 Event: Bushwacker Off Road Nationals presented by Lucas Oil- Round 11 Location: Wildhorse Pass- Chandler, Arizona Date: Saturday, October 20, 2018 Weather: Sunny and dry, temps in the mid 90’s Finish: 11th After a long day of medical appointments and physical therapy in Irvine, California Trevor and crew made the drive Friday evening through the Mohave Desert to participate in the final round of the Lucas Offroad Racing Series. Arriving at Wildhorse Pass in Chandler, Arizona just after 9:30 - they parked the rig and turned in for the night. Due to the late arrival on Friday, Saturday morning began a bit earlier than usual. The team was positioned in an ideal location for fans, right next to the entrance- and the booth was prepped in anticipation for heavy traffic, welcoming fans to learn more about Trevor and JDRF. Still recovering from his knee surgery and on crutches, Trevor had to put a lot more effort into his regular routine. With the injury and his leg in a brace, the plan for the weekend was simply to complete the starting lap of Round 11- in order to maintain 4th place points for the season. Trevor went to the driver's meeting at 7:45 AM- and moved right into helping Bronson and Holden prep for qualifying. Holden Heitritter in the #412 Justice Brothers/Dynamic Fitness kart started at 11:30 in Junior 2’s -qualifying 6th and finishing 4th just off the box—and ended up with a 3rd overall for the season. Bronsen Chiaramonte in the #574 RTL Traffic Control & Equipment Rentals/Kar Tek kart qualified 4th, in Modified Kart, finished 2nd in the final and wrapped the season championship in 2nd place. The Briska family joined Trevor in the stands at 2PM to watch the opening ceremonies and Pro 2. Trevor made his way back immediately following that to get into the car. At the start, Trevor lined up at back of the field- as he was only intended to start the race to maintain his points. He completed one full lap and pulled off at turn three - retaining the points he needed to take fourth overall on the year. It was certainly not how Trevor wanted to end the year- after such a strong start and his three podiums early in the season, but Trevor was very glad to see his buddy Darren Hardesty, Jr, take his third championship. After pulling off the track Trevor rejoined the crowd to a watch the reminder of the race with Pro Lite and Pro 4 Trucks still to come. It was a crowded house, with the loyal fans of the Lucas Oil Offroad Series riveted to the action. At close of the day fans young and old lined up to meet Trevor - and we left that weekend having handed out every poster, sticker and flyer we had. Many fans had their own racing stories and several others shared that they knew somebody with Type 1 Diabetes, many recently diagnosed. Trevor provided them with contacts at the Arizona Chapter of JDRF- reminding them to connect with community resources - and that you can live a full and rich life after a type 1 diagnosis. Trevor is looking forward to the 2019 Pro Buggy season and he remains committed to using his platform in racing to help educate and encourage children struggling with type 1 diabetes and other illnesses. LOORRS is televised on CBS, CBS Sports and MAVTV. TV Schedule We would like to thank the corporate partners who provide their resources and expertise to the team: JDRF, The Fab School, Mickey Thompson Tires, Lucas Oil, FOX Shocks, Funco Motorsports, Fortin Transmission, G & J Craft, Ebbco Motorsports, CBR Radiators, OMF Wheels, Eibach Springs, Action Gas & Welding Supply If you or somebody you know is fighting type 1 diabetes, please reach out to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation www.jdrf.org 800-533-CURE info@jdrf.org About Team Briska Trevor Briska was campaigning his first trucks at the age of 11 and by 15 he’d won the California series for Modified Kart in the prestigious Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series. If there were ever an indicator of ‘up and coming’ status for off-road racing - it is that class. That is the division that has the other drivers watching. In 2017, while his classmates were out getting their learner's permits, Trevor was winning Rookie of the Year, in the highly competitive Pro Buggy class in the Lucas Off Road Series. For more information please contact Clint Briska at clint@sims-trucking.com   Event: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, Rounds 8 & 9
Location: Glen Helen Raceway- San Bernardino, CA Date: Friday, September 21, and Saturday, September 22, 2018 Weather: Warm and Sunny Finish: Danny Ebberts filling in for Trevor Briska R8 qualified 10th— 9th overall Sheldon Creed filling in for Trevor Briska R8 qualified 9th— 4th overall Practice Thursday went well — we made some changes to the car and re-valved the shocks with the help of Wayne from All Tech Motorsports. We felt we had the car where we needed it for the weekend and we were excited about Friday and Saturday’s races. After practice Trevor hopped on his pit bike to visit a buddy- and while riding through the pits, he caught his foot on a rock while taking a corner hyper-extending his knee. We immediately bandaged and iced it. He slept on it for the night and we realized Friday morning he would have to be seen by a doctor. Off to the ER we went for the second time in a month. While in the ER we reached out to Pro 2 driver Danny Ebberts to run qualifying for the car and race that evening. Danny was glad to offer his help although admittedly he had little experience with Pro Buggy. Danny fought to keep the speed up in such a tight class qualifying 10th. In the main he finished 9th overall. We were all grateful for his efforts and his ability to keep Trevor in the points chase. Earlier in the ER Trevor was diagnosed with a tibial spine avulsion - meaning the ACL pulled a small fragment of bone from the tibia when it stretched from the extension to his right knee. He was released and made it back to the track to watch Danny Ebberts run his car race at 8:30 that night. Longtime friend Sheldon Creed happened to be in the stands that night also. Sheldon is an accomplished short course racer himself, and is the current points leader in the ARCA series. During the evening conversation, Sheldon offered to drive the car for Saturday’s race. Sheldon has won numerous races & championships and in Mod Karts, Pro Lite, and Pro 2 so we were all excited to work with Sheldon for Round 9. On Saturday Sheldon had bit of a slow start— qualifying 9th. After that first run he felt he was getting the hang of Pro Buggy, and was looking forward to the main event. He started in the back of the pack— 5th row inside for the main then meticulously worked his way through the field to a solid 4th place finish. He gradually improved his lap times by the end - when he was running right up there with the leaders. Between Danny and Sheldon’s efforts Trevor maintains his position as 4th in points for the series championship—25 points ahead of 5th place. Surgery is required to repair the damage to Trevor’s knee. An MRI is scheduled for next Wednesday where we will determine if a reattachment of the bone is possible; if that is the case the recovery period is just 6-8 weeks. The other possibility is that the bone fragment is not attachable which will require ACL surgery and a 6 month recovery. At the moment, Trevor is fully laid up- moving about very little with crutches. With only one points race left for the LOORRS season and Trevor currently sitting 25 points ahead of 5th he will line up for Round 10 at Wildhorse Pass, take the start at at the green flag and pull off track. Trevor had an excellent start to the season, accumulating enough points to hold 4th even with the back-to-back illness and injury these past two races. By starting he will secure the points necessary to help retain his 4th place overall position in the season points chase. Trevor will be fully recovered in time for the 2019 season and will be making the run for the championship- now more determined than ever. This past weekend we joined up with LOORRS to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Temecula Valley Wine Country and participate in Stomp Out Cancer; a family-friendly event to raise funds for Support the Kid, helping families pay for cancer treatments, travel, lodging and meals. Event highlights included grape stomp competitions, off-road vehicles, displays and racer autographs, live music and food trucks plus, the Peltzer Pumpkin Farm was also open. Trevor will be at Wildhorse Pass in Chandler Arizona for the final round of the LOORRS season, October 20, 2018. Please join us as we partner with JDRF to help raise monies and awareness for Diabetes research. Air Dates and Times for Pro Buggy Footage of the Round 8 & 9: CBS Sat, Oct 27 1:30 PM CBS Sports Network Sun, Nov 4 8:00 PM Sun, Nov 11 8:00 PM Sun, Nov 18 8:00 PM Sun, Dec 2 8:00 PM Sun, Dec 9 8:00 PM Sun Dec 16 8:00 PM Sun Jan 6 8:00 PM MAVTV Sun Nov 25 2:00 PM Sun, Dec 2 2:00 PM Sun Dec 9 2:00 PM Sun Dec 16 2:00 PM Sun Dec 30 2:00 PM We would like to thank the corporate partners who provide their resources and expertise to the team: JDRF, The Fab School, Mickey Thompson Tires, Lucas Oil, FOX Shocks, Funco Motorsports, Fortin Transmission, G & J Craft, Ebbco Motorsports, CBR Radiators, OMF Wheels, Eibach Springs, Action Gas & Welding Supply For more information and photographs please visit www.trevorbriska.com. You can reach us and also follow our social media activity at @trevorbriskaracing @trevorbriskaracing If you or somebody you know is fighting type 1 diabetes, please reach out to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation www.jdrf.org 800-533-CURE info@jdrf.org About Team Briska Trevor Briska was campaigning his first trucks at the age of 11 and by 15 he’d won the California series for Modified Kart in the prestigious Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series. If there were ever an indicator of ‘up and coming’ status for off-road racing - it is that class. That is the division that has the other drivers watching. In 2017, while his classmates were out getting their learner's permits, Trevor was winning Rookie of the Year, in the highly competitive Pro Buggy class in the Lucas Off Road Series. For more information please contact Clint Briska at clint@sims-trucking.com  Event: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, Rounds 6 Location: Wild West Motorsports Park — Sparks, Nevada Date: Saturday, July 21, 2018 Weather: Hot, Sunny, Thunderstorms and Rain Finish: R6 qualified 3rd— 4th overall The crew arrived at the Wild West Motorsports Park in Sparks, Nevada on Thursday afternoon under a blazing hot sun, which had pushed the mercury level to 100 degrees. All the teams were settling into their normal routine, laying out the usual nomad camp of off-road racing, and vendors were busy setting up trackside. Several industry mainstays were there to share their expertise with racers and the fans with Trevor's sponsors among them, including The Fab School, Lucas Oil and Mickey Thompson Tires. Friday dawned with a forecast for a full sun, which threatened to send temperatures soaring into the high 90’s. Trevor and Clint did the early track walkover checking for soil consistency and changes— and decided two possibilities for tire cut. They opted to run the first two practices with the meaner of these two treads, which resulted in two 4th place finishes in his first 2 rounds of practice. They converted to a less aggressive tread and made slight adjustments to the sway bar and shocks, for the final practice which improved his position to third. No further adjustments were made in anticipation of Saturday’s qualifier. Saturday- At 11am the crew headed over to the Racers for Christ chapel service to listen to Chappy Steve parlay his wisdom in his typical down-to-earth fashion. It’s what so many of us appreciate about him; his approachable nature and his ability to weave a message in a way which relates to so much of our everyday life as racers. As natural as can be, he somehow manages to softly deliver a powerful resounding and highly relevant concept that pushes us each a little farther each weekend. This weekend he encouraged us to “make an effort and not an excuse” which we took to heart. Trevor was coming off an already exciting week with his official registration for The Fab School, and things were setting up to be a good race day. His times were right there with the top guys and he was happy with the car set-up but, as the day wore on the weather conspired to aggravate track officials, teams and fans alike. After our briefing in the driver’s meeting we prepped for qualifying rounds, Lucas Oil arrived to do a short interview, and qualifying got underway at 1:30. Trevor placed 3rd— just 500th of a second off 2nd, and just under 4/10’s of a second off 1st. Then the thunderstorms arrived —as though on queue-- immediately after Pro Buggy qualifiers, putting all other rounds on hold. The rain continued fairly consistent and heavy for the first hour, and at least once the aluminum grandstands had to be abandoned due to threatening lightening in the area. The rain gradually subsided becoming intermittent and ending by 6:30 or so— just in time for finals. Lucas did a good job with that they had to work with in prepping the track after the storm, but no getting around it, the final conditions were going to be muddy and sloppy —so we switched to a more aggressive tire and waited to run. The track at Wild West Motorsports Park is a longer high speed track than most of the other tracks on the circuit. Having significant elevation on both ends makes it a great viewing platform for the audience and a relatively good crowd had gathered to see the world’s top off-road teams despite the roar of thunder overhead. Officials made some changes to the running orders, and racing got underway at 7PM. In the Pro Buggy Final Trevor started in the third position— inversion was zero putting him inside 2nd row. Right out of the gate in the first turn Trevor was hit by an outside car sending him into the k-rail. It took about 15 seconds to unhitch himself from the railing and turn around, which left him in last place. So with “make an effort and not an excuse” running through his head, Trevor put his head down and went to work trying to catch the field. The halfway caution allowed Trevor to tighten up in the pack. He had made a pass or two before the halfway caution and had a good momentum at the restart. He picked up a couple more positions quickly— now 5th in a 10 car field. One lap later he was tapped again, spun out and was sent directly to the back of the field once again. The incident raised a caution which allowed Trevor to pull in tight to the rest of the field, giving him a bit of reprieve from his misery. After this restart (with three laps to go) 2 cars got together directly in front of Trevor on the downhill of turn four. Trevor narrowly missing getting collected in that incident and officials threw another caution. Trevor advanced one more position to finish in 4th— 4/10’s of a second short of 3rd. He wasn’t able to hit the podium this time but he really showed his strength as a driver in this race —blowing past half of the field in the final laps after twice having been sent to the rear. Challenging situations give us all a chance to show what we are made so we were all grateful for the experience and proud of Trevor’s effort. Huge shout out to Lucas Oil for giving us all a platform to learn and grow, while surrounded by our family and friends. Trevor currently sits 2nd in points— 4 points off the pace for first. Next up is Round 7 & 8 General Tire Utah Off Road Nationals Presented by Optima Batteries August 24th & 25th. Air Dates and Times for Pro Buggy Footage CBS Sun, Sep 2 3:00 PM CBS Sports Network Sun, Sep 2 8:00 PM Sun, Sep 9 8:00 PM Sun, Sep 16 8:00 PM MAVTV Sun, Sep 23 2:00 PM Sun, Sep 30 2:00 PM Sun, Oct 7 2:00 PM We would like to thank the corporate partners who provide their resources and expertise to the team: JDRF, The Fab School, Mickey Thompson Tires, Lucas Oil, FOX Shocks, Funco Motorsports, Fortin Transmission, G & J Craft, Ebbco Motorsports, CBR Radiators, OMF Wheels, Eibach Springs, Action Gas & Welding Supply If you or somebody you know is fighting type 1 diabetes, please reach out to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation www.jdrf.org 800-533-CURE info@jdrf.org If you would like help Trevor with his mission to raise awareness and money to help find a cure, please visit https://bit.ly/2DKVptv. ### About Team Briska Trevor Briska was campaigning his first trucks at the age of 11 and by 15 he’d won the California series for Modified Kart in the prestigious Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series. If there were ever an indicator of ‘up and coming’ status for off-road racing - it is that class. That is the division that has the other drivers watching. In 2017, while his classmates were out getting their learner's permits, Trevor was winning Rookie of the Year, in the highly competitive Pro Buggy class in the Lucas Off Road Series. For more information please contact Clint Briska at clint@sims-trucking.com     Event: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, Rounds 4 & 5 Location: Lucas Oil Speedway — Wheatland, MO Dates: Saturday, June 23 and Sunday, June 24, 2018 Weather: Intermittent rain and sun Finish: R3 qualified 8th- 7th overall, R3 qualified 3rd - 2nd overall A lot has happened since Ensenada! Wednesday, June 6th Trevor graduated from High School. After a quick celebration, he flew out of LAX at 1:30 AM along with his Dad, and a buddy for a week long vacation in Costa Rica! The group had an amazing time, checking out the crocodiles, playing in the ocean, visiting Mount Arenal Volcano - and spent a full three days of riding motocross bikes through the jungle. The rainy season has begun in Costa Rica, so we rode through a lot of slick red clay which was challenging but, oh so fun! We rode a lot of single track and fire roads, rode through the tropical rain forest, and spent a few hours riding the beach each day— it was just fantastic! The soil and the terrain was a lot different than it was in the states. We highly recommend Chris, Carlos and Terry from Costa Rica Unlimited Tours, they offer an incredible riding experience. We had the freedom to travel virtually anywhere. It was a terrific way to celebrate Trevor’s graduation! We flew to Cali on Saturday the 16th, at 2am and spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday getting everything finalized and packed for Missouri. Monday we left at 11 o’clock, stopped along the way to get everything washed and then drove through to Gallup, New Mexico. We made it to Oklahoma City on Tuesday to reunite with extended family and put in a few rounds at Top Golf. Wednesday we arrived at Lucas Oil Speedway at 1PM. The weather was moody at best; raining in the am, then sunny, and at about 5 we had a thunderstorm with heavy rain for about 2 hours which saturated the track. Thursday we received our credentials, entered the track and Trevor left with MAVTV’s Greg Cozzo for a visit to the Ronald McDonald house in Springfield, Missouri. It is always good to start a race weekend off by visiting these children and encouraging them, and Trevor makes it a point to participate as often as he can. The Lucas Oil Speedway is a large and beautiful facility which makes for one of the best races of the season. The facility features a short course, beautiful dirt oval stadium, camping in the woods, two man made lakes stocked for fishing and off-road riding areas. Lots of people are camped out for days and the fans are fantastic – we talked to some that came all the way from Texarkana and Louisiana to see the races. Despite its population of just under 400, Wheatland is centralized between three major hubs and draws a great crowd from all corners of the state. Friday tech inspection was early, drivers meeting at noon, then we did the customary track walk immediately following — with practice starting at 1PM. The track was heavy and sticky which provided lots of traction for the 1st practice, and Trevor was fastest on the track that run. 2nd practice we had issues with power steering, and found a broken coupler in the power steering pump. Third practice was off a little bit, the track conditions were not as good and our times were a little slower. As the the day went on the track became increasingly rutted and very slick. Throughout the day we spoke with couple of kids that were diabetic that had searched Trevor out at the track to tell their stories. One 11 year old had been recently diagnosed, and he was really encouraged by Trevor. Saturday another driver’s meeting early. Qualifying was a little slick. We lost power steering that run, qualifying 8th. The coupler broke again. We figured the power steering pump was going bad causing the coupler to break, so we changed them both out. Opening ceremonies began at 2, we were the 3rd race up starting in 8th position, 4th row outside in a field of 11 cars. On the 1st lap, two cars spun out and collected Trevor in turn 2 pushing him back to 10th. Trevor caught the field pretty quickly advancing 5 spots to 5th by the halfway caution. On the restart Trevor moved right to 4th place, which he held solidly until a couple of the cars got together in front of him. He was able to avoid contact, navigate around and move into 2nd. Officials then threw another caution. Coming off that caution with 3 laps to go, Trevor was challenging for the lead. 2/3rds of the way through that lap he side loaded the left rear tire and the sidewall let go. He lost that left rear tire limping into the hot pits. The tire was replaced costing Trevor a lap— he managed to finish 7th. It was fun to watch from the stands, but Trevor felt a bit disappointed after running such a good race and battling to come back to 2nd then losing it due to a tire. Sunday morning it started sprinkling, with the track getting a little slippery. We made no changes for qualifying and he finished that qualifier third. Inversion was 2, so he started in the 3rd position with 11 cars in the field. After qualifying the rain really started, in a heavy downpour. Junior Karts and UTVs were cancelled from their earlier scheduled times and Pro classes were put on hold at the time. At this point it was a waiting game. Around 1:30 the weather started to lift and Lucas officials drove pace vehicles to determine if track conditions were suitable. They made the decision to run— with a few running order changes. They also shortened the lap count from 9 laps to 7 and put the 4WD's on first due to the sloppy conditions. The first UTV race was a holy mudsling and you could hardly make out one vehicle from the next, but the track conditions were incrementally improving. After watching that, we made a decision to change the rear tire setup and go with a more aggressive Mickey Thompson tire for Trevor’s run. In the Pro Buggy final Trevor left the start in 3rd and moved to 2nd through turns 1 and 2. In turn 3 he had a car go underneath him. That driver couldn’t hold their line, pushing up track into the front of Trevor’s car. Trevor did a great job of saving it, re-entered in 5th and got back to work. At the halfway he was running 4th. Right off the restart a couple of cars got together, giving Trevor the window for 2nd. He had to battle to keep it though as 3rd place Trey Gibbs was hot on his tail throughout the rest of the race. Trevor maintained his 2nd place position through to the checkered flag giving him his third podium of the season! He had put on 50 tear-offs for his visor and ended using a little over half… what a mess, but what a blast! Trevor currently sits 2nd in points— 15 points off the pace for first. This is his third podium out of 5 races. A podium every weekend! Next up is Round 6 K&N Filters Silver State Showdown presented by Toyota at Wild West Motorsports Park – Sparks, NV on July 21st! click here for TV Schedule: www.lucasoiloffroad.com/events/tv-schedule We would like to thank the corporate partners who provide their resources and expertise to the team: JDRF, The Fab School, Mickey Thompson Tires, Lucas Oil, FOX Shocks, Funco Motorsports, Fortin Transmission, G & J Craft, Ebbco Motorsports, CBR Radiators, OMF Wheels, Eibach Springs, Action Gas & Welding Supply   This past Saturday, April 14th, I attended the 1st round of the Lucas Oil Off Road Series at Wildhorse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Arizona. All the big boys were in town including Rob MacCachren, Jeremy McGrath, and Jarett Brooks to run Short Course. I was here working. Several months back I had been approached by Clint Briska, who's son Trevor, had been named the 2017 Rookie of the Year in the Pro Buggy class. Trevor is such a great kid- and at 17 we won’t be able to call him that for long. He's at that point in life when you can start predicting what he'll become. He's humble but not shy, always has a smile and a hand to offer, and his calm demeanor belies his competitive nature. Last night, Trevor took his first national win on the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series —but that's not the story here. For the past two months, Trevor and his core team have been planning to do something grand. You see, Trevor comes from racing stock. His grandfather has broken land speed records at Bonneville, and his father has raced dirt bikes, and mountain bikes for decades. Both of these men have poured their lives into Trevor, and when he was very young they started to show him the ropes. At 6 he was turning wrenches, changing out parts, and racing his KTM 50. Racing is all he wanted to do—and it's all he did—for the next two years when he wasn't bound to school. At 8, Trevor began to scare his mother with perplexing health symptoms which led them to seek medical advice. The diagnosis was type 1 diabetes, and his mother started to bawl—for her beloved grandfather had been lost to diabetes a few years earlier. "It was terrifying", she says. She thanks God for her husband and his family for they just did what they always did; they got to work—listening, learning, doing. Trevor did the same. Fast forward 9 years. Two months ago we began a partnership with the Arizona Chapter of the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). It was a natural extension as the Briskas have raised thousands of dollars to support diabetes research and drive awareness. Together we held meetings, wrote press releases, and laid out plans with the series to create some noise at Wildhorse Pass. We took photos, created banners, flyers, hero cards and we hired a social media manager. We wrote PA announcements, created instagram stories, and Mom ordered lots of food. Dad worked feverishly on the car—and he ordered some stickers. On Saturday the whole crew was humming; everyone doing their part. The Lucas Oil Off Road Series positioned the team at the front gate, a coveted location indeed, and we aimed to make the best of it. We stood for hours behind tables; fluffing, straightening, smiling and waving—and we started to hand out 2" stickers. The ones Clint Briska had ordered; just a simple black and white number plate with Trevor's brand #59.  We tried to hit every child who walked through that gate— and we came awfully close. Offer a child a sticker and their eyes light up. They looked up at us, wide eyed—some were so excited they were shaking trying to peel the back off so they could put it on their shirts right away. We walked them to the car and took photos of their whole family- each time everyone just beaming- even though they really didn't know who Trevor Briska was. Moms and Dads thanked us profusely and we found out that a very high percentage of these families were either affected themselves, or knew somebody with type 1 diabetes. They wanted to learn more, and some offered a donation. This continued for hours and now we wanted every child in the place to feel like they belonged- that they had somebody to root for. I think we even chased some kids down and we taught the older kids to fist bump anyone they saw with a sticker and shout, "Go Trevor!". Then something magical happened... Everyone piled heavy into the stands as the main event gone underway. Families had paid good money and they were about to see an incredible show. Pro 2 got everyone's blood pumping and Rob Mac, Jeremy McGrath and Jerett Brooks took their well deserved places atop the podium. People were cheering and cameras were flashing. Pro Buggy was up third. Trevor had qualified 4th putting him on the inside of the second row for the start. I looked around and saw little kids everywhere with #59 stuck to their hats, their shirts and their hands. I was so proud of that moment. These young children and their parents were all so intent on what Trevor was going to do, and they all felt they were a part of it. When the green flag flew Trevor immediately exited turn one in second place. Our section of the grandstand lit up and everyone was screaming. Trevor maintained his pace for the first few laps —with the leader a few car lengths ahead. By lap 4 Trevor caught his grove and was reeling the leader in hard when officials threw the comp yellow at lap 7. We were all strung tight, nervous and excited— already almost hoarse from our screaming. From the restart Trevor immediately attacked the leader and advanced into first place by turn two. This he maintained through lap 8, and 9, and 10 and 11, and 12 ... and then I began to worry. I have been involved in racing for nearly 3 decades, so I know how things can go. This is when you really get nervous, and even though he’s far out front all the “what ifs?” start to smother your enthusiasm. What if something breaks? What if he crashes? What if there’s a part failure? It was in that moment I realized how different Trevor is. What if Trevor’s blood sugar levels were low? His vision could go, he could start to tremble, he could get light headed- even become incoherent. It’s one more layer that Trevor has to get right. Trevor held his ground and the entire crowd was on its feet. And you know what? He won!! The kid won —his first national event!  We all ran from the grandstands and it felt like a hundred hands grabbed me as I walked by, people with huge grins on their faces and shouting, “Congratulations!” “Congratulations!”
Trevor took his place at the top of that podium. Joy lit up his whole face, and I felt like I got a small window into how much effort he has put into this. How much he has overcome. People were cheering, cameras were flashing— and this time people were crying. Like a veteran pro, he said, "JDRF is out here with us to help raise awareness for type 1 diabetes, and I am so glad for the opportunity to show everyone that diabetes doesn't slow you down". Trevor’s family, his friends and fellow racers were jumping into the fence to embrace Mom and Dad, and a hundred high five's went up. I turned around to look back at the crowd, and kids were fist bumping each other, huge smiles on their faces and stickers on their caps. We all realized we were a part of something we hadn't understood before— and that sticker branded us all as family. This is why we race... |
Trevor Briska
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