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Remembering that bumper sticker her dad had — the one that said, “Dirt is for racing and asphalt is for getting there” — Jodi York knew the answer before she asked the question.
Her dad, Daniel “Coop Dog Coop” Cooper of Greenville, was in the care of Hospice fighting an infection with his kidneys shutting down. Blinking his eyes — one for yes, two for no — was his only way to communicate.
“I said, ‘Dad, do you want some Eldora dirt?’ ” York said of the last request she offered.
“He blinked his eye (yes).”
It was only proper that Cooper — who loved the racing at Eldora so much it cost him a marriage (though they still remained close) — slipped away May 2 holding some treasured Eldora dirt rushed to his bedside through a combined effort of Eldora and Hospice.
A bag of dirt from Turns 3-4, his favorite spot to watch a race, was placed in his casket along with other racing mementos, including his favorite Weasel Phlipot T-shirt.
“The races meant so much to Dad,” York said. “They would fire the engines and they would start around the track. Daddy would have a tear coming out of his eye. He would be so emotional for the first races when they were back in season. He was a die-hard racer.”
Ashes common at racetracks
From Eldora Speedway to Tri-State Dragway and racetracks in between, they have seen it all from fan requests — and tried their best to accommodate them.
“We’ve had them meet there, get engaged there, married there and buried there,” said Larry Boos, Eldora Speedway’s director of operations.
There’s no way to track the number, but many fans have made area racetracks their final resting grounds. Fans are allowed on the track after the show is over at Eldora, allowing fans access to spread ashes ... often quietly as not to draw attention.
At Winchester Speedway, it’s said a Sprint Car driver once spread ashes as his car zipped around the track.
And at Kil-Kare Speedway, driver Dick Dunlevy Jr. spread his dad’s ashes around the track last summer.
“It’s an honor if that’s what someone’s last wishes are, wanting to be a part of the speedway like that. Personally, I’m more than OK with it,” three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion and Eldora owner Tony Stewart said.
Timothy Daniel Reed of Hamilton offered another option to his wife, Michelle.
“I have actually told my wife if something ever happens, cremate me, put me in the fuel tank and have somebody drive me up and down the track,” said Reed, whose family has raced at Tri-State Dragway since 1984. “It wouldn’t work because you can’t put ashes in the fuel. But I would do that to always be around the racetrack.”
Gentlemen, you may kiss the bride
Reed was taken for a ride — so to speak — in another way on Aug. 18, 2009. His then-fiance Michelle had him convinced they were going to a local park for a few hours. Instead, she pulled into Tri-State for a wedding she planned.
“We did it right there on the starting line. ... She had our family and friends and everyone there,” Reed said. “It was kind of mind-blowing. My family works at Tri-State, so it was a special moment. We’re close to (owners) Bob and Pat (Louden), and we look at them like grandparents.
“If I could do it all again, I’d do it right there.”
Eldora’s last wedding was May 19 when Antwerp’s Dan and Yvonne Rhoad exchanged vows in front of an applauding grandstand crowd — including the fan who yelled out, “Don’t do it!”
The high school sweethearts reconnected on Facebook, and Dan took her to her first race, the Kings Royal, in 2011. Yvonne fell in love with Eldora, too.
Racing lessons put to good use
Cooper is buried at Ansonia Cemetery, but his family knows his spirit remains at Eldora.
At the first race following Cooper’s death, his grandson Dustin kept turning out of instinct to see when “Coop Dog” was walking through the gate. And when they noticed fans sitting in Cooper’s regular spot, “Dustin had a notion to ask them to move because his grandpa was sitting there,” York said.
Dustin still puts his grandfather’s racing advice to use. And so does York’s husband, Jake, who was knocked backward by a chunk of dirt at a race the three of them attended at Lawrenceburg Speedway. Cooper — looking down at Jake — told him, “You need to learn to dodge them, son.”
This September, Cooper, a former member of Eldora’s Civil Defense team, will indeed have a permanent spot at his favorite track with an engraved brick — courtesy of racing friends John and Pat Phlipot — on the Booster Wall to be unveiled at the Baltes Classic.
“I just bawled (knowing he was going to be on the wall),” York said. “If he knew he had a part of that wall dedicated to him, he’d be so overcome with joy.
“My ultimate dream — and not because Tony is a big name — I would just like to shake that man’s hand. I would like nothing more and to let him know who Dan Coop Dog Coop’s daughter is. That’s part of my bucket list, just to meet that man.”
Tracks sometimes go the extra mile
There’s no telling how many wedding ceremonies have been held — or even kids walking around with the middle name of Eldora or Winchester because their parents met at the races.
Boos helped Piqua’s Josh Morton surprise Morton’s girlfriend with a wedding proposal.
After a tough day of racing, Boos asked Morton to come talk about it on Eldora’s stage and to bring his girlfriend for moral support.
“I said, ‘Josh, what a rough night, but I think things are going to get better, aren’t they?’ Then he dropped to his knee and asked her to marry him,” Boos said.
Race fans are passionate about their tracks.
The owners and operators are, too.
“You realize there are people watching races there for more years than I’ve been alive,” Stewart said. “People are just die-hard fans of the speedway, and that’s the stuff that makes you try and go that extra mile. You try to think of ways to make it better for them. That’s something we take a lot of pride in.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2400, ext. 6991, or gbilling@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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