WoO:Great racer lost - RIP Kevin
Ellen Siska
Kevin Gobrecht's untimely death due to a racing accident Friday night
was front page news here in the "sprint car mecca," with headlines
reading "Racing hero dies in crash." Those of us who watched Kevin
mature since his sprint car debut at Lincoln Speedway are feeling
particularly sad. The full obituary was in the paper Monday, and I've
rewritten it a bit. Here are the highlights, including memorial
contribution info at the end:
Kevin was born May 2, 1969, and was a 1992 graduate of Millersville
University, earning a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration
with a concentration in Accounting and Finance. A native of New
Oxford, PA, Kevin started racing go-karts at age 8 and won more than
100 go-kart races throughout the eastern and southern U.S. between
1977 and 1991. From 1992 to 1994, he won more than 100 micro-sprint
races, including the Coors National Open in 1992, 1993, and 1994.
He was both the National Sprint Car Poll Rookie of the Year and the
Lincoln Sportsman of the Year in 1995. Kevin won the Pennzoil World of
Outlaws Series "A" Feature at Williams Grove Speedway on July 31,
1998, in John Zemaitis' #1Z Zemco sprinter [subbing for an injured
Billy Pauch, a close pal of Ray Evernham's from his days at
Flemington, NJ, Speedway]. He substituted for Jac Haudenschild in the
#22 Elden Racing Maxim in 1996.
Before joining the Amoco team in April of this year, Kevin won seven
1999 features, including Williams Grove Speedway's Early Bird
championship. In February, he won three races in less than 24 hours -
at Williams Grove, Lincoln Speedway, and Port Royal Speedway. Other
big wins include the All-Star Circuit of Champions feature at Volusia
Speedway Park in 1999; the 1998 Kenny Weld Memorial at Lincoln; and
the 1997 Jack Gunn Memorial at Williams Grove.
When Kevin took over the #93 Amoco Maxim in April, he debuted in the
National Sprint Car Poll with a fifth place national ranking, and was
the only non-Outlaw regular in the top ten ranking. The 30-year-old
driver competed in 44 Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series events,
recording 19 top-10 finishes, including three top five's. Kevin was
sprint car racing's hottest driver in early August, claiming the
$100,000 first prize in Eldora Speedway's Historical Big One, and
finishing third in the Amoco Knoxville Nationals one week later.
In addition to his parents, Donna Gobrecht Long and Robert Gobrecht,
Kevin is survived by a companion, Bobbi Myers; two brothers, Scott
Gobrecht and Brian Gobrecht [also a local sprint car driver]; and a
sister, Tiffany Gobrecht.
Memorial contributions may be made to:
York County Racing Club Injured Drivers Fund
c/o Donna Long [Kevin's mother]
31 Brandy Court
Hanover, PA 17331
There will be a viewing from 5 - 9 p.m. Wednesday night, and another
viewing from 6 - 8 p.m. Thursday, followed by a memorial service where
Danny Lasoski will be a speaker.
I just wrote all of that, and I still can't believe it's really
true.....I'd met Kevin on a few occasions, and he was a great guy and
a friend to all, respected by his fellow competitors. Don't know if
they mentioned it on the tv broadcast, but there was a moment of
silence in memory of Kevin at Dover on Sunday. I'm sure that both
Lincoln and Williams Grove will honor him with annual memorial
races.....
This weekend, the WoO will roll into the area for the National Open
Friday and Saturday night at Williams Grove, one of Kevin's "home"
tracks. It sure will be a bittersweet weekend. When they were here
back in July, Kevin didn't race with them, as the team was
"regrouping." That was when they made the switch to Maxim chassis at
Kevin's request....and it paid off, as they really took off after
that.
To read some of the old press releases about Kevin with the 93 Amoco
team, go to http://www.amoco.com/racing All of his sprint car stats
are there in the "driver profile" section.
Ellen
back in York, PA
Jerry and Bea
News like this is the worst part of following a dangerous sport like
auto racing. While I haven't followed the career of Kevin (not much
sprint car action out here) anytime I hear of a tragedy like his, I
say a little prayer for all the drivers. Our sympathies go out to
Kevin's family and friends.
Hoosier 6
hear of a racer losing his life, but at least it was doing something he
loved- still not a good thing, mind you, but much more acceptable than if he
was hit my some drunk in a '74 LTD.
God Bless, Kevin, we'll miss seeing you race.
--
Scott Moore
Sports Gaming Network
http://www.sports-gaming.com
Offline Sim Racing Headquarters
http://offlinehq.sports-gaming.com
Ellen Siska <esi...@netrax.net> wrote in message
news:37f0f353...@news.netrax.net...
Benjamin Yazersky, CPA
By the way, you were right about Rudd going to the 28 car next year.
Just took the rest of the media about a month to catch up with you.
--
<<< Benjamin Yazersky, CPA [NJ & NY]>>>
-----> bya...@yahoo.com <-----
Preacher
>Kevin Gobrecht's untimely death due to a racing accident Friday night
>was front page news here in the "sprint car mecca," with headlines
>reading "Racing hero dies in crash."
<snip>
Not that it matters, but do you know who Kevin's car owner is?
Dave Blaney.
God speed Kevin Gobrecht.
Preacher