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Photo by Johns Racing Photos
Brad Bumgarner to benefit from Sprint Car Benevolent Fund
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – July 31, 2008…Word has come down that Chico, California sprint car driver Brad Bumgarner will benefit from the Sprint Car Benevolent Fund following his crash last Saturday night at the Silver Dollar Speedway.
Bumgarner suffered a compressed and fractured T-5 vertebrae during a qualifying flip in the fourth corner at the Chico based track this past Saturday night. He is currently in a body brace and will be in it for two months, possibly three. Silver Dollar Speedway announcer Troy Hennig spoke with Bumgarner at his house on Sunday: “Brad is struggling with the pain but his spirits really do seem to be good which is really uplifting."
Originally started under the name “Northern Auto Racing Club Benevolent Fund,” the Sprint Car Benevolent Fund is intended to help in the aid of injured sprint car drivers, crew members and team owners. The decision making of the benevolent fund is led by sprint car driver Brent Kaeding, crew chief Ashley Smith and sprint car enthusiast, sponsor & good friend Don Sharp.
After Bumgarner’s injury last Saturday the three talked it over and determined that Brad would be a perfect candidate for help from the fund. Bumgarner will receive a check from the Sprint Car Benevolent Fund every week until doctors release him to go back to work. Recent beneficiaries of the fund include Dennis Moore Jr, Billy Sellers, Danny Faria Jr, Alan Urias, Randy Hannagan and Tom Milne.
Bumgarner had been on a recent hot streak after back-to-back third place finishes at the Silver Dollar Speedway with the Golden State Challenge Series and the Civil War Series. He had been one of bright stories over the last month at the track, as many observers noted his improvement on a nightly basis, including a handful of strong qualifying performances at the competitive speedway.
Following his accident in qualifying this past Saturday, fans were gracious enough to start a roll over fund and in addition to that, San Jose’s Tim Kaeding donated $250, in which he won for the being the night’s fastest qualifier. “It’s just a bad deal all around,” Kaeding said. “They had to cut off Brad’s suit as well so that’s another expense he’ll have and donating my qualifying bonus is the least I can do to help out.”
Don Sharp, one of the Sprint Car Benevolent Fund decision makers made it very clear that having this kind of fund is extremely important. “As we know this sport is very dangerous and this is exactly the type of thing we have this fund for and why we’ve had the various fundraisers throughout the years,” Sharp said.
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