AFTER EMOTIONAL 2012 VICTORY, STOCKON AND LAWRENCEBURG'S "FALL NATIONALS" HAVE SPECIAL BOND
Saturday night, September 29, 2012 is a date that Chase Stockon won’t soon forget.
The Fort Branch, Indiana driver was in the midst of his first full season on the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car tour. The usual sleepless nights working in the garage and racking up miles on the road away from home each weekend is par for the course when one travels the entire USAC schedule. Especially for a team hitting the trail for the first time.
However, that was no match for what Chase and his family were going through personally. His mother, Laura, his biggest fan and his rock, who had been battling ovarian cancer, passed away in August of 2012.
Chase soldiered on through the rest of August and, by the time September came, Chase and his father, Sammy, publicly revealed their sprint car in new colors to honor Laura’s life, a decision that had been put into place shortly after her diagnosis.
“Once my mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, my dad and I planned our first tribute car to run in September for ovarian cancer awareness month,” Chase recalls. “The first car we came up with that had the teal colors – the color of ovarian cancer awareness – was one of my mom’s all-time favorites. After she passed, it was an easy decision for me to put the teal colors back on the car. In her honor, we ran it that way for the rest of the 2012 season. Every year since her passing, we’ve run the scheme for the ovarian cancer awareness month of September as well as the ‘Fall Nationals’ at Lawrenceburg.
A crisp, cool late September autumn night at southeastern Indiana’s Lawrenceburg Speedway greeted Chase and the USAC Sprint Cars.
Chase timed in seventh fastest and finished fourth in his heat to transfer to the night’s 30-lap feature. However, Tyler Courtney missed the transfer during the semi, which moved Chase up to the pole position for the night’s A-Main.
At the start, Chase immediately pulled away from outside front row starter Chris Windom - wheeling the potent Tony Stewart Racing No. 20. Chase was smooth and fast, distancing himself from Windom and the rest of the field as he entered lapped traffic prior to the halfway point.
Windom began to close as Chase sliced and diced through the backmarkers, but as Windom bounced through turn three in the late-going while running just a few car lengths behind, a storybook finish was unfolding just as Chase rounded the final corner and saw the twin checkered flags.
“My emotions coming to the finish line were strong,” Chase recalls. “Winning a USAC race has been a dream of mine ever since I was a little kid. I knew we were pretty good that night and never really had a challenge or heard anybody near me, so I was bouncing through (turns) three and four knowing nobody was even close.”
As Chase crossed the finish line after leading all 30 laps in mostly dominating fashion, a bevy of thoughts raced through his mind as he headed for victory lane. Not only was it a great personal accomplishment that he achieved, it was his first win without his mother at the racetrack with him.
“The feeling of accomplishing a feat that we’ve been so close to so many times at that point, it just felt amazing, like a major weight that had been lifted off my shoulders,” Chase reminisces. “Once I pulled into victory lane, she was on my mind a lot because that was the first time I had won without her. I just knew how proud she would have been of that moment. “Winning a USAC race alone is a major accomplishment, not only for me, but for my family. She would’ve been ecstatic and the first one to victory lane.”
“She would’ve had a big grin on her face,” Chase assured. “I know she would’ve said ‘good job bubby!’ Not only was my mom my biggest critic while driving, she was also the biggest fan. She was always quick to point out the things I did correctly and the things I’ve done wrong. She pushed me to be the driver I am today.”
To Chase, Lawrenceburg Speedway and the “Fall Nationals” will always remain a special place and a special race. A race in which his childhood dream first came true and a place that brings him comfort when he remembers his mom.
“Lawrenceburg had a little more meaning to me when we went there after that,” Chase admitted. “That particular night, we almost seemed unbeatable and it brought a lot of confidence to us every time we visited the place after that. The other races at ‘The Burg’ might seem like just another race, but when it comes to the ‘Fall Nationals,’ it brings a different mindset to not only me, but to the team, to try and win it again.”
See Chase, who currently sits second in series points with a pair of wins, race the Laura Lynn Special/Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month No. 32 this Saturday night, October 1 for the next edition of the “Fall Nationals” at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway featuring the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship where Chase will try duplicate their 2012 triumph.
The pit area opens at 3pm Saturday while the front gate opens at 5pm. Hot laps are set for 6pm with opening ceremonies slated for 7pm with racing to immediately follow.
**RICHIE MURRAY – USAC MEDIA