When we last featured Charlie Ray Howell, he said his mission in life was “racing for those who can’t.” Howell, who has limited use of his legs, certainly put on a show last Saturday. He led flag-to-flag during the 602 late model feature at Tennessee National Raceway (TNR) in Hohenwald. Howell also won the track championship.
Howell suffered a spinal cord injury in a 2010 passenger-car accident. He also has osteogenesis imperfecta type I (OI), aka brittle bone disease.
(For more on Charlie Ray Howell, read “Charlie Ray Howell: Racing for Those Who Can’t.”)
Howell credited the support he receives from CVR Race Cars. The driving setup inside the cockpit was revised by the crew three times in the past two years. One of his sponsors, David Duplissey of D.D. Deer, fabricated the current custom hand control setup. Howell steers with his left hand and runs the throttle, clutch, and brake with his right hand.
“We designed the driving setup as a team effort,” Howell, of Mount Pleasant, Tennessee, said. “In the beginning, we had nothing to go by, so we sat there and thought and thought about it. We’ve gone through eight or nine setups. We’ve changed the controls to make it lighter, more durable, and easier to use.”
The right setup made a significant difference on track.
“I gained 2.5 seconds in speed with the latest right-hand control setup,” said Howell. “That enabled me to seal the deal with a win at TNR. That put the frosting on the cake for a great year.”
For Charlie Ray Howell, seeing the surprise on people’s faces when he returns to a wheelchair after racing is still astounding.
“People have no idea I live life in a wheelchair,” Howell said. “My deal is to spread inspiration, and I find that seeing me do what I do gives people hope. I’m racing for those who can’t, but I am giving them hope they can do what I do.”
Howell isn’t afraid to inject a little humor into his situation, either.
His spoiler panel reads, “I Skip Leg Day.”
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.
