Ed Field with his late brother’s car Saturday at the Waterford Speedbowl
WATERFORD – Plenty of times in his racing career Ed Field has been pressed to get a car ready to hit the track at the Waterford Speedbowl.
But never with quite the emotion that was in play Friday as Field prepared his older brother’s No. 18 Mini Stock to lead the division in tribute Saturday.
Danny Field, a three-time Mini Stock champion at the Waterford Speedbowl from Deep River, died Wednesday after battling cancer. He was 56-years old.
After speaking with Waterford Speedbowl owner Terry Eames on Thursday, Ed Field decided he wanted to get his brother’s car on the track one more time.
The plan is to have Ed Field drive the car at the front of the Mini Stock field for pace laps before the division’s 25-lap feature Saturday night.
“I talked to my sister-in-law and told her what I wanted to do and she said ‘Go for it, do it.’” Ed Field said. “I called [Eames] back and told him I wanted to take the car out so people could put the car to the name and his number. We didn’t have the car finished though. We worked on the car all day [Friday] and got the car all finished and ready.”
Danny Field, known as “The Wild And Patient Man”, won Mini Stock championships at Waterford in 2005, 2006 and 2009. He also won Mini Stock division championships at Thompson Speedway in 2008 and 2011 and a championship on the Northeast Mini Stock Tour in 2012.
The Field family was out in force at the track Saturday, including Danny Field’s wife Tammy, as the track honored him in numerous ways. The American flag at the track flew at half-staff Saturday and a moment of silence was planned in memory of Danny Field before the night’s features.
“It means a lot to our family to do this,” said Ed Field, who has raced in numerous divisions at Waterford since 1988. “It’s tough for me to do this but I need to make it happen because I think people want to see it.”
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