TOP SPORTSMAN STANDOUT DON ONEAL TO MISS NHRA NGK/NTK FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS

by Bobby Bennett    Wed, 2021-05-12 19:49



It was the last thing national event winning Top Sportsman driver Don Oneal wanted or needed at this time in his life.

Oneal, who won the 2018 Four-Wide Nationals Top Sportsman title, made the difficult decision yesterday to withdraw from this weekend's event, an event sponsored by his primary sponsor NGK NTK.

"We have stumbled on something and the car has developed and picked up a gremlin somewhere along the way during its repair process from the accident that we had in testing before the U.S. Nationals last year, and we just cannot find it," Oneal explained. "We have been throwing parts and pieces at it for the last, getting ready to be ten days, and just have not found it yet. And they're just not willing to go on a wing and a prayer with everything that's going on zMAX for the 4-Wides, for NGK and NTK, and quite frankly look bad. And it's a hard decision to make; tough decision to make."

Make no mistake, Oneal wanted to race in this event badly. He needed to race in this event. When qualifying kicks off on Friday, it will mark one month since Oneal's wife and staunchest supporter, Diane Oneal, died following a brave battle against cancer.

"Just really wanted to write a different paragraph or ending to the story for her, and for us," Oneal added.

For years at the drag strip, Oneal and Diane were a package deal. In other words, you didn't get one without the other. If Oneal was thrashing on the car, she was right there with him. When he went to the starting line to race, she was in his ear offering guidance through a second set of eyes and moral support, which came straight from the heart.

Later last year, around November, Diane's battle started to take a turn for the worse.

"We had been struggling; she had been fighting and trying," Oneal said. "We'd been going through numerous doctor visits and fluids and treatments and therapies and trying anything and everything underneath the sun to try and find some way to put the situation at arms reach, to try to hold on a little while longer while providing a better quality of life. And it really spiraled out of control into March and it didn't last much longer into April."

Oneal has made his way to the track just once since Diane's passing for a semi-private test session at Beech Bend International Raceway in Bowling Green, Ky. Racing without Diane brought forth a different kind of experience for Oneal.

"Just did some burnouts and tried to get back through the rhythm of the car, just in a little private session for our little circle," Oneal explained. "I don't know that people would understand, everything involved in and around and getting there, all of that was so stressful and emotional. There was something about putting the helmet on and plugging up the radio and just knowing in my head, hearing her say, 'Be safe, be smart. I love you."

"Like she had said a hundred times before, right before I started the car. And it was such a moment of peace during those couple runs that it just seemed like she was right there outside the car with me. And I know that I will have tears in my eyes the first time I roll underneath an arch or crossover, wherever it may be for the first competitive run and qualifying.

"I know it's going to be emotional. I know I'm going to have tears in my eyes, but at the same time, I know she's going to right there. And that's one person I'm never going to be able to replace in our racing program or in my life.

With this said, Oneal says unequivocally, Diane would have wanted the car on the track this weekend.

"The month of May is a big month for us. Di's birthday was on the fifth; it's melanoma cancer month, which Di passed away from, and the battle that we fought for the last two and a half years on top of her multiple sclerosis. And just there was so much that I wanted to do to bring awareness for melanoma, for other people who are out there battling, trying to hang on, giving them some strength and motivation or energy or resolve that they may need. And there was just so much that I wanted to accomplish by being able to make it to the NGK Nationals and put an exclamation point on it this weekend. And it's a very low feeling."

 

 

 

 
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