NASCAR, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Shriners - Combination for An AWESOME Weekend

Throughout this past weekend, the song Still I Fly by Spencer Lee from the movie Planes: Fire and Rescue entered my mind. The song begins, "There's a time in your life / When the world is on your side...But it surrounds you like a light / Makes you stronger for the fight." We know how racing heals Travis in a way untouched by modern medicine. Thanks to the extreme generosity of David Ragan, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Shriners, and BK Racing, T's equipped to face the recent challenges NF brought into his life in addition to his daily life (the bottom of this long post has the current medical update overview).

Earlier this year we received an email from Shriners Hospitals for Children regarding an opportunity for Travis to spend the weekend at a NASCAR race thanks to David Ragan (a Shriner), Shriners Hospitals for Children, and Shriners. Our friend Lisa reached out on Travis' behalf as a surprise for him that caught our family by surprise. After looking at the calendars and logistics, the best fit for this experience would occur during the NASCAR race weekend at Phoenix International Raceway on Nov 11th - 13th.

We kept this as a surprise to Travis until October 28th. The look on T's face in the video and picture says it all.

Love this smile!!

Travis and I flew out early on Friday, November 11th to maximize our time at the race track and this would be the first time we would watch the Camping World Truck Series race in person. Dave Polner, the first of many from the El Zaribah Shriners in Phoenix, Arizona, to make this weekend possible, greeted us at the gate. We spent a few minutes with him, his wife, and a friend as we waited at baggage claim. Knowing that Travis is a HUGE racing fan, he ensured T saw the race car in the Phoenix airport.

Since the Phoenix airport rental car agency is a distance from the terminal, Ed Stolze and JC Reece picked Travis and I up at the airport and drove us to the rental car agency. This helped as we only needed to load the luggage and T's gear into a vehicle once before getting to the hotel, thus bypassing the shuttle to the rental cars. Once settled into the hotel, we met up with several Shriners at the El Zaribah Shrine who participated in a Veteran's Day parade earlier in the day. We enjoyed sharing Travis' story with those who support Shriners Hospitals for Children and they could see first-hand the difference they make in the lives of children. After lunch Travis, Ed, and I headed to the race track just outside of town.

Driving up to Phoenix International Raceway

We picked up our NASCAR hot passes for the weekend at Credentials, thank you David Ragan and BK Racing!!! We met Tom Calvin and Spencer McBride, our gracious RV hosts for the weekend, at Credentials where they handed us an infield parking pass for us that allowed us to park next to the RV. Much appreciation for the "home base" for the weekend that allowed greater flexibility for Travis and a place for rest! This helped tremendously over the weekend.

Travis' initial pass that was converted to a Hot Pass

HOT PASS!!

Travis, Ed, Tom, Spencer, and I headed over to the Sprint Cup garage to see the cars and possibly drivers and crew. We met up with David Ragan when we arrived at his garage. Travis eagerly showed him the brace Shriners Hospitals for Children - Salt Lake City made that included David Ragan's #23 Dr Pepper Toyota Camry on the front. To me this picture captures the essence of the weekend and happy tears filled my eyes.

David Ragan signing Travis' brace.
I love how carefully Ed (with Fez) holds Travis' leg for this.

The autograph

Travis receiving his brace in May 2016

David Ragan, BK Racing owner Ron Devine, and many members of the #23 Dr Pepper Toyota Camry racing team spent time with us talking about racing and other important matters. David Ragan surprised Travis with an invitation to attend Sunday's Drivers Meeting with him!! WOW!!! The smile that came across Travis' face as it lit up in a huge smile was priceless! Thank you David Ragan and everyone for sharing your love/passion of racing with us during the day (and weekend)!! The great team at BK Racing found a #23 to place on Travis' power chair, so cool! Travis knows every member of the racing team works hard and didn't want to distract them from the main reason for the weekend...the race. He thinks of all aspects of racing and considers his affect on others while at the track and in the garage area. #alwaysracing

Intense racing conversation between T and David Ragan

Thank you David Ragan!

Ron Devine (car owner), David Ragan, and Travis

Ron Devine adding the #23 sticker to T's chair

Ed Stolze, Tom Calvin, and Spencer McBride with T

We continued to walk around the garage area looking at the different cars as they were in line for inspections and seeing if we could spot more drivers and others we know in the racing community. While making the trip through the garage area, we caught up with our friend Greg Katzke, the current tire specialist for Kyle Busch's team. They spent a moment catching up and talking racing.

T catching up with a great friend

Qualifying would soon start and we (Travis, Ed, Tom, Spencer, and I) walked toward the entrance to pit road. Safety being the utmost priority, minors are not allowed on pit road, so we waited near the entrance to the pits and caught sight of a few drivers. Matt Kenseth (#20 Dollar General Toyota Camry driver and Barrett's favorite driver) stopped to sign Travis' hat and a quick picture. Thanks Matt!

Travis and Matt Kenseth

The Shriners arranged a one-on-one meet and greet with Carl Edwards (#19 Stanley Toyota Camry driver) for Travis before qualifying and soon we followed some of his team to the motorcoach area. Travis asked Carl great questions, most importantly to Travis, why did Carl not do his traditional backflip after the win in Texas the week before. Carl explained to Travis the rain made the area too slippery to try a backflip. So much appreciation to Tom for this meeting and Carl for the generosity of his time!!

Travis asking Carl why he didn't do his
traditional backflip after the win at Texas

I love the look on their faces in this picture

Travis wanted to watch qualifying at the RV where he could spread out and play cars, of course he bought a few not in his collection. While we experienced a warm, extended fall, temps in the upper 80s took their toll on Travis. We spent qualifying at the RV and Travis decided he would like to watch the Camping World Truck Series race at the RV too. Another individual from the RV section near us and I watched this race from the stands. It's interesting to watch trucks race around the track.

Travis racing...go figure

Camping World Truck Series race

Selfie at the Camping World Truck Series race

Panoramic of the track

After the race, we returned to the RV and not surprisingly learned that Travis wowed the other campers with his NASCAR knowledge. The time drew near for us to make our way back to the hotel as Saturday would bring another fun-filled day of racing and events.

Let the fun times continue on Saturday

Saturday's track schedule allowed Travis and I to sleep in before heading to the track later in the morning. We met up with Ed at the hotel and followed him to the track, he needed to leave the track before us since he had to leave for the national Shriners board meeting in Tampa early Sunday morning. We stopped at the Fanatics tent for one-stop NASCAR shopping for the family. Thankfully they now carry David Ragan's #23 Dr Pepper Toyota Camry as Travis wanted to buy 2 (1 for an autograph and 1 for play). Ed helped with Travis so I could talk with Scott, Nolan, and Barrett to see what items they would like. Thank you again Ed for so much this weekend!

David Ragan autographing the #23 Dr Pepper Toyota Camry

Travis and I returned to the garage area, he wanted to find David Ragan to have him autograph 1 of the 2 diecasts. We quickly caught up with David and he generously and graciously signed the car for Travis. T wished him good luck in practice and we headed out for a few laps around the garage. Travis spotted Chad Knaus (#48 Kobalt Chevrolet crew chief) and he autographed T's Shriners Hospitals for Children hat and agreed for a picture. We completely forgot to quickly mention to Chad why T wants to be a pit crew chief.

Travis and Chad Knaus (crew chief for Jimmie Johnson)

The temperatures increased from Friday and Travis was ready to spend time in the cool RV playing cars and stretching out. I noticed his hip bugging him more than what he wanted to let on. With Travis content to play, Ed and I made our way to the pits to watch the end of the first of two Sprint Cup practices on Saturday. What a view!!!

Start/Finish

David Ragan during Saturday's 1st practice

Jimmie Johnson

Ryan Newman

We all went for another spin around the garages during the qualifying for Saturday night's Xfinity race. During this drive, Travis met Kyle Larson and Michael McDowell. Both generously autographed items for T. Then again, what kind of person would say "no" to a person in a racing-sticker covered powerchair in the garage at a race track if they had the time?

Kyle Larson

Michael McDowell

Travis wanted to watch the Xfinity race at the RV where he could spread out to race his cars and eat "track nachos". I caught part of the race on top of the RV, quite a way to spend watching a NASCAR race. An unfortunate wreck caused a red flag on the track, thankfully no one seriously hurt, and Travis went to the fence to see the cars stopped on the track and wave to the drivers. At one point he asked to go on top of the RV to watch the race, but quickly changed his mind when he realized he would need to climb up the ladders. We devised a plan that removed him climbing, but he preferred to stay close to the ground. (After all his fractures, you understand the hesitation.) We arrived back at the hotel a little earlier that night since we wanted to be at the track early on Sunday morning.

Notice the #23 Dr Pepper (David Ragan)
is the only one without issues

More racing...more #23 winning

T with the #18 NOS Energy above his head during the red flag
during the Xfinity race

Sunday morning brought a quick trip to the track, thankfully we stayed ahead of the traffic to the track. Travis, Tom, Spencer, and I took a spin around the garage to see the cars and activity before the big Sunday crowds arrived.

Ready for Sun, sporting his new David Ragan
shirt thanks to the RV families

More racing, David Ragan is about to lap
Dale Earnhardt Jr

LOVE that David Ragan carries the Shriners Hospitals for Children
with him in the car as races around the track.
It's like he's taking T and the other patients along with him.

T and David Ragan's #23 Dr Pepper Toyota Camry
He's being careful to not get too close to the car
as he doesn't want anything to happen to the race car

We saw Kenny Wallace going through the garage area in his Fox Sports attire. I called to him "Kenny. Travis.", directing his eye to T, I thought he would just wave to T. Kenny told his camera guy to go ahead as he walked over to T. He goes up to T and said, "Hi Travis. I love you." We snapped a quick photo and Kenny headed back to work. (Quick backstory...Kenny made this video telling T that T would be going to the NASCAR Awards Banquet last year.) Thanks Kenny!!

Kenny Wallace talking to Travis

Quick picture

We also spotted our friend Greg again and T gave him a few words of advice, encouragement for the #18 M&Ms Racing Toyota Camry team and Kyle Busch. T also scored a handful of fun sized M&Ms packages from the team.

Good luck Katzke!

Scoring all kinds of M&Ms

We made our way back to David Ragan's hauler to meet with David and walk over to the Drivers Meeting with David. This opportunity meant so much to Travis, his face lit up and he would beam anytime anyone asked him about what he would participate in on Sunday morning during the weekend. The excitement, joy on T's face, his smile, the sparkle in his eye could easily bring a smile to your face.

Thank you so much David Ragan!!!

In moments rarely observed in T in regards to racing, he spoke only a few words. Travis...speechless...at a race track...let that sink in for a moment. During an interview earlier this year, the writer asked Travis what he wanted to be when he grew up. Travis replied, "A pit crew chief." When asked why, Travis answered, "So I can boss people around!" I can only imagine the thoughts racing through T's mind...I'm at a race track, a NASCAR race track...attending a drivers meeting...a REAL drivers meeting...with a NASCAR driver, a REALLY NICE driver...and he's a Shriner...he brought me to the track AND a drivers meeting...I get to see, hear what the real NASCAR drivers and crew chiefs see and hear...I hope I'm not dreaming...this is so AWESOME!!!  (I'm sure that's just brushing the surface of his thoughts.) Thank you David Ragan!!!

Thank you Ron Devine and BK Racing!!

 Travis recognized many drivers, some crew chiefs, and others associated with the racing world as they walked in the tent (it was really cold in there). Travis asked David Ragan the questions that Travis commonly asks all drivers, T's usual how fast questions..."How fast does this car go?", "How fast are your pit stops?", "How fast...", favorite track, etc. the Travis usual.

Roger Penske chose to sit across the aisle from Travis

The Shriners that accompanied Travis and I at the track purchased a Phoenix International Raceway shirt for Travis to wear at the meeting so T could collect autographs. Travis put this shirt on and David Ragan added his autograph to the shirt. David introduced Travis to Jamie McMurray (another great individual) and Jamie signed Travis' shirt. The time came for the meeting to begin and we listened to the introductions, the special guests, the honored military guests, the video for the drivers and crew chiefs (pit road entry/exit, restart zone, safety, emergency exit area, reminders of what to do in accidents, pit road speed, caution speed, paperwork needed by the crew chiefs, etc), the prayer, and more. We both tried to take in everything from this amazing, special opportunity.

Jamie McMurray autographing T's shirt

After the meeting concluded, David helped Travis gather Joey Logano's autograph (you could see Joey pause for a moment as if he remembered Travis from the NASCAR Awards Banquet and Champions Week in December 2015).

Joey Logano autographing T's shirt (Joey went on to win the CanAm 500)

Travis waved to Austin Dillon (he garnered his autograph earlier in the weekend) and we walked out of the tent. Driver prep moved into full swing, so Travis wished him good luck in the race and thanked him (we all did). Walking around we saw quite a few racing figures including Roger Penske, NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton, sports radio host Claire B. Lang, and NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski. Brad autographed T's shirt and we grabbed a quick picture.

Brad Keselowski autographing T's shirt

Brad Keselowski and T

Travis, Tom, Spencer, and I headed back to the garage for one final pass through before making our way to our seats to watch the race. As we made our way toward the exit, David Ragan spotted us and invited us stop by the BK Racing tent and grab a plate to enjoy the Thanksgiving lunch, it was delicious. Thank you again!

Wishing David Ragan good luck!

The garage provides many things to see during race weekend leading up to the actual event. During the race, the garage layout limits what you can see. David Ragan also provided tickets for us to sit in the grandstands during the race. Much appreciation for the great seats!!!

Let's go racing!

Travis enjoyed watching the race from the stands. We sat at the exit of turn 1, the end of  pit road, and in the shade. Travis and I could view most of the track and saw lots of great racing action, in addition to the roar of the engines/cars. :)

Pic during the race
You can tell from the look on T's face, his hip is bothering him

Throughout the weekend NF issues would interrupt T's fun and also brought along pain. Over the past months, T's left femur progressed out of the hip socket to a point where only a small fraction of the top of the femur remains contained in the hip socket. Unfortunately, this change in structure created pain and uncomfortableness that the racing environment and medication couldn't prevent/dampen during the weekend. :'(  We continue to learn the best way to help T given the new developments. Around the halfway mark of the race, Travis and I started our return to the RV. There T laid out and found a comfortable position to watch the finish of the race. I enjoyed the view from the top of the RV.

Passing by Rattlesnake Hill on the way back to the RV

Selfie atop the RV, note #23 Dr Pepper Toyota Camry (David Ragan)

Cheering on the #23 Dr Pepper Toyota Camry

The final restart

Final seconds before the finish

The race ended with quite the finish, Barrett's favorite driver spun and hit the wall out during the final laps during a restart. This scenario allowed Kyle Busch (one of T's favorite drivers) to finish the race in 2nd and make it to the final round of The Chase. While happy for Kyle Busch, our friend, and the team, Travis stated his sadness for Barrett. Thinking of others during a time where he celebrates, that's our T.

End of race lug nut inspection line

We stayed at the RV for a little while after the race to allow the traffic to clear and most importantly, one last race. Look carefully at the pictures and you will notice David Ragan winning T's races now, before T would ensure Kyle Busch won. I'm thinking this will continue as time passes.

Getting in one last race after the Sprint Cup race

As I sat writing this post, many happy tears fill my eyes due to the support and compassion extended to Travis and our family this past weekend. So much appreciation to David Ragan, BK Racing, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Shriners, Shriners International, Lisa Buie, Ed Stolze, Tom Calvin, Spencer McBride, and the many others who made this weekend possible!! Thanks be to our God who lined up these individuals and groups in our path for this weekend! Thank you to all those who share their passion for racing with T and our family. The immeasurable, positive impact on Travis' life will carry him through all the challenges ahead and provide him the continued strength he needs to fight NF.

Thank you again Tom, Spencer, and Ed (not pictured)!!!

Because being a Shriner is serious business ;)

We have a specific prayer request as Travis heads into surgery on Wednesday, November 23rd to remove a screw from the knock-knee corrective surgery from June 2015. (Woohoo...that surgery worked!!) T has to be off of the MEK inhibitor (AZD6244/Selumetinib clinical trial drug) for a week before and ~2 weeks after surgery. We pray the tumor behaves off MEK as we learned in October the tumor stopped shrinking (it had shrunk ~25% from November 2015 to July 2016) and may be disturbed during the short surgery. May the tumor not be angered during this process in addition to a successful surgery at Shriners Hospitals for Children - Salt Lake City. This will be the first time Travis misses any dose of the MEK inhibitor in the 51 weeks he's already been enrolled in the clinical trial.

Travis' left femur continues to progress out of the hip socket, especially in the past 6 months. We consulted with his orthopedic doctors at Shriners Hospitals for Children - Salt Lake City and the University of Utah/Primary Children's. Everyone (including parents) agrees the best course of action remains hands off as long as Travis continues to be mobile and not experience great pain. Any surgery to fix the left hip would involve removing the hardware that fixed the femur fractures in 2014 and 2015. Scary enough with that alone, add in the doctors learned to leave things alone as bigger issues had been created when they thought they were helping. For now we pray and wait.

Learn more about Shriners Hospitals for Children and Shriners at http://www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org/
http://www.shrinersinternational.org/
http://www.beashrinernow.com/