A friend of mine and friend to many others. He will always be missed. Rest in Peace my friend.
Bob Frey:
Joey was a drag racing fan for all of his young life and he worked on the crew of the "Mr. Magoo" Top Fuel team that his dad, Don, and mom, Lana, raced for years. The Sosenka's were familiar figures on the NHRA trail for a number of years, racing when they could on the limited budget that they had. But like drag racing fans of all ages, they loved the sport and thoroughly enjoyed participating in it when they could. Their semi-final round appearance in Atlanta in 2002 was the stuff that drag racing legends are made of. At that race Don qualified the car in the 15th spot and went out and beat Tony Schumacher in round one and John Smith in round two before losing to Doug Herbert in the semi-finals. The television shots of Don and his family working and sweating over the car between rounds won them followers all across the country and let everyone know that the proverbial "little guy" still had a place in the sport.
Over the years, whenever they came to the races, I tried to get a few minutes to talk with Don and Lana. They are great folks, the kind of people who make this a better sport and the world a better place. And, despite the fact that Lana was suffering from Dystonia, a debilitating muscular disease, she always had a smile on her face and she made you forget any troubles that you may have. We would often talk about her physical problems and what she was doing to try to make more people aware of the rare disease, but most of the time the discussion would go back to racing and she would usually tell me how excited they were that Don was racing and that Joey was going to get his Top Fuel license.
Truly a great family and great guy. I am sad to hear this. I hope Don and Lana realize our prayers are with them. I actually had the pleasure fo being able to hlep them in Atlanta going to the semis. The time I enjoyed with them there and at many tracks was always great. They were like your own family when you walked up. I especially remember having a dinner with the Sosenkas, the Fannings, And Grant Flowers in Canada. Racing was over and everyone was just full of great stories and times to be toalked about. Don and Lana I am so sorry to hear this. He will be missed.
Guest
18-Dec-2007 22:09
I've only had the pleasure of meeting Don once but he was as friendly as could be. You couldn't help but root for that family. I'm sad to hear about the death of his son. Rest in peace, Joey.
Stan Berry
17-Dec-2007 19:20
Sorry to hear of Joey's passing. I just loved that whole team and the little guy concept that occasionally snuck up on the big dog and sent them home. Please pass along my condolences to the Sosenkas.