August 17, 2008

To Whom It May Concern:

Please bear with me while I tell you my experience with Menzies Motorsports while at the CORR race on Sunday (08-17-08) at Pomona.

We do the Glamis, Ocotillo Wells, and Barstow scene in the Winter. My personal attitude is that there will be no excuses from the kids, as they get older, that we did not do anything with them while they were growing up. “A family that plays together stays together.” About five years ago, we purchased an ATV for my now nine year old son, Riley. He would ride it around but never really got into it that much. He also never expressed any interest in a dirt bike.

However, 2 years ago we purchased a 2-seater Chinese knockoff just to play around with and because of the cost, if it broke, it broke. Then, Riley fell in love with. He would ride it all day and into the night. He was the first one to ask if we were going on a night ride. It was clear now that he had found his passion. Subsequently, Last year, he was bitten with the CORR “bug” and as a father, I became involved also.

Rather than go to the race for the day, we started to take our trailer to the races. Last month, we took our trailer down to Chula Vista and watched Bryce win. Nice job! Riley and my other son (Carter, age 7) also went. However, Carter only watched for an hour and then I had to take him back. But Riley (and I) were there from 9 AM until the final race on Saturday and Sunday. Riley knows many of the driver’s by sight and also their names. He is a CORR junkie and his room has evolved from a “Pirates of the Caribbean” theme to a CORR theme with the posters and stickers on the closet mirrors. He knows all of the classes and asked if Rob was going to get a Pro 4 car.

Now, fast forward to Pomona at about 5:00 PM on Sunday. Between each race, the safety crew would come up with all the pieces that had fallen off of cars during the race. They would give the pieces away through a hole in the fence by the starter. However, the kids were very aggressive and the safety crew person giving the pieces away was just giving them to the kids in the center and never to anyone on the ends. Needless to say, Riley wasn't happy because he never got any piece.

So, I decided to drown his sorrow with a lemonade from a vendor and we began to walk around. We passed the Menzies racing trailer and someone had just put out a full fender with the Menziez logo on it. Riley looked at me (for approval) and I told, “Go get it!” It was about 50 feet away and you had never seen him run so fast. He was so exited when he got it. He said Rob and Bryce drive for them and wanted them to sign it. We looked around but did not see any of the drivers. I thought to myself that it was not a big deal and since it was the end of the day, the drivers were probably changing or doing something else.

I told Riley that getting the fender was a good “score” for the day and he agreed. So we began our journey back to the trailer in the parking lot. Then out of nowhere, a gentleman in Menzies UTV passed us and stopped. I think it was Steve but I don’t recall. He asked if any of the driver’s had signed it and I told him that we did not see any and that they were probably winding down for the day. I even said it was not a big deal.

However, this person would not have any of that. He told us to follow him and that he would get make sure someone signed it. We went back to the Menzies trailer and that was where we saw Rob being towed in backwards. Riley leaned over to me and whispered, “Dad, that is Rob. He drives a couple of trucks in Pro 2 and he is really good.” We got back to the trailer and no sooner had Rob jumped out of his truck, he got a pen and signed our Fender. After saying thanks we began to walk away and we were approached by Bryce and a female who said that they were looking for us to sign a fender. Bryce signed the fender and Riley was so happy.

We began to walk away from the trailer and the gentleman originally in the UTV walked up to us and asked if we got our fender signed. I told him we did and thanked him for his efforts. He then thanked us for coming out and showing support for CORR and Menzies. Not only did we get Riley’s fender signed we were made to feel important in the grand scheme of things and that was awesome.

Well needless to say, I was completely “blown away” by the efforts made by everyone at Menzies, simply to get Riley’s fender signed. Unlike my son, I have not really followed any particular team but take joy in watching Riley and his love of the sport. However, that has all changed and I am now a Team Menzies fan! I could not believe the hospitality that existed with the Menzies Team and their efforts towards a couple of fans.

All I can say is, “Thank You.” You made my day and most importantly, Riley’s day. This was affirmed when he told me that this was one of the best days of his life. Don’t ever stop because your actions are a dying art in America. Everyone is in such a hurry, they forget the little things and even though a couple of signatures might not seem like a big deal, they were huge to someone, my Riley. Because of your team’s actions, you have earned two fans for life! Thanks and see you at the next race.

Sincerely,

Brendan Kirkpatrick