Help Rita race in ARCA in 2021!
Donation protected
Hi! My name is Ritamarie Thomason, I'm a patrol sergeant in the Tuscaloosa Police Department (Tuscaloosa, Alabama), and I'd like to make my NASCAR debut in the ARCA racing series at Mid-Ohio (ARCA 150) in June 2021.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself, and what led to this. I grew up poor (my mom would pretend that she wasn't hungry and eat the crusts on our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because we didn't have enough food for her to make a sandwich for herself). I used to watch old NASCAR races and dream of racing, but I might have been dreaming of winning the lottery. Poor kids who barely have enough to eat don't become race car drivers. My dad was an alcoholic and a gambling addict, and my mother had untreated mental illness which made it impossible for her to hold a job. I wound up becoming homeless at 16, and nearly got sex trafficked while living at a homeless shelter in downtown Anchorage, Alaska.
When the tragic events of 9/11 happened, I was living at the homeless shelter and working part time at a tourist attraction in Anchorage. I remember seeing the disaster unfold on the little break room TV. All I wanted to do was come over and help, but I realized that I didn't have any useful skills and would just be in the way. I resolved to never feel that useless again. Shortly afterwards, I put myself through medical assisting school, EMT school, and finally paramedic school.
I moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 2006 to complete my paramedic training, and finally learned how to drive (long story of growing up poor and not having access to a car and having an abusive husband who didn't want to teach me how to drive). I bought my very first car, a 1992 Mazda Miata and had so much fun driving that car all over town.
After five years of working as a paramedic, I realized I wanted to do more for my community. I was tired of responding to the aftermath of drunk drivers and not being able to arrest the driver before they caused injury, or arrest the abuser before they killed their significant other. So, in 2011, I became a police officer for the City of Tuscaloosa.
I started autocrossing in 2018 (autocrossing is a tiny race course set up with traffic cones and each car runs the course for the best time). I didn't know anyone there, but the folks at the Alabama SCCA were so welcoming. I started talking with the drivers, and discovered that amateur club racing was a sport! Without having ever been on a race track, I started stripping the interior of my Miata and slowly turning it into a race car. My first track day in that Miata was March of 2019, and by November 2019, I had my novice racing license and had completed my first race (I won my class!).
I spent all of 2020 racing my Miata in events throughout the Southeast, but I'd still watch old NASCAR videos and daydream. But all those drivers started so young and didn't have the challenges I had growing up. So, a daydream it remained.
Until, I started talking with several drivers and found out that there's a NASCAR series called ARCA that's relatively affordable and perfect for new drivers just starting out! It's considered the fourth tier in the NASCAR series (Cup, Xfinity, Trucks, and ARCA). I found a team willing to let me race with them for $25,000. I'm currently looking for sponsors and donations, because $25,000 is a ton of money on a police sergeant's salary!
One cause that's near and dear to my heart is honoring those police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty. Since one of our own, Inv. Cousette, was killed while serving a search warrant in September 2019, I've been looking for a way to honor his memory. I've created "Operation Honoring the Fallen". Every NASCAR/ARCA race that I run, will have the name of a fallen police officer on the car. Any money that I raise past the cost to run the race will go to the family of the fallen officer. And once I can get this off the ground and raise enough funds, I'd like to bring the family of the fallen officer to the race and cover their accommodations and travel expenses.
If you're interested in sponsoring my ARCA race, feel free to contact me. I've got some very affordable sponsorship opportunities. Every little bit helps, though, whether you're able to donate $10 or $100. If you can't help donate, please feel free to share this with anyone who might be interested!
Thanks for reading, and thank you so much for helping a little girl fulfil her dream of racing in NASCAR and allowing her to honor the memories of her fallen colleagues.
www.facebook.com/racing.cop
Let me tell you a little bit about myself, and what led to this. I grew up poor (my mom would pretend that she wasn't hungry and eat the crusts on our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because we didn't have enough food for her to make a sandwich for herself). I used to watch old NASCAR races and dream of racing, but I might have been dreaming of winning the lottery. Poor kids who barely have enough to eat don't become race car drivers. My dad was an alcoholic and a gambling addict, and my mother had untreated mental illness which made it impossible for her to hold a job. I wound up becoming homeless at 16, and nearly got sex trafficked while living at a homeless shelter in downtown Anchorage, Alaska.
When the tragic events of 9/11 happened, I was living at the homeless shelter and working part time at a tourist attraction in Anchorage. I remember seeing the disaster unfold on the little break room TV. All I wanted to do was come over and help, but I realized that I didn't have any useful skills and would just be in the way. I resolved to never feel that useless again. Shortly afterwards, I put myself through medical assisting school, EMT school, and finally paramedic school.
I moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 2006 to complete my paramedic training, and finally learned how to drive (long story of growing up poor and not having access to a car and having an abusive husband who didn't want to teach me how to drive). I bought my very first car, a 1992 Mazda Miata and had so much fun driving that car all over town.
After five years of working as a paramedic, I realized I wanted to do more for my community. I was tired of responding to the aftermath of drunk drivers and not being able to arrest the driver before they caused injury, or arrest the abuser before they killed their significant other. So, in 2011, I became a police officer for the City of Tuscaloosa.
I started autocrossing in 2018 (autocrossing is a tiny race course set up with traffic cones and each car runs the course for the best time). I didn't know anyone there, but the folks at the Alabama SCCA were so welcoming. I started talking with the drivers, and discovered that amateur club racing was a sport! Without having ever been on a race track, I started stripping the interior of my Miata and slowly turning it into a race car. My first track day in that Miata was March of 2019, and by November 2019, I had my novice racing license and had completed my first race (I won my class!).
I spent all of 2020 racing my Miata in events throughout the Southeast, but I'd still watch old NASCAR videos and daydream. But all those drivers started so young and didn't have the challenges I had growing up. So, a daydream it remained.
Until, I started talking with several drivers and found out that there's a NASCAR series called ARCA that's relatively affordable and perfect for new drivers just starting out! It's considered the fourth tier in the NASCAR series (Cup, Xfinity, Trucks, and ARCA). I found a team willing to let me race with them for $25,000. I'm currently looking for sponsors and donations, because $25,000 is a ton of money on a police sergeant's salary!
One cause that's near and dear to my heart is honoring those police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty. Since one of our own, Inv. Cousette, was killed while serving a search warrant in September 2019, I've been looking for a way to honor his memory. I've created "Operation Honoring the Fallen". Every NASCAR/ARCA race that I run, will have the name of a fallen police officer on the car. Any money that I raise past the cost to run the race will go to the family of the fallen officer. And once I can get this off the ground and raise enough funds, I'd like to bring the family of the fallen officer to the race and cover their accommodations and travel expenses.
If you're interested in sponsoring my ARCA race, feel free to contact me. I've got some very affordable sponsorship opportunities. Every little bit helps, though, whether you're able to donate $10 or $100. If you can't help donate, please feel free to share this with anyone who might be interested!
Thanks for reading, and thank you so much for helping a little girl fulfil her dream of racing in NASCAR and allowing her to honor the memories of her fallen colleagues.
www.facebook.com/racing.cop
Organizer
Ritamarie Thomason
Organizer
Tuscaloosa, AL