Old hobbies die hard. As Fr. Jerry Ward discovered last Saturday evening after he finished up his 30-year racing career at the same place it started–the Emo Speedway.
“I feel great but this is going to be a hard habit to break,” enthused Fr. Ward after his final race in the consolation round. “I guess there is a joy of being here but there is a certain sadness because it is an end of an era
“I have been doing this every single Saturday for 30 years–it has been a great 30 years,” he stressed.
Fr. Ward’s final race was exciting not only for him but for others who have been closely involved in his racing career.
“It is the ultimate thrill to see him race again,” enthused Dutch Boeckers, former president of the Borderland Racing Association. “We spent many nights over here [in the pits] and there are a lot of memories–lots of good memories.”
Fr. Ward’s sister, Mary, attended the final race and was equally as excited about it as Boeckers.
“This is where he started so he wanted to come back here and finish his racing career,” she remarked. “I know he will miss [racing] a lot because it has become such a big part of his wonderful life. He will miss it a lot.”
“My final night of racing was better than I expected,” Fr. Ward admitted. “I haven’t been here for so long [so] I wasn’t sure how the other drivers would accept me but they have been wonderful to me.
“It was really a joy to be here, I got the chance to see some people I haven’t seen in umpteen years,” he enthused.
Fr. Ward also said this has been a great experience because he’s going to be able to look back at the memories of all the experiences and people he’s met over the years.
After all was said and done, Mary said how happy she was that her brother finished the race safely.
For Fr. Ward, there was no particular reason he drove his final race Saturday. It was simply a matter of having a few days off.
“There is no specific reason [for me ending my career tonight] except the track promoter thought it would be a good night to race and also because it is the last night and I wanted to race before the season was over,” he explained.
“I wanted to come back to Emo and finish up my racing career and I had a few days where I could get away from my duties,” he said.
Boeckers noted Fr. Ward raced well considering his car was not designed for modified races.
“The car is dragging a little bit. I don’t have the gear or the rear end so the car isn’t coming out of the corners fast enough,” Fr. Ward admitted.
“It was a little under-powered [and] probably about 500 pounds over weight compared to other guys but with that handicap, I thought I did well,” he enthused.
Now that the dust has settled on his racing career, Fr. Ward said he isn’t sure what he’s going to do with all the spare time on his hands.
“I don’t know what I will do. I might get involved with a young racer and try to mentor him–that is what I want to do,” he remarked.
Fr. Ward first became interested in racing cars at the age of 17 after he got into trouble with his father’s car.
“My dad told me if I wanted to race cars, there is a time and a place and the highway is not the place,” he recalled.
“Rather than me getting into trouble, my dad introduced me to a local race car driver in Syracuse, N.Y. He helped me build my first car, which was in 1954.”
Fr. Ward’s first race came in 1969 when he was 33 years old–two years after he become a priest in Sumter, S.C. “I had my first racing season in 1969 here in Emo–right here at this track,” he noted.
“I was here the day of his first race,” enthused his sister, Mary. “He won the checkered flag that race.”
Fr. Ward noted there were many ups and downs to racing.
“The best part of racing was meeting all the racing people,” he said. “I have found a lot of caring people who enjoyed competing against one another.
“The worst part of my racing was having a friend get hurt or killed in a race,” he added.
Despite knowing people who have died, Fr. Ward was never discouraged from stock car racing.
“There was a certain amount of danger to [racing] but I feel getting to and from the track is the most dangerous part,” he chuckled.