HONOR FOR LAWRENCE A BOND FOR FATHER AND SON

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida-- Cliff Lawrence’s entire life has revolved around the race track.

Most days, he would come home from his job helping to manufacture wheels for Late Models, sprint cars, and custom street rods, and went right to work in his shop. His racing career on Kansas dirt tracks resulted in multiple track championships and more than 100 victories.

His career evolved into becoming the go-to repair guy at the track, an expert mechanic and welder always willing to lend a helping hand.

Those times have passed for the 55-year-old from Kansas City, Kan. These days, Lawrence has limited mobility. He has been diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy, an adult onset disease that attacks the nervous systems.

“The thing is, his mind is still sharp,” said Cliff’s son, Allan. “He’s just trapped in his body, so to speak. I guess he’s dealing with it as well as any person could do in that situation.

“He’s been on the go his whole life and now he’s just stuck in a chair at home.”

Cliff Lawrence shared his love of racing with his son.

And Allan shared in one of his father’s biggest achievements.

With his dad unable to make the trip to Las Vegas last November, Allan Lawrence represented him on stage when Cliff was named the NASCAR Craftsman Mechanic of the Year.

“It was emotional to a degree, because I was like, ‘Man, all these years of doing this stuff, I wish he was here to enjoy it,’” Allan Lawrence said. “It was pretty emotional for me personally.

“But I was thankful I could be there and remember it for him, and tell him about it and share everything that happened with him.”

NASCAR and Craftsman will kick off the balloting for the 2007 Mechanic of the Year program as part of Craftsman’s Weekend at the Races (June 8-10). Voting will run through Sept. 27, and the top-three vote-getters will be honored at this year’s banquet in Las Vegas.

Voting of his peers earned Cliff Lawrence the NASCAR Craftsman Mechanic of the Year for Lakeside Speedway in Kansas, where he served as his son’s crew chief for more than 10 years. He was also voted as one of the four regional award winners and was selected as the national winner by a special panel.

“I was really proud of him,” Allan Lawrence said. “He just a modest guy. … He’s not real outspoken. He thinks it’s neat. You can tell from the way he speaks about it, he really likes it, and it was an honor to get the award.

“For me, it’s just kind of amazing. There are stories like ours at every short track; there are certainly other Cliff Lawrences out there. It’s just amazing the way everything happened.

“To get the honor at the time it came was really neat.”

The Mechanic of the Year program is designed to shine the spotlight on an integral part of a driver’s success – and one that sometimes goes unnoticed.

For the Lawrences, it was an opportunity for a father to be celebrated by those he touched.

It also allowed him to share the fruits of his passion with his son.

“He raced when I was little,” said Allan Lawrence, 30, who has his own racer-to-be with his 20-month-old son, Landen. “Certainly, I was around it. He never said, ‘Son, this is what you’re going to do.’ But I had the desire to do it and he was certainly willing to help.”

It’s that willingness to share his welding torch and track knowledge that defined Cliff Lawrence. It also provided his son with a measure of comfort when he was racing.

“He taught me how to do things,” said Allan Lawrence, who moved up from Late Model to a Modified this season. “When I needed something done, I didn’t have to think twice; because the way I would do it was the way he would do it. If there was something that needed to be done, there was no question it would be done right.

“I just wish it could be the way it was. But it can’t be.”

While Cliff Lawrence is no longer able to make it to the track, his legacy – and the bond he shares with his son, crafted through years with a wrench and steering wheel – will always continue.

See Also .:

News Index | E-mail to a Friend