Law enforcement from across the Chicago area took to the dirt track Saturday to race for the Special Olympics Illinois.
The car race, at the Dirt Oval Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, was the fourth annual 5-0 at the Dirty-0, and organizers expected it to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars. Drivers represented law enforcement from Crete, Midlothian, Matteson, Richton Park, Flossmoor, Oak Lawn, Tinley Park, Crestwood, Chicago and Lockport police departments. Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley also drove a car.
The officers raced in cars decked out with light bars and logos and insignia from their departments.
Tinley Park police Sgt. Bill Devine, the director for the Law Enforcement Torch Run, a year-round fundraising effort, said the fundraising goal was set at $300,00.
Each officer who raced had to raise at least $500 to get in the race and while Devine said he doubted they would hit the $300,000 mark, he said he expected the donations to exceed $200,000. This is up from $75,000 the first year of the race.
And, he said, he was glad to be back after a year hiatus due to COVID-19.
Indeed, the stands were packed with fans. Devine, whose 15-year-old son is a Special Olympics athlete, said the turnout means a lot to the Olympians.
“This to me tells the athletes we have your back, we support you,” he said. “For them to see this is to know we’re back and it’s safe to be out again.”
One of the reasons Devine likes the 5-0 at the Dirty-0 fundraiser is because the race fans are supportive both of law enforcement and of the Special Olympics.
“Race fans are some of the most hospitable people,” he said. They have that in common with the Special Olympics family.
“You’ll never feel more welcome than at a Special Olympics event,” Devine said.
Those events, too, are coming back, if slowly.
Devine said last year was tough for his son, who does track and field, basketball and bowling. Everything was canceled, including practices.
“Special Olympics athletes were high risk, so we had to make sure they were safe,” he said.
But it was tough, Devine said. While not everything is quite back to normal yet, Devine said trainings and competitions are almost back to normal.
“We’re starting to gain speed,” he said. “We’re still limited in some of our competitions, but the goal is to be back up to speed by January of next year.”
Fans of the dirt track — some of whom did not know the event was part of a charity fundraiser — said they were just happy to see a police car race followed by a demolition derby race.
Julie Pitelka was there with her daughter, Jill, and her husband. She said the family always goes to the track to watch the demolition derby races. They would have been at the track anyway Saturday.
“It’s the atmosphere,” Jill said. “It’s so fast-paced, you’re never bored.”
For others, it was the first time getting out to see the event.
“We just wanted to support the Special Olympics and law enforcement,” said Bill Langle, an officer with the Chicago Police Department.
Langle and other first-timers were in for a night of rare racing showmanship.
After the law enforcement race, the main event, the demolition derby race cranked up following about an hour delay due to a power outage.
The demolition derby drag race is something of a rarity in that it’s a team sport with each team of four drivers crashing into the other team’s cars strategically in order to disable the other team’s drivers. The first team that can get one car around the track in five laps wins.
“It’s just incredible, I always come,” said Dave Sterling. “It’s the only place as far as I know, in the US, where you can see a team race demolition derby. If you like racing and demolition derbies, you can’t go anywhere else.
“It’s just incredible. I always come.”
Jesse Wright is a freelance photographer for the Daily Southtown.
