Beaver Springs Dragway – When you travel to different tracks and observe different competitors and different car clubs, you find a slice of America that’s not like anything you’ll find anywhere else. There’s a fellowship and camaraderie among racers that transcends everything going on in the world around the racetrack. Many of the car guys and gals consider their racing family to be closer than their blood relatives. And it’s not unusual to see normal (if there is such a thing as a “normal” family in racing) families together racing. Often times, the lines blur into one big car culture family when you’re at the track. And then there are folks like Tommy and Nikki Magers of Magers Family Racing who put a big exclamation point on that.

Back in 2017, Tommy and Nikki lost their father, Wayne, way too soon. Those of us who have been through something like this know what a big loss it is to lose someone so close to us. But Wayne Magers left behind something for his kids. The car. A car that was so much a part of the family that Nikki exclaimed, “The car was like another sibling!” I remember Tommy telling me several years ago about being in high school and he would drive the hot rod to school while everyone else was driving fancy, high-priced cars. He knew at that young age the car was special and stood out among the rest. And it was this special car that keeps Wayne Magers extra close to his kids’ hearts.

Nikki shared how they were trying to discreetly spread some of their father’s ashes on the starting line at Englishtown when the sweat and humidity caused the ashes to stick to her hands and she frantically tried to wipe them off on the slicks before the officials caught on. They laugh about that memory and it’s something Dad would’ve gotten a big laugh out of, too. Besides the ashes spread at the track, both Tommy and Nikki have their own urns with Wayne’s ashes in to remember him by. But there’s also more. Another container of ashes travels with the car, staying in Tommy’s helmet until it’s time to race. Every racing event, every pass down the track, part of Wayne Magers makes the trip. But more importantly, every time they’re at the track, Wayne Magers is still alive in the hearts and souls of his kids. It’s just one of those situations in which a car is way more than just a car. And a small tupperware container is way more than just a tupperware container. It’s also a reminder that a drag race can be much, much more meaningful than just driving a car down a track. It’s a genuine slice of life. And it’s a life that surpasses the meaning of who shows up first at the finish line by the proverbial country mile. Nikki told me their father would always tell them to “Be Good” and that slogan is tattooed on both their arms in memory of him. Dad would be proud they’re both carrying through with that.