6/12/2016
Dakoda Sellers
Urbana 5 Night:Driver discusses return after roll-over in 'Most important race'
In the movies, Dakoda Sellers would have won last night’s Sport Mod feature at the Benton County Speedway.
But the “Drive for 5” themed car that honors the five young people who died in an accident last April – including Nikki Jacobsen, Quentin Ary and three young members of Seller’s pit crew – Zoey and Hunter Tuttle and their older brother, Triston Randall – did not end up in Victory Lane.
Just the opposite happened: Early in the qualifying heat, a wreck in front of him forced Sellers to brake coming out of Turn 2. He was then hit from behind by one or two more cars and soon his vehicle was slowly rolling onto its top. The spectators could read the “Drive for 5” on his spoiler, upside down.
Members of the Tuttle family, who had been watching and laughing and taking photos just moments before, joined the rush of emergency personnel heading toward the car.
After a few tense moments, Sellers emerged, disappointed but unhurt. He returned to Pit Row, where he and his crew made some repairs. He later returned to the track to finish second in the next heat and qualify for the Sport Mod feature, although he started and ended that race near the back of the pack.
“Obviously things didn’t work out perfect,” said Sellers, who has been to many races, including the Super Nationals, but says the Urbana 5 memorial is his favorite of them all.
“It would have been nice to finish better,” he said.
“I definitely think it is the race that is the most important to me,” he says. “Not a day goes by that I don't remember these guys. From memories made flipping tires, straightening body panels and listening to music, these guys are definitely missed more each day.”
“This race is very important to me and I'm glad we can remember them with something they loved,” says Sellers, offering tributes to his Tire "Boss" (Zoey), Certified Body Expert (Hunter), and Music & Sound Track director (Triston).
“It is a great day to remember the good times,” he said.
Sellers also thanked competing racers who learned about his back story of working with Hunter, Zoey and Triston on his racer.
“They came to me with respect,” he said. “They knew what the night was for – more than racing for a higher payout. They knew it was about the memorial.”
Although it was a disappointment to have that track incident last night, the bigger crowd in the pits for the special event meant there were more people available to help get the car back in racing condition. Sellers said he had as many as 15 people helping him in the pits on Sunday.
Expecting the worse after his roll-over, Sellers inspected his car to find out that the front end was in good shape, there were no cracked welds, bent bars or rims or blown-out tires. He started at the tail of the second qualifying heat and earned a spot in the feature.
Sellers, who won a feature in July of last year, celebrated his first win with Hunter, Zoey and Triston in Independence in 2014. They joined him for the Victory Lane photograph that night.
The driver says the trio “probably would have had a heart attack” when they saw Sellers’ car roll over.
“And Hunter probably would have been mad. He did a lot of body work on the car.”
Although they would have loved to see him in Victory Lane again, Seller says his young crew members would have been pleased with what happened after the wreck.
“They would have been happy that I was able to get back out there,” he said.
Article Credit: Dean Close
Submitted By: Dakoda Sellers
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