THE DEAKE LYNDALL MEMORIAL TO HOST A BENEFIT FOR THE ALSA

Source: Lakeport Speedway Media Relations
Date: 07/01/2008

LAKEPORT, California – The 20th annual Kelseyville Lumber Deake Lyndall Memorial will be held this Friday and Saturday, July 4th and 5th, at the Lakeport Speedway. This event commemorates the lives and racing spirit of father and son Deake Lyndall Sr. and Deake Lyndall Jr.

Featured will be the Thunder Roadsters, the Legends Car Series, and the Bandoleros, as well as our own Late Models, Modifieds, Street Stocks, and Bombers. The event will also host a benefit for the ALS Association featuring Derek Thorn, a local racer who now drives for the “Racin' For A Cure” NASCAR team.

Deake Lyndall Sr. and Jr. both had a long history of racing at the Lakeport Speedway and in Northern California. Deake Sr. had even raced nationally and held a track record in British Columbia (Canada) from 1971 – 1985 where he raced with and beat names like Parnelli Jones, Tom Sneva, and A.J. Foyt.

Deake Jr. had raced in the NASCAR Winston West series and, with the support of his family, communities in Lakeport and Lake County, and even sponsorship from the Lake County Chamber of Commerce and over 1,500 businesses, had landed a NASCAR Cup car to race at the Infineon Raceway. It was an exciting time to see one of our own make it into NASCAR.

Tragically, they lost their lives in a plane crash on the way back from a press event in Eureka. Since then, the Lyndall family has taken up many causes and projects in their name in both the racing community and Lake County. Everyone here fondly remembers the drivers of the purple number three. The Lyndall family, with the help of Kelseyville Lumber, has kept their dream alive with the annual fourth of July event.

The trophy for this event is one of the most coveted, and attracts drivers from all over Northern California. Since its inception, many local pit crew and car builders have made it into the regional and national racing arenas. However, everyone is still waiting to see another of our drivers rise to the same dream as that of Deake Jr.

That day may now be at hand. Derek Thorn grew up racing Karts, Bombers, and then a Modified at the Lakeport Speedway. He was looking for the next step up when he met the son of another local family, Scott Pfeiffer, who has raced raced Midgets nationally and was looking to form a team in Wisconsin to race an ASA Late Model.

They put together a solid team, attracted sponsors, and were in the middle of the 2007 season when Pfeiffer was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. The impact of the degeneration of his ability to walk, use his hands, or speak, along with the difficulties for a new team in the current economy, inspired both Pfeiffer and Thorn to use racing to help other victims of ALS.

They formed a new team to race in the NASCAR Camping World East regional series with the Wisconsin ALS Association as their primary sponsor. Each racing event for them is also a benefit to raise awareness and donations to help people with this disease and to fund research to fight it. They have set a goal to raise $1 million in 2008.

This disease has also touched the racing community here in Lake County. Ron Connor drives the #45 Modified. His father has suffered with ALS for the past two years. While Thorn was visiting Lakeport last winter, he told Lakeport Speedway promoter David Furia about his new team and sponsor.

Furia has seen how the Connor family was affected by this disease, and how they have had to cope. He proposed to Thorn the idea of an event at the Lakeport Speedway to support the sufferers of, and the fight against, ALS. The Lyndalls offered their event to host this benefit and to support Thorn as he treads the same path as Deake Jr.

The gates open Friday at at 4pm, and racing starts at 5pm. There will be a break that night to observe the Lakeport Fairgrounds fireworks display. On Saturday, the gates open at 5pm and racing starts at 6pm, and there will also be a live KXBX radio broadcast from 4pm to 7pm from the racetrack.

The “Racin' For A Cure” team will be there both days, as well as representatives from the local Bay Area and Sacramento chapters of the ALSA. Derek Thorn T-shirts will be on sale for $10. All net proceeds from these sales go to the ALSA, ALSA donation envelopes will be available, and the Lakeport Speedway will also donate 10% of all front gate ticket sales to the ALSA. Every ticket sold is another donation

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