metro
Racing For
A Cause
Jewish car lovers race to raise money
to end cancer.
Lynne Meredith Golodner I Special to the Jewish News
3Balls Racing members: Brandon Helton, Justin Wojas, James McEdwards (rear), Ken
Grulich (front), Lee Kellert and Kenny Walters.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Grulich is a melanoma survivor. Anyone
can head west to watch the guys drive the
track in their cool, tricked-out cars. It's
technically not a race, just a bunch of guys
who want to go fast on a track safely.
Participants can make a $10 donation
to hop in the passenger seat of a 3Balls
member's car and feel the rush as they
cruise around the track. If you're more
adventurous and would like to take the
wheel yourself, you can for a donation of
$50. All donations and ticket sales go to
Karmanos.
Some 1,200-1,300 people across the
United States and Canada are registered
members of 3Balls, with an average of
150-200 coming out to the various events
throughout the season, which runs from
April until snowfall. Grulich and Kenny
"the Car Guy" Walters, owner of Mufflers
and More in Walled Lake and a Temple
Israel member, are two "Head Balls" lead-
ing the group and instructing newbies on
how to drive fast safely.
"Isn't that what life is all about?" asks
Walters. "Try something that makes you
nervous and then really see what hap-
pens?'
In fact, the thrill of the chase — or
the drive, as it were — is one way that
people force themselves to be in the pres-
ent moment. In his renowned book, The
Power of Now, spiritual writer Eckhart
Tolle explains, "The reason why some
people love to engage in dangerous activi-
ties, such as mountain climbing, car racing
and so on, although they may not be aware
of it, is that it forces them into the Now
— that intensely alive state that is free of
time, free of problems, free of thinking?'
Lee Kellert, a 36-year-old partner in
Jaffe Raitt Heuer and Weiss law firm's
Southfield office and Congregation Beth
Ahm member, has been racing for 15
years. Just recently, he traded a 2006
12 July 19 • 2012
Porsche Cayman S (fast but maintains
good control at high speeds) for a 2003
Corvette Z06 (even faster).
"I've always loved cars:' says Kellert.
"The best part of racing is the ultimate
connection between man and machine.
Control freaks couldn't handle riding in a
car because they are not at all in control?'
It's about letting go, he notes, and sur-
rendering to the moment — something
most of us have trouble doing in the day-
to-day.
Like those involved with next month's
Woodward Dream Cruise, these guys are
fascinated by how things work, by the art
of melding metal, design and speed, and
they like the thrill of pushing the limits.
But they're smart about it. They don't race
or time themselves, they just drive the
track, seeing how the car handles, bending
into the pitch and roll of the turns.
"We do it for fun more than anything;'
says Walters, who climbs into a sleek
Panoz racecar at the track. "Its definitely
risky. What would life be like if we were
perfectly safe? I do it because it is abso-
lutely exhilarating?'
There aren't a lot of Jewish racing driv-
ers, but there is a Jewish Racing Drivers
Association, based out of the U.K.,
launched last year and driven by a mis-
sion to "find a Jewish Fl or Indy Car world
champion inside the next five years by
increasing the participation of the Jewish
community within motorsport, both on
and off the track?'
New Jersey native Jon Denning is
reportedly the only Jew cruising around
the NASCAR tracks.
Locally, religion doesn't play a starring
role in these guys' passion for speed and
cool cars.
Safe And Legal
3Balls Racing was founded in 2005 by
three automotive engineers looking for
a safe and legal way to push the limits of
their driving skills and respective vehicles.
Of the three, only Grulich retains an offi-
cial title, Head Ball. He works in Novi for
an automotive Tier 1 supplier.
3Balls Racing events take place in the
Great Lakes area, including Michigan,
Ohio and Ottawa.
3Balls Racing had been searching for
a charitable cause to partner with when
Grulich was diagnosed with melanoma
in 2011. He underwent treatment at
Karmanos and, after beating the disease,
dedicated his group to finding a cure.
This year, the guys would like to raise
$5,000 for melanoma research. All pro-
ceeds from event entry fees will be donat-
ed; a silent auction at the track will raise
additional funds — and, of course, there
are those donations from rides around the
track.
"We are all middle-aged family guys
who love to push the limits of a car on the
weekends:' says Walters.
"With this event, we want to share
with others our passion for speed while
helping eradicate a dreadful disease that
has touched someone in every one of
our lives. I hope we'll get a great turn-
out so we can raise a lot of money for
Karmanos."
Walters grew up tinkering with
vehicles, loving the grease and sweat
generated by hours spent immersed in
the inner workings of cars. He opened
Mufflers and More 13 years ago and has
a dream of servicing everyone's car in the
state of Michigan.
He's been known to give his own per-
sonal car to a customer whose vehicle
conked out right before an important
event. He can't decide which part of his
life he likes more — servicing customers'
cars or racing with his buddies in 3Balls
Racing.
Jamie McEdwards is relatively new
to racing. The 44-year-old New Haven
resident and federal agent with the
Department of Defense returned from
overseas deployment in 2008 and looked
for a place to "drive like [my Corvette] was
meant to be driven." He joined 3Balls in
2009.
"It's an absolute blast:' he says. "The
camaraderie, the ease with which every-
one is immediately willing to help, the
comfort level — on the track, everyone
understands you're here to have fun,
explore the limits of the self and your
car."
McEdwards has a Gopro camera
mounted on the roof of his metallic silver
street-legal 2001 Corvette Coupe, which
films while he drives. He's modified the
suspension and fully tuned the exhaust
and intake.
At Grattan, the cars will go fast — 120
miles per hour or faster. The louder the
car, the more power it has, so bring your
earplugs. Walters assures that daring pas-
sengers can take their chances. It may
seem scary, but these guys know what
they're doing and they're smart about
it. Plus, it's for a good cause, everybody
focused forward. 0
Lynne Meredith Golodner is a writer and publi-
cist. She may get in a car at Grattan.
Details
Join the car-racing fun from 9
a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, July 28,
and Sunday, July 29, at Grattan
Raceway, 7201 Lessiter Road,
Belding, Mich. Registration deadline
is July 27. $10 to ride in a race car
with a 3Balls Racing member; $50
to drive a lap yourself. Ticket sales
benefit the Barbara Ann Karmanos
Institute for Melanoma Research.
Call (248) 668-1200 or register
online at www.3BallsRacing.com .