Okerson Remembers Gastelu and Willis in Victory Lane at Wall Stadium

  Chas Okerson is the defending Modified Champion at Wall Stadium. After he won the feature event last night, he became a champion of another sort to me, and many others with his words in victory lane.
  Okerson was clearly thinking of others when he said, "I do want to dedicate this win to both Ray Gastelu and Jim Willis. Ray passed away a little over ten years ago, and Jim died just over a year ago. They were great friends, and racers, so I wanted to be sure to mention them."
  While I didn't know Ray Gastelu personally, I did get to see him race, and know he was an incredible competitor. I have also heard many stories of how quick Ray was to offer a helping hand, or advice to many of his fellow competitors, and those just getting started in the sport.
  Jim Willis, on the other hand, I considered a friend. I was lucky enough to be let into his world when I joined the Jamie Wolf Motorsports team, not long after Jim and Jamie decided to combine their efforts. We spent countless hours at the shops, and traveling with both the Race of Champions Tour and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
  While serious about his racing, I will always remeber Jim as the entertainer of not only us, but just about anyone he came into contact with. He was easy going, and quite the prankster outside the race car. Behind the wheel he was super competitive.
  In fact, I don't think Jim's talent as a driver was ever really appreciated. I was at Thompson Speedway for a Tour race, where Jim was running solidly in the top-five, until he came upon a lapped car which pinched him to the wall, resulting in the orange number 62 barrel rolling down the remainder of the straightaway, coming to rest between turns one and two. Who knows what could of been that day.
  I was also with Jim and the Wolf Motorsports number 11 at Oswego for the Race of Champions, where after overcoming a provisional starting spot, and a 160 lb. gas man, me, he almost won the biggest race in Modified racing. He was the fastest car on the track, and closing on the lead with every lap, until he was taken out by a car that had been black flagged, yet continued on.
  Most of all, I will remember Jim for his great sense of humor, and big smile. As far as I'm concerned the world got a little dimmer when we lost Jim Willis.
  Congrats, Chas, on not only your win at Wall, but also for making sure we all took a little time out of our hectic lives to remember two people who made our worlds a better place for the short time we shared it with them.