following week off. His attitude is amazing. Does he his work? Sure, sometimes. When he works, he is the leader. He shows no signs of sickness or fear. He never complains about difficulties or his need to rest. He finds great joy in being part of something that he believes in. He's too busy building and preparing his race cars to think about the pain. He has races to win. And this season we are going racing! We are taking the cars to tracks all over America. We plan on gathering checkered flags from as many of the great American race tracks as we can. While the schedule won't allow Bull to attend each race because of his strict chemo routine, the team will be with him at Mazda Laguna-Seca Raceway on April 28th and 29th. Finalizing the schedule will happen soon, please look for announcements on Classic BMW's Facebook Page. See you at the races.
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