In Memory

My grandfather, Joe Pitkavish – my idol, my mentor, my friend.

To say I idolized my grandfather is an understatement. This man taught me more than he ever realized. He had a way of making sense of any complicated task that came my way. He was a big man, and to those who didn’t know him, was very intimidating. But I can tell you he was just simply a great guy to be around. He was always thinking and trying to make his racing team better. It has been said many times that he was one of the true innovators in stock car racing. This was proven over and over by the many times that his designs were duplicated or copied by some that did not even know what the item was used for. They just knew that if “Joe’s car had it, then I must need it too.”

He was well respected not only because of the great performance of his cars, but because he never said anything derogatory about another individual. The racing community respected him as a car owner and competitor. I respected him as the biggest influence in my life while growing up and into my racing life. To me my grandfather was IT – my mentor and my friend – and I miss him everyday. I do the best I can do to be like him. I continue in racing because I love it, but I would really love to taste the success that he had in his career.

I live my life and race in a way that my grandfather could be as proud of me as I am of him. I was the first born grandchild of Joe Pitkavish and it has been a position I have cherished my whole life.

I really miss you grandpap…

Larry Peters – always a true friend

Our dear friend Larry was there for us. Honestly, anyone else who needed him, whether it is a race day or day-to-day life, could always count on him to be there. I have said repeatedly that Larry was a true friend and so many people have said exactly the same about him to me. Everyone liked him. You needed to know him for only a few minutes to realize that he was going to be your friend forever. He absolutely loved racing, mainly building and maintaining the racecars.

He liked helping as many people as he could. The man was a chassis genius. He could do something to the racecar that I would not comprehend, then have the patience to explain what he did so that I would understand. It was really obvious to all who knew him of his love for racing. But he was also a man dedicated to his family as well as the church.

Larry was an accomplished singer, being a member of his church choir for many years. You could never find a nicer man who had such a big heart and loved to help people. He was so genuine and never asked for anything in return. He is greatly missed by all who knew him but by no one more than our race team.

Larry would tell you that he is in a better place now. I know for a fact he is smiling and racing, and those are both things he put into everyday.

We miss you friend.

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