Chili Bowl Racers Come Together To Support Racer With Cancer

Hundreds of the world’s best midget car racers are in Tulsa this week, competing in the Chili Bowl National Championships.

While on the track, they all want to win, but the racing community is tight-knit.

When one is in trouble, they all jump in to help.

Mike Goodman and his sons’ lives have revolved around racing for years, but this year’s Chili Bowl is different for them after one of Mike’s sons was just recently diagnosed with cancer.

Racing is a big part of Avery Goodman’s life.

Then, he got sick a year ago and was diagnosed with cancer just a couple of months ago.

Avery’s father, Mike, is proud of all the hard work Avery has put into both racing and life.

"He's a special kid and has a lot of special talents, I'm glad the community recognizes that and do want to help him,” said Goodman.

Mike is known for being the first person to help when someone else is having a rough time, so he really appreciates seeing people do the same now for Avery.

"I've had an exceptional life, so I always felt like I needed to give back where I could,” said Goodman. “I've done that in the racing world and outside of the racing world, but in the community as well. So, it's very special to receive that love back."

At this year’s Chili Bowl, Mike’s best friend will be racing in Avery’s car, under Avery’s name.

Avery’s brother Lane is racing with Avery’s name front and center on his car.

"One thing about racing families is racing families stick together,” said Goodman. “You'll see a lot of families- moms, dads, kids, grandparents, brothers, sisters, they're a big, big family. It's very family-oriented, and that's what it's been for my family."

In just one day- people have donated more than $8,000 to help Avery with expenses since he has been out of work and is self-employed.

Mike is thankful he and his sons are part of the racing community because it’s a community made of people with big hearts.

"I've always been a part of that because that's right here at home with us, but the racing family is just that, it's a family,” said Mike. “We may argue and be annoyed with each other and maybe have some coarse words, but at the end of the day, racing people stand up for racing people."

The GoFundMe account will help Avery with his expenses, and you can find a link to that here.