Oklahoma Relief Mission Trip Brings More Help to Fellow Racer

SEATTLE - June 25, 2013 - PRLog -- Jason McQuinn, one of fifteen people who traveled from The Rock Church (Monroe, WA) to Moore, Oklahoma to assist in the Tornado Relief efforts, walked over approximately 10 acres finding part after part of multiple race cars. Tires, manifolds, chassis, body medal and trophies were strewn further than the eye could see. Wait! Could this be? Of all of the people he could have been assigned to help, was McQuinn on what used to be the home and shop of a racing team? Who would have thought that traveling 2100 miles to Moore, OK would have put him smack dab into the middle of devastation that would ring closer to home than one might have expected. McQuinn, a Street Stock race car driver, found himself in the middle of what used to be a 2-generation racing team’s destruction.

DeeAnn Gastineau, homeowner, happened to come by on this sunny afternoon, (it’s very rare for any of the tornado cleanup crew to ever know anything about the owner, let alone meet them) and validated his perceptions and began to unfold her story.

Her husband, Steve, and son, Whit, are part of a racing legacy spanning 35 years and they had always done well, but were on a race to race budget. Two years ago her son, Whit, took third over-all in Sprint Car regional points and improved that to 2^nd Place over-all in the last racing season. This year, he was expected to be the contender to beat and was rolling into the season with high expectations. But…

When they got hit by the first Moore, OK storm (the site where Jason now stood and this picture was taken), devastation and destruction surrounded them. The Gastineau racing crew came over the next morning to salvage what they could of tools, motors, chassis; whatever they could find and took everything to a friend’s shop. When the second F5 tornado hit days later, everything in the new location was destroyed.

Talking with this proud mother, DeeAnn Gastineau said, “We have lived in this home for decades and plan on rebuilding. We have good insurance that will pay for the construction and most of the contents, but insurance won’t cover the racing stuff. They don’t insure racing stuff, ya know.”

It’s not a coincidence that this Street Stock racer (McQuinn) or a team from The Rock Church (TRC) whose lead pastor, Jeff Knight, is a Super Late Model NASCAR driver with many more racers as church members ended up at this particular property. McQuinn and TRC are extremely involved in the local track, Evergreen Speedway, and this story resonated deeply in the hearts of the entire team.

That’s why Jason McQuinn, Jeff Knight and Doug Hobbs (Evergreen Speedway) have connected with a group who has established a fund to raise money to help Whit Gastineau’s Racing, rebuild and are asking others to please consider donating at least $5 toward the Whit Gastineau Relief fund.

McQuinn commented, “If this were someone racing with us right here in the Pacific Northwest, we wouldn’t hesitate a moment. I am personally donating all of my winning proceeds from the Summer Showdown on June 27-29 at Evergreen Speedway to Whit Gastineau Recovery Fund. Let’s help Whit get his wheels back on the track and live again!”

If you would like to make a donation, please click this link:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=whitrecovery%40yahoo%2ecom&lc=US&item_name=Whit%20Gastineau%20Recovery%20Trust&item_number=Gastineau%20Family&currency_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donateCC_LG%2egif%3aNonHosted

or donate directly by sending a check to:

Triad Bank
c/o: Whit Gastineau Recovery Trust
7666 East 61st St, Suite 150
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74133

Thank you.