Posted on Tuesday, July 17, 2007 - 2:42 pm by Bigd:
All about the Modifieds: Don PrattIt was about this time of year in 1986, I was fresh out of High School, a crew member of Dons'. We won the feature at Spencer, holding off "Mr. Excitement" for the last(and longest) 25 laps. At lap 28 I looked at Ed Spencer and said, "where's the two to go signal?" "It's 35 laps this week" he said. My heart was in my throat, pounding. But, Don held Jimmy at bay. This completed what only a few in modified racing have accomplished. Feature wins at all threee upstate weekly mod tracks, Spencer, Shangri-La, and Lancaster.
Don was always very proud of that achievement. More importantly, he loved competing and being around guys like Jimmy, Richie, Jan, Tommy Druar, Rod Spaulding and Tony J. He even loaned his car to Randy Hedger one night at Shangri-La. Randy needed a ride, he was in a battle for the track championship. He later credited Don for his generousity in helping him WIN that track championship. We were in a points battle with Tony J. in 1989 for the ROC tour. Don loaned Tony our spare engine in the middle of that points battle.
After Don's tragic death at Pocono in 1989, I took a year off from racing. I attended one race that year......the ROC. Don was postumously inducted into the ROC Hall of Fame at that years race.
The following year, I became Crew Chief for his longtime friend Daryl Lewis. We won some races, all with the number 62 on the corner of the roof. The night we won the Don Pratt Memorial at Tioga was our proudest moment. A fitting tribute to our longtime friend and Hero.
In this time of the Modifieds struggling to keep weekly racing alive, we should remember Don Pratt, a man who would do whatever it took to be at the races each week. And it's not just the competition, but the comraderie and friends you make at the track that matter most. RIP #62