It is with a heavy heart that we have to share with you that Chuck Whiteman, Chief Safety Inspector for the USFRA passed away on Monday evening. He was admitted to the hospital last week and suffered a severe stroke. The injury to his brain was extensive and there was nothing more the doctors could do.
Anybody who has raced at the World of Speed and gone through safety inspection would have met or been helped by Chuck's hard work and dedication. Chuck also served as the USFRA liaison to the SCTA Rules Committee. Each year he would put in hours and hours of work long before the races were scheduled. He serviced and kept our old drag trucks running when they should have long been hauled off to the scrap yard. Serviced the generators, and kept most everything that had an engine running and capable of doing the work we needed them to do. He would also come down to the starting line each year when the school buses showed up with all the school kids and help wrangle the hordes and keep the peace with all those crazy teenagers.
Chuck was also a racer. He ran a beautiful 67 Pontiac Tempest in B/Classic Alt. I remember his excitement years back when he went fast enough to use the parachute for the first time. He had a huge smile as he told me all about it. There was also the time at the starting line when the engine cranked and cranked but would not fire. I finally opened his door and said "turn on the mag!", it fired right up. We always got a laugh out of that story.
His passing leaves a huge hole in out hearts and our organization. Chuck wasn't just a member of USFRA, he was part of the family.
