„.. eti
K t
A Victory Of Sorts
At 38, Jeff Morton
returns to racing
and raises
money to
fight cancer.
Clockwise from top:
A helmeted Jeff Morton is ready
to start his engine.
Morton's wife, Nanci,
watches the race.
Staying in formation
out of the turn.
Center:
Morton prepares his car
before the Aug. 8 race.
MIKE ROSENBAUM
Special to the Jewish News
eff Morton's return to corn-
petitive auto racing didn't
end with his taking a check-
ered flag. In fact, his outing
ended 12 laps into the 23-lap event.
But you wouldn't count it a fail-
ure either.
First, Morton was able to get into
the Barber Dodge Pro Series race
during the Grand Prix weekend Aug.
7-8 on Detroit's Belle Isle, which he
couldn't do last year.
Additionally, the 38-year-old loan
officer at Executec Mortgage in
Farmington Hills used his return to
racing as a catalyst to raise about
$16,000 for the McCarty Cancer
Foundation. And now he's talking
about future races.
Morton's race featured two dozen
identical, open-wheel cars main-
tained by the series' sponsor, Skip
Barber Racing. Most drivers pay a fee
to drive a car for the season; others
buy a ride for an individual race.
Less than a month ago, Morton <
was told that a car would be available
for the race on Aug. 8. That gave
him just a few weeks to test-drive the
vehicle and line up about $30,000 in
sponsorship money to buy the ride.
At the same time, he moved ahead
with his other idea, using the race to
raise money for cancer research.
Morton's mother, Suzanne, died of
cancer when Jeff was 13. He identi-
fied with the McCarty Foundation
because it involves a son — the Red
Wings' Darren McCarty — trying to
help his parent, Craig McCarty, who
is fighting cancer.
"I really admire what Darren is
doing for his dad," Morton said.
"When I was 13 years old, I was too
young to do anything for my mom."
Morton held two fund-raisers the
week before the race, lined up
pledges of up to $100 for every 2-
plus-mile lap he drove and convinced
the race officials to permit Craig
McCarty to begin the event with the
traditional, "Gentlemen, start your
engines" command.
Morton was married a month
before the race. He and wife Nanci
live in Commerce Township with
her son, Ryan, and his daughter,
Samantha.
In 1994, a series of personal and
professional setbacks forced Morton
to stop racing competitively. But the
Mike Rosenbaum is a freelance writer
fr0172- Southfield
8/20
1999
22 Detroit Jewish News