For nearly six years a question has been asked in Owego, and throughout the regional dirt-track racing community, “What can I do to help?” Well, there is now an answer.
In August of 2017, Doug Worthing was doing two things he liked to do, driving a race car and helping a friend. Doug, a well-known and beloved dirt-track racer also known as “The Junkyard Jet” – was driving a vintage race car in an exhibition race at the Tioga County Fair when an equipment malfunction sent the car careening off the track and through a wooden fence. Doug sustained serious burns and a debilitating head injury that has resulted in numerous neurological problems, dietary challenges, and a continuous uphill battle for him and his family.
Doug, a beloved friend, husband, father and grandfather, has undergone many challenging medical tests and procedures, his family has tirelessly supported him, and now an opportunity has arisen for those of us that have wanted to help to do just that.
On Sunday, July 16, there will be a gathering to support the Worthing family at the Owego Moose from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be a Chicken BBQ, a Live Auction, Basket Raffles, and numerous other ways to answer that “How can I help” question. Doug and his family are revered members of the Owego community and of the extended racing community, and it is well known that when others needed help of any kind, Doug was the first one to step up.
As a dirt-track legend, Doug has given me, as a sportswriter, volumes of material over the course of three decades. As a friend of 50 years he has welcomed me into his home many times and I will never, as long as I live, forget the once-in-a-lifetime thrill he provided in 1990 for a foster child I brought to Doug’s home, and then to the racetrack.
Doug won that night and he let the boy sit in the race car, holding the Checkered Flag in the Winner’s Circle; and that story went viral before going viral was a thing. I am proud to say that it also helped me “find my voice” as a writer, and I am forever grateful.
My friends, the Junkyard Jet has a lot of winning left to do, and I hope to see you all there on July 16.
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