St. Johns, MI (Sunday, November 22, 2020) - Earlier this month it was announced that young Jett Gohr had been diagnosed with stage III Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). Gohr’s diagnosis announcement came on the heels of his 2020 Tri-City Motor Speedway Track Championship for the Restrictor-Plate Mini Wedge division. The racing community quickly rallied around Gohr and his family, raising several thousand dollars in a Go Fund Me campaign in just a matter of days. Part of the rally was led by Tri-City and Merritt Speedway Owner, Michael Blackmer.
On Friday, Blackmer again called for the community to support Gohr. In a Facebook Live video, Blackmer said Gohr has reached another unfortunate milestone on his road to recovery - hair loss as a result of chemotherapy. After Blackmer’s call to action, a Merritt Speedway regular launched an effort to raise another large amount of money for the young champion.
St. Johns, Michigan’s, Chad Finley posted on his Facebook page that he would be auctioning off the right-side door panel from his recently raced DIRTcar UMP Late Model from The Dirt Track at Charlotte. Finley says, he knew the racing community would pull through.
“When Mike Blackmer started the fundraising for Jett, I started thinking about what I could do to help out,” Finley told Horsepower Happenings’, Zach Hiser. “I also knew that the racing community is so strong and so tight-knit that we could possibly make it something special,” Finley remarked.
In the post, Finley started the bidding at $50. Less than 24 hours later, another donation of over $2,000 was ready to be made. Bids for the door came in immediately, and within the first three hours, the bid had gone all the way up to $750. The anonymous bidder would eventually win the door, but the fundraising didn’t stop there. Dollar-for-dollar matches began flowing in, starting with Chad Finley Racing, who matched the first $500. Then, Hall Anodizing and Hardcoat matched with another $500; followed by an additional private $500 donation; the final $500 match came from Northside Towing and Service.
The final fundraising total through Finley came in at $2,750. Finley says he hopes the efforts help the family.
“I’m really proud of the racing community for stepping up to help this young man and hopefully, this goes a long way for his family and we can’t wait to see them at the track soon,” Finley said.
If you would like to make your own donation toward Gohr’s recovery efforts, you can donate by going to www.gofundme.com/f/jettstrong. As of Sunday afternoon, the fundraising total was at $22,519 of the $25,000 goal.
For more stories from around the region, be sure to log onto www.horsepowerhappenings.com. Listen to on-demand episodes of the Horsepower Happenings Podcast, with new episodes every Monday night at 9:00 pm.
Story - Zach Hiser, Horsepower Happenings
Photo - Chad Finley Racing