Dale Creasy Jr. has learned to deal with the ups and downs of drag racing and several personal tragedies along the way. Last week, a new tragedy will likely park the team for the rest of the season and possibly beyond. 

Creasy's nephew, Josh, who serves as the team's car chief, was diagnosed with cancer. Josh has been coming to the drag races with Creasy's brother Steve since he was five years old and has been an integral part of the team. 

"We were parked in the holding area waiting to park in Dallas when the call came in," Creasy revealed. 

Without Josh and Steve, two key team members, he withdrew from the event and headed back home to Illinois. The Creasys are a family operation, and this news was as tough to accept as it could be.

"Didn't feel much like racing anyway," Creasy added. "I just figured the best thing to do is go home and take care of him."

Creasy has experienced fires and a disastrous accident that left him with critical leg injuries. But this one struck right to the heart. 

"It's a devastating blow because he was like an adopted son to me because we always hung out together," Creasy explained. "I don't know; it's just been one of them things that you don't expect. And he's in his early 30's, so he's not that old."

Creasy said he and the team are doing their best to remain positive and move forward. 

"I'm just trying to keep working so I stay busy," Creasy said. "The only thing we can do is hope that everything's going to turn out okay."

The team has set up a GoFundMe page to help the family out with medical expenses. - GOFUNDME Page