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 Stafford
Motor Speedway has lined up an impressive field of
current and former open wheel champions for its 4th
Annual Champions For Charities Event, which will
take place on Friday, June 27th. During the coming
weeks, Stafford Speedway will offer a profile on
each of its championship winning drivers and the
charity they will be racing for and this week’s
Champions For Charities spotlights falls on 3-time
NEMA Midget Champion (2008, 2008, 2011) Randy
Cabral, who will be racing to help support The Shane
Hammond Believe Foundation.
“Shane and I were pretty close and he lost his life
in a racing accident in 2008,” said Cabral. “We were
practically teammates and we worked together all the
time. He helped me out with my car and we told him
once he learned enough that we would help get him
his own car. He and I put his car together in about
a week and he went racing with it in two weeks’ time
and he finished eighth the first time out with it at
Waterford. He was quite the racecar driver and we
had a good time together and we always had fun. I
miss him every day, but you have to keep the
memories alive and do the best you can.”
The Shane Hammond Believe Foundation is a non-profit
company founded by Shane’s mom, Deb Marvuglio. The
foundation’s goal is to preserve Shane’s spirit for
racing education & safety. When Shane passed, Deb
began asking questions about the safety of cars,
drivers, tracks and found out there was room for
improvement in many, many ways. She also found out
that most drivers would rather buy tires than invest
in their own safety. The foundation raises money
through merchandise sales, fund raisers, and
donations to help drivers with the expenses of
safety equipment as funds permit. The foundation
also provides a yearly driving school. The Shane
Hammond Midget driving school teaches all aspects of
driving a midget from suiting up, belting in and
driving. The foundation relies on volunteers to help
spread the word.
“With the cause of his accident possibly being not
having the correct safety equipment in his car or
not being able to afford the correct safety
equipment, Shane’s mom, Deb Marvuglio, never wanted
to see that happen again with any driver. There’s
been a lot of drivers who have gotten hurt by not
having the correct safety equipment in their cars so
she created this foundation in Shane’s memory to
help drivers out with safety equipment. They take in
old donated equipment, they help buy safety
equipment for drivers, and they do anything they can
to help with driver safety.”
This year’s edition of Champions For Charities will
be Cabral’s fourth consecutive time behind the wheel
of a Senior Outlaw Wild Thing Kart. Cabral has
finished 10th,11th, and 12th and he gave fans a
thrilling moment in last year’s race after he ended
up on the roof of his kart. Cabral is hoping to turn
his fortunes around and be a contender for the
checkered flag this season.
“I’m real excited and I can’t wait for the race, I’m
really glad I got invited back for another try,”
said Cabral. “Last year we ended up flipping the
thing over on the last lap. We kept it exciting for
the fans but I’m not sure the car owner liked it.
Last year gave me a little more confidence in the
kart and we came through the pack twice before we
flipped. I’m hoping to get a good solid finish this
time around.”
To support Randy Cabral in his fundraising efforts
for the Shane Hammond Believe Foundation visit
Stafford Speedway’s Champions for Charities page at
staffordmotorspeedway.com. Also Stafford
Speedway is selling the book Trackrat Memoir of a
Fan, which explores the short track racing obsession
through the eyes of Bob Englehart. All proceeds from
the sales of books at Stafford Speedway will be
donated to the Shane Hammond Believe Foundation.
The Champions for Charities event will take place
around the Stafford Mini-Mile track for a 15-lap
feature in Wild Thing Kart Senior Outlaw Karts
during the Friday night race program on June 27th.
For more information about the Champions for
Charities event, please call the Stafford Motor
Speedway track office at 860-684-2783, or visit us
on the web at
staffordmotorspeedway.com. |
