Inside Line Promotions – SANTA ROSA, Calif. (Feb. 4, 2019) – Blaine Baxter Racing will be honoring a close relative with a tribute car this season following a recent tragedy.
Jennifer Topper died last Tuesday when the helicopter she was piloting crashed in Ohio during adverse weather conditions. The 34-year-old medical transport pilot was flying to pick up a patient during a snow storm when the helicopter went down, killing her and two crew members.
Topper was a first-cousin to Dustin Baxter and close to the entire Baxter Family.
“This is extremely difficult for all of us,” Dustin Baxter said. “We’re a close family. She lived here in Santa Rosa until she moved to Ohio a year and a half ago. Although she was nine years younger than me, she said she looked up to me like an older brother.
“Two other transport companies turned down the flight because of the weather. We don’t know all of the details yet, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Jennifer accepted the flight because she wanted to help someone because that’s who she was.
“Just like in racing, when you’re a thrill seeker there’s an inherent risk involved. It doesn’t make it easier, but I can accept the fact that she died doing what she loved.”
Blaine Baxter has fond memories of Topper and is glad the team is honoring her through his racing.
“I was really close to her and I’ll sure miss her,” the 10-year-old said. “Her smile would light up a room. She was a lot of fun and could make you laugh. It’s really hard to have her gone, but I’m glad we can do something in her memory.”
The tribute car will be raced at select events this season in the ‘A’ class, a division in which Baxter will be competing for the first time. He’ll also compete in the restricted class again this year and will race for points at Delta Speedway in Stockton, Calif. He plans to race a full schedule at other tracks as well.
“I think Blaine will do well in the ‘A’ class since it doesn’t have restrictors,” Dustin Baxter said. “He’s always done well in a class where he deals with horsepower and throttle control.”
Two divisions of micro sprints will be a fun challenge for Blaine Baxter, he noted.
“I’m looking forward to doing double duty this year,” he said. “I’m excited about racing in the ‘A’ class. It’s taken me a little while to learn momentum racing in the restricted class, but I think I’ll do well in a class that isn’t restricted.”
Baxter is also making an extra effort to prepare himself for the racing season.
“I’ve been training and working out,” he said. “I’m doing different things to make me more physically and mentally fit to race.”
The recent tragedy has altered the early season racing schedule for the team.
“We were planning to race in Salem, Ore., last weekend and probably again before the season starts around here,” Dustin Baxter said. “But we’ll be in Ohio this week for Jennifer. We’re hoping to still make it to Salem. But if not, we’ll be going strong here once March arrives.”
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://blainebaxterracing.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/blainebaxter25
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlaineBaxterRacing/
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“Safety is always our main priority and we’re really happy to have Adidas join our team this year,” Baxter said. “They have great safety wear and it looks really cool.”
Blaine Baxter Racing would also like to thank Westside Mechanical, Les Schwab Tire Center, Dirt Co Media House, FK Shocks, Shell Shock, Dustin Davis Demolition, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Blackbeard, Arai Helmets, D1 Chassis, Wraps N Motion, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Energycoil and Adams Performance for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
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- Shawn Miller on Feb 04, 2019
- Article Date: 2/4/2019 by Inside Line Promotions