Hunting with Heroes and members of the racing community handed Thanksgiving packages to veterans, their widows, and Gold Star Families on Veterans Day. A total of 530 cars went through the drive-thru operation in Lakota, Iowa, a town of 267 people. Race cars lined the streets to welcome the veterans and their families.
“We invited any race car that was not torn down, plus fire trucks, tractors, and patriotic vehicles,” said Jason Becker, who formed the non-profit organization, Hunting with Heroes, with his father, Bernie, in 2011. “We had warriors with lost extremities that got to sit in and drive race cars. Racers put them in their cars without hesitation.”
Drivers involved included racers from a variety of divisions, including Wayne Landheer (stock car), Nick Meyer (modified), Loren “Snip” Pesicka Jr. (stock car), David Smith (stock car), and Matthew Looft (sport mod). (For more on Looft, read “Matthew Looft: A Year to Remember”. For more on Pesicka, see “Snip Pesicka: Old-School Racer Loves Stock Cars”.)
“We planned for 450 cars to receive the boxes,” Becker said. “Racers and race teams helped hand out the boxes. When we ran out of boxes, we gave out gift cards to shop at Hy-Vee supermarkets.”
Becker promotes the Hunting with Heroes Salute to Veterans race series. (See “Salute to Veterans: Three-Race Series This Week”.) It began in 2015 as a single race at Kossuth County Speedway in Algona, Iowa. Track promoter Ron Reefer and his track crew helped assemble the boxes for this year’s event.
The Thanksgiving boxes consisted of ham, potatoes, green beans, pie, $20 gas cards, and Maglite flashlights. All veterans in attendance were entered in a raffle that offered three commemorative rifles. Other random prizes included hats and shirts. In addition, 12 Purple Heart recipients received quilts made by the community. Jason Becker viewed the event as an opportunity for hunting, racing, and overall goodwill to touch a veteran in a positive way for their service.
“We created the event to let [veterans] know there was a legitimate non-profit organization that appreciated their service,” said Becker. “Most veterans don’t seek attention. Others don’t want to feel special. They just want to be with people who share similar experiences. Hunting and racing are activities that bring them together.”
For stock car driver Pesicka, who served 12 years in the Iowa Army National Guard, the experience was personally rewarding. He had retired Gunnery Sergeant Cory Weeks, of Bainbridge, Georgia, drive his stock car down Main Street in Lakota.
“I’m happy this program gives back to the veterans who gave so much to this country,” Pesicka said. “I just met Sgt. Weeks and offered him the driver’s seat. His smile after driving my car means the world to me.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
