Brian Bishnow, Waco racer/cancer surviver

[rebelracewriter]

BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 3) - Saturday night results won’t matter.

The happy ending to this Super Nationals story has already been written.

Brian Bishnow won his heat race Monday, then ran fifth in the qualifying feature to earn an inside row starting spot in the main event for Stock Cars at the I.M.C.A. Speedway Motors Super Nationals.

This is the first visit to Boone for the Waco, Texas driver, diagnosed nearly three years ago with abdominal cancer, and he’s living the dream of a racing lifetime.

“It’s unbelievable, really. When I looked at the lineup board and saw I was on the pole for my heat race, I knew that was my shot to win and get to the feature.” he said.

Bishnow’s wife videotaped both races from the grandstand. Young son Chayson was at his side Tuesday evening when he drew the ninth starting spot on Saturday’s inside row.

“Winning the heat was probably a bigger thrill than being fifth in the feature. Winning is what it’s all about in racing. That was the first task at hand,” said Bishnow, 28. “Getting to start up close to the front in the ‘A’ was big, too, and I was up to second at one point. I probably would have run harder if that’d been the Saturday night feature.”

In line with the America’s Racin’ Vacation slogan, Super Nationals is a family reunion on wheels, with Bishnow’s mother Vicki, brother, sister-in-law and parents-in-law are also here to cheer him on.

After extensive chemotherapy, surgery and the death of his father in January of 2001, racing helps make life a little more like normal, if even for a couple hours on a Friday or Saturday night.

“You never, never, never realize how lucky you are when you’re healthy,” Bishnow said. “Right now, we just have to do everything the doctor tells us to do. We are fortunate being three hours away from Houston and the MD Anderson Cancer Center, the best cancer center in the world.”

Crew members accompanying the Bishnows include Mike Pierce, brother-in-law Justin Wiese, his brother Brandon, James ‘Peanut’ Lovell and B.J. Dulock.

Bishnow got a new Qwik car in June, so his crew has been burning the midnight oil getting everything ready for Super Nationals.

“Without them, we probably wouldn’t be here,” Mistye said. “They’ve put in a lot of hours.”

The journey to Boone proved more than a little exciting even before they unloaded the hauler. The Bishnow convoy left Waco at 10:30 p.m. and drove through heavy rain in Oklahoma and Kansas.

They’d reached the Kansas City, Mo., area when another car lost control on wet pavement, hitting both the tow vehicle and trailer on the side.

No one was hurt and damage wasn’t severe enough to keep them from completing the trip.

Bishnow raced in the I.M.C.A. Modified class, collecting five career wins before the cancer was diagnosed. He sold the car, trailer and most of the tools and parts to help pay medical bills. Proceeds from a spur of the moment fundraiser at Heart O’ Texas Speedway also went toward medical expenses.

Still partial to the Modifieds, Bishnow can watch them race the next three nights before it’s his turn to take the green flag and complete the final chapter of his Super Nationals story.

 

Compliments of IMCA