Why does Cody Williams and nine others race cars mimicking the look of those from the movie franchise Cars? Williams said it helps foster children acclimate to their new families when they attend races.
The kids cheer for the likes of Lightning McQueen, Doc Hudson, Tow Mater, Sally Carrera, among others. These Cars-inspired cars compete across four different divisions at Beatrice Speedway in Nebraska and other nearby tracks.
Williams understands what foster families go through. He and his partner, Michaela, have seven foster children as of right now. Their ages run from four months to eight years old. Some stay for a short time, others for much longer. The Williams family introduce them to racing and it leaves a lasting impression according to Williams.
“The kids will go to races everywhere with us,” Williams, of Minneapolis, Kansas, said. “We have a toter home to take on the road. We’ll go to 55 to 60 races this year, in seven states, just like we did last season.”
The Williams family adopted four foster children after they could not be returned to their previous parents.
“It’s really hard when the kids have to leave us,” Williams said. “They come from broken families — mom and dad into drugs, or in prison. Some parents get their kids back, others don’t.”
Williams’ hobby stock, Tyler Frye’s sport mod, Branston Arnder’s sport compact, and Kevin Tremblay’s sport compact all stay at Williams house, along with the foster children. In addition to parenting the kids and racing, Cody Williams works a full-time job at a local tire shop.
“We have our hands full — it’s a lot of work, but it’s all worth it,” said Williams. “Michaela just loves kids. We couldn’t do all this without her. Not a lot of people would have the patience she has.”
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.
