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Tax Bracket Racing News
Helmet Winner Announced as Tax Bracket Racing Raises $3,000 After months of anticipation, the winner of the 9/11 Tribute Helmet was drawn at the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event held September 9-11 at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ. George Hindy pulled the winning ticket before the National Anthem on Sunday, September 11, and it belonged to Division 1 Super Comp racer Ernie Kendall. “We are thrilled at how well the raffle went this year,” Cicerale said. “We raised nearly $3,000 for the Mark Hindy Charitable Foundation, and we raffled off not only the helmet but some really cool autographed collectibles from Jeg’s. Of course that weekend was somber and low key, but I thank God that we had the opportunity, the timing, and the location to pay tribute to those who gave their lives on September 11th.” “We can’t thank Frankie and then entire Tax Bracket Racing team enough for what they did this year for us and for the foundation,” Hindy said. “That day is very tough for us each year, but it was nice to spend this one at the track with my second family honoring Mark’s memory.” “George is an inspiration to us all,” Cicerale stated. “I have to admit, it was very humbling to race on September 11th with the helmet. While others were mourning their lost loved ones at Ground Zero, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, myself and all of the others who competed in the race were going down the track, enjoying our freedom as Americans to do what we love to do. That really hit home when I took the bye run in the second round. Here it is, September 11th, and I’m taking a single run wearing the 9/11 Tribute Helmet. It felt like I was flying the missing man formation.” In addition to raffling off the helmet, other autographed collectibles and hats donated by Jeg’s Mail Order were raffled off as well. Bob Conway, Sr. was the lucky winner of the Jeg’s die cast Pro Stock car, while the die cast transporter went to Richard Knarich. The Jeg’s Pro Stock Champion hat was won by Terry Miller, the Jeg’s Don Schumacher Racing hat went to NHRA announcer Bob Frey, and Division 1 Comp racer Chip Banney was the winner of the last Jeg’s hat. All of the hats and the die cast car and transporter were signed by Jeg Coughlin. “We wanted to make sure that everything cleared before we made the announcement of who won what and how much money we raised,” Cicerale explained. “Overall, though, everything turned out great and it’s nice to announce all of the winners and the final amount of proceeds raised for the foundation. We would like to thank everyone who helped us this season with the helmet, including Printing Extreme for printing up the raffle tickets, Ken and Deb Moses from Extreme Graphix for making up the banner that was hung outside of our pit area all year, Helmet City for discounting the helmet, Tommy and Chris DePascale for painting the helmet along with FF Studios, and Jeg’s Mail Order for donating the other items we were able to raffle off.” 9/11 Tribute Helmet Ready to Roll
“The helmet looks awesome,” Cicerale said. “Tommy and (son) Chris did a great job working with the original design, and it looks beautiful.” The helmet, donated to the team at a discounted cost by Helmet City, is a Bell Pyrotect model. After spending almost two months on the helmet, the final product was finished in time for this weekend’s action LODRS event at Cecil County. “There is a lot of symbolism that was designed and painted into the helmet,” Cicerale continued. “Tommy made the eagle look menacing because, as a symbol of America, it lets people know that we are angry at what happened on 9/11 and that we will always be looking for those who were involved in the attacks on that day. We went with eight stars because the first tower was struck in the eight o clock hour, and we went with nine stripes because the second tower was hit in the nine o clock hour. Of course everyone knows what the NYPD and FDNY patches stand for, but Tommy put a glint through both of the patches like sash mark that is put over their badges of the police officers and firefighters when one of their own is lost in the line of duty.” “In addition to the patches, the flight numbers for the four hijacked flights were lettered on, and the phrase ‘Let’s Roll’, which was a rallying cry from 9/11, was also put on. The logo in the back is cool because in the background silhouettes of the towers were ghosted into the helmet.” “I am thrilled with the way the helmet came out,” DePascale said. “When I heard about the helmet raffle, I talked to Frankie and told him that I would be honored to be the one to paint the helmet.” With the raffle set to be drawn in less than a month, tickets sales are progressing. “Tickets sales have been steady, but I am hoping that when people see the helmet, it will spark an increase in ticket sales,” Cicerale. “We have sold around 150 tickets already, and there has been a lot of interest in the raffle.” The winning ticket will be drawn at Englishtown on September 11th with the proceeds being donated to the Mark Hindy Charitable Foundation. More information about the helmet and purchasing a ticket can be found on the foundation’s website (www.markhindycf.org) or on the Tax Bracket Racing website (www.taxbracketracing.com).
Jeg's Throws Their Hat Into the Ring (Literally!)
"We are thrilled that Jeg and the entire Jeg's team came on board to help us out by donating these really cool collectibles," Cicerale said. "Not only will everyone who buy a ticket have a chance to win the helmet, but we have other prizes that they can win as well. Thanks go out to Jeg and the entire Jeg's team." 9/11 Tribute Helmet Raffle Kicks Off
“I am thrilled with the way the helmet raffle has been going,” said Cicerale. “The response to the initial announcement was good, and we were thrilled to have some people jump on board, willing to help us out with this. Mrs. Fusco did an awesome job with the renditions. The weather hindered the overall ticket sales,
The paint scheme, which Cicerale designed, has some hidden meanings to it. “I wanted an eagle and an American flag incorporated in the design, because those are the two symbols associated with the United States,” Cicerale continued. “I decided to go with seven stars and seven stripes because of the seven events of September 11th: the four planes, the twin towers, and the Pentagon.” In addition, the four flight numbers and likenesses
“When Tommy and Chris read the announcement, they called the next day and said they would be thrilled to help out and paint the helmet,” Cicerale stated. “Tommy has know George Hindy for a long time, and Chris and his brother Kenny used to race Jr. Dragsters with me and my brother, Vinnie, “Chris and I started looking at the design, and he has some great ideas for making the helmet stand out,” Cicerale remarked. “The back of the helmet is pretty open as far as the design goes, so Chris has some thoughts on what to do. He hasn’t given me a lot of detail, but he told me that when he is done with the helmet, it will have some awesome effects to it.” The helmet will make its debut at the unveiling to be held at the K&N Filters Supernationals, June 16th-19th. Tax Bracket Racing to Raffle 9/11 Tribute Helmet With 2005 being the fourth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the Tax Bracket Racing team and driver Frankie Cicerale will pay special tribute to the heroes and victims of the attacks when the National Hot Rod Association’s Division 1 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series comes to Old Bridge Township Raceway Park September 9th-11th. Cicerale, an English major at Rutgers University who also drives the team’s 1994 Pro Start dragster, will wear a specially painted 9/11 tribute helmet while competing in the Super Comp category at the event. Following the race, one lucky winner will win the helmet in a raffle drawing, with the proceeds of the raffle being donated to the Mark Hindy Charitable Foundation. “We have wanted to do something since the attacks happened, but the timing was never right,” Cicerale said. “With the divisional event being held in New Jersey and scheduled for the weekend of the fourth anniversary of the attacks, now is the time to show our gratitude for those who gave the supreme sacrifice and to say that we will never forget them.” Starting with the first Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event to be held on Memorial Day weekend at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pennsylvania, raffle tickets will be sold for a chance to enter a drawing with one person receiving the grand prize: the helmet Cicerale will wear at the divisional event held at Raceway Park. The drawing will be held on Sunday, September 11th, with the proceeds of the raffle to go to the Mark Hindy Charitable Foundation. Hindy worked as an equities trader for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104th floor of the North Tower, and was one of approximately 3,000 people who lost their lives in the attacks. “Mark’s father George has raced in Super Gas for a number of years, and we all were saddened when we found out about Mark,” Cicerale stated. “The racing community sticks together, and we found out that a foundation had been established in Mark’s name, it was an easy decision on who we would donate the raffle proceeds too. This is just another example of how racers stock together and help each other out.” The foundation was created late in 2001 to honor Mark’s life and to keep his memory alive by helping children develop and become successful adults. The mission of the foundation is to make a difference in the lives of children by helping to provide the opportunity for a higher standard of education for deserving children through scholarships, to fund sports/summer programs for children that will foster a sense of teamwork and to improve the quality of life of chronically ill children as they undergo treatment for their illnesses and disabilities. Recently, the foundation donated money to the New York Methodist Hospital, which was used to refurbish an in-patient room that now bears Hindy’s name. “Mark was an amazing person, and we miss him very much,” said Mark’s father George, who is also the president of the foundation. “Mark was loved by a great number of people, and it is heart warming to know that his memory will be kept alive through the foundation. We are excited and honored to be a part of the helmet raffle, and we hope that others will notice the work the foundation does and not only buy a ticket, but make a donation as well.” “We will be selling tickets at every event we attend,” Cicerale continued. “We will have a table set up outside of our trailer at each event where racers and fans cannot only buy tickets, but look at renditions of the helmet until it is officially unveiled at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park during the K&N Filters Supernationals in June.” Tom and Chris DePascale of Tommy D's Custom Paint will be donating their time an expertise when it comes to painting the 9/11 Tribute Helmet. More information can be found on the Mark Hindy Charitable Foundation’s website, www.markhindycf.org, and on the Tax Bracket Racing website, www.taxbracketracing.com. |
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In additon to the helmet, those who buy a ticket will also have a chance to win autographed hats and collectibles donated by Jeg Coughlin and the Jeg's Mail Order race team.
Memorial Day weekend marked the beginning of the 9/11 Tribute Helmet raffle as Super Comp driver Frankie Cicerale and the Tax Bracket Racing team sold over twenty tickets. In addition to kicking off the raffle, racers and fans could see artist renditions (done by local Piscataway artist Barbara Fusco) of what the helmet would look like.
but we did sell some tickets.”
of the FDNY and NYPD patches will adorn the helmet, a Bell Pyrotect model supplied at a discount cost by Helmet City. Tommy and Chris DePascale of Tommy De’s Custom Paint will donate their time and expertise in painting the helmet.
so it was no surprise to me that they would jump on board and help out.”