FORESTVILLE — It was a single sentence in the obituary of George Stevenson that said so much more.
“He was founder of Georgie Stevenson Memorial at Big Diamond Raceway, which has been running for 36 years.”
Around Big Diamond Speedway last Friday night, though, that single fact translated into hundreds of heavy hearts.
Together, they mourned the 83-year-old from Palo Alto who died last Thursday in an automobile crash on Route 209 between Port Carbon and Pottsville.
There was a lengthy tribute read by track announcer Tim Pitts, followed by a long moment of silence when neither a voice nor an engine could be heard.
“He truly was a great gentleman who had a heart bigger than gold,” 358 modified driver Jeff Strunk said of Stevenson. “It’s really sad. I was sad when I heard what happened, and it makes me sad now. He was just that good of a guy.”
Stevenson’s work to maintain the race named for his late son, who died from spinal cancer at age 12 in 1979, became a crusade.
In 1980, the Stevenson Memorial, then twin features for the 358 modifieds, began. Smokey Warren and Rick Russell were the winners, starting a collection of standout modified drivers who have stood with George Stevenson in Victory Lane.
“I remember when I was coming up here as a kid. I didn’t really know his son was the one that was sick, but it was a long time ago that happened,” defending track and Stevenson Memorial champion Rick Laubach said. “I just thought it was so cool that he carried it on.”
In addition to the racing community’s donations of thousands of dollars over the event’s life for the families of ill children, the program also featured the presence of ill children, who got to meet drivers just as avid racing fan Georgie Stevenson had.
But Stevenson’s father also
became a beloved icon around Big Diamond.
Pottsville driver Shawn Fitzpatrick said, “You got his undivided attention when you were talking with him. It usually ended with a hug, began with a hug. He always made you feel important.”
Perhaps one reason that was the case was Stevenson, a native of the modified racing mecca of Middletown, New York, had his own brief racing career at the former Anthracite Raceway.
But another was Stevenson’s own profile increased as the race in his son’s honor became a must-win event for modified drivers up and down the East Coast.
“Regular shows, it’s always nice to win, but that one holds a little bit of title to it,” Laubach said. “People remember them. ... That one holds a little more merit than a regular show.”
The Stevenson Memorial was much more than that for Strunk. The quest became a running joke between Strunk and George Stevenson.
“He used to bust my chops that it took 15 or 16 years for me to win his race,” Strunk said. “He used to say, ‘Tonight’s your night. Tonight’s your night.’
“Then it wouldn’t happen, and he’d say, ‘We’ll try again next year.’ Then we finally won it (in 2006) and we both cried in Victory Lane.”
By then, the story of Stevenson’s son Georgie, who himself raised more than $10,000 in five years for ill people before his own death, had become legend.
“It’s been here for many years, and it will be here for many more,” Big Diamond promoter Jake Smulley said of the Stevenson Memorial. “It’s an event that a lot of fans and drivers support, and it’s for a great cause.”
Smulley said the event changed last year because of Stevenson’s advancing age.
‘There was less that he could do, so this last year we made a donation to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in honor of George,” he said of the donations collected through such efforts as passing helmets as collection plates through the grandstand and the 50-50 contest.
With Stevenson’s death, though, Smulley said, “It won’t be the same here.”
But for one driver, this year’s Stevenson Memorial, scheduled Friday, July 3, becomes more important than ever.
“Now it will be the Georgie and George Stevenson Memorial,” Fitzpatrick said, adding, “You’d do anything to win a race like that.”
This week’s races
Where: Big Diamond Speedway, Forestville.
When: Friday, 8:15 p.m. Gates open at 5 p.m.
Program: Leindecker Race Engines Night for Lias Tire 358 modifieds, USS Achey sportsmen, Savage 61 roadrunners and Slifko Fabrication street stocks. Children’s Big Wheel races will be held at intermission.
Admission: $15 for general admission, $13 for senior citizen, free for children ages 12 and under and for active military with identification.