Archive for September 2015

CONCORD, N.C. - The Bojangles Summer Shootout Series for INEX Legends and Bandolero cars came to an end on championship night last Tuesday, and Alex Murray finished out his first series competing in the Pro division with a seventh place run.

The effort by the family owned team on Tuesday made it four straight strong runs after three weeks of electrical and motor problems slowed their progress tremendously in their quest to become competitive in the series' top division.

"We're happy with the way we finished out the series," Alex said afterward. "Sure, we would have liked to have won or have been running for wins. But it was our first time running Pro, racing against drivers older and more experienced in legends than me and most of those guys don't run their own teams. They have an "arrive and drive" program where other people maintain their cars. We feel like we showed very well the last few races considering that we don't have the budget many do and we did it all ourselves."

Alex finished seventh in points despite three DNF's. He was the youngest racer in the division.

The team now looks to the future, which for Alex will mean stepping up into a Late Model Stock Car. He has tested a car a few times but has yet to compete in a race event.

"I've tested at Hickory a couple of times and we've run competitive speeds," Alex said of his late model exploits previous to now. "We just wanted to take our time and do it right if we're going to move up. We are working to put a program together for 2016 and we'll have more to say once we have things in line. I'm excited about what we're working on, and looking forward to seeing where it will go. I'm grateful to everyone who helps me with my racing and for all the incredible people I've met. Just to be running the Summer Shootout against drivers I look up to who have way more legends experience than me was amazing. We didn't have the best luck but we kept working hard and finished strong. I am looking forward to what comes next!"

Follow Alex Murray Racing on Facebook (Alex Murray Racing) Twitter (@22AMRacing), or his website (www.alexmurrayracing.com) to keep up with the latest news.

CONCORD, N.C. - An idea that was born out of a desire to keep a team member's spirit alive has turned into a donation for Victory Junction Gang Camp.

When Alex Murray decided to honor his biggest fan and honorary "team member" Ryan Beckett, who passed away in 2014 from bacterial meningitis after a two-week fight at Levine Children's Hospital, by having a "Racing With Ryan" decal made up to run on his car, he wasn't thinking about anything more than paying tribute to his friend.

But then others got wind of what Alex was doing and heard Ryan's story. They wanted to help. So they started purchasing decals.

On August 28th, which would have been Ryan's 14th birthday, Ryan's family visited Victory Junction and donated $500, the amount raised through decals and the generosity of family and friends who caught the spark from Alex and wanted to help him take it to the next level.

Members of the Beckett Family, in a written statement, shared their joy at the experience of seeing all that Victory Junction has to offer to children who are in need.

"We met with Sheila, who handles the Fan Walk path at Victory Junction, to learn about the mission of VJ and were given a personal tour of the facilities. We were amazed at the beautiful camp program that is provided at VJ. We were given the opportunity to share our story of Ryan's life, how Racing with Ryan was started and why we chose to use this decal program to help other children attending camp at VJ. The tour started at the Fan Walk path where anyone can purchase a brick to be engraved and placed in the walkway that leads to a fully restored 1971 Norfolk Southern train caboose at the end. The Beckett family will also be purchasing a brick in memory of Ryan to be placed near the caboose (Ryan loved trains also)!

We visited the many racing themed buildings on the property that houses the campers, workers and volunteers as well as the onsite medical staff. The camp has many venues that cater to the camps activities such as the waterpark, theatre, arts/crafts building, indoor baseball field, horse barn, archery, Kiss/Catch/Release pond, Adams race shop and much more. Every child, no matter their disability, is offered the chance to participate in every activity at VJ. The camp and the volunteers offer a week of adventurous activities and confidence building and they do it all "for the kids". Most children that visit VJ get the chance of a lifetime to try many activities that were not possible before and meet other children like themselves so they can make lifetime friendships."

It's been a real life lesson for Alex, who wasn't able to attend the presentation due to school commitments, but has been moved by the experience.

"I'm happy that something good was able to come from a sad situation," he said. "Ryan was such a neat little kid. He just loved racing and loved being around it. I wanted to remember him and have a reason to share his story in hopes that it would inspire others as it has me. It's neat that through the donation to Victory Junction, others can benefit in a positive way. It would be nice if we could work together to grow this into something even bigger in the future. It's important to give back, and to never forget those who have mattered to you in your life. This was a way of doing that for Ryan, and I'm thankful other people wanted to be a part of it as well."

The "Racing With Ryan" decals are still for sale. Just visit either http://alexmurrayracing.com/racing-with-ryan/ or The Racing With Ryan Website at http://racingwithryan.weebly.com/ to purchase decals for $6.00 each.

All proceeds will continue to go directly to charitable causes.

Follow Alex Murray Racing on Facebook (Alex Murray Racing) Twitter (@22AMRacing), or his website (www.alexmurrayracing.com) to keep up with the latest news.