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Johnson isn’t the only car owner who had an excruciating decision to make last fall. Mike Heffner, who has been a car owner for 10 years, also suffered a personal loss when his driver and close friend, Greg Hodnett, died in September a sprint car crash.
“I was really uncertain up until about a month ago,” Heffner said in January. “I kind of realized when we had a benefit function for Sherry (Hodnett), the outpouring of response and compassion that the race fans who had never met me, Sherry or Greg, all the support that they offered. It was then that it hit me I can’t leave this second family. It’s a good family and a good place to be.
“I was back and forth on it. I was leaning toward running away, but I thought that’s not the right thing,” Heffner continued. “I’m turning my back on all the relationships I have within the racing world. I also realized there’s no right or wrong answer. Although I’m a business owner and do other things, the racing consumes a big part of my life. Frankly, I don’t know what I’d do without it. As tough as it is to continue on we need to for everyone involved.
“It was a challenge to figure it out. It was sort of an epiphany. I made up my mind that I was going to do this. I have to look at things, at how Greg would have done things. I would like to be like him because of the person he was. That’s something I strive toward. I believe in my heart that he’d want us to continue on.”
Heffner selected Ryan Smith to pilot the race car and the team changed its number to No. 72, retiring the No. 27 in honor of Hodnett.
“The fact that we retired the 27 number in his honor is kind of special,” Heffner said. “I really wanted to do that along with the blessings of the area tracks and everybody around Pennsylvania. I didn’t get any resistance whatsoever. All the tracks were hugely in favor of it. They all thought it was a good idea. Greg drove many different numbers, but the No. 27 was the last number that he drove. The No. 27’s final lap was Greg’s final lap and that’s sort of how I want to leave it.”
Both Johnson and Heffner acknowledged it will be difficult seeing their race cars compete, but moving on is a step toward healing for everyone in the sport.
“It wasn’t only me that was trying to make sense of it and determine whether to stay in racing,” Heffner said. “There were others that were going to be making that decision and to the best of my knowledge they’re all continuing on. One person told me if I quit and my driver isn’t in my car he’s not quitting. He’s finding someone else’s car to race. We’re dealing with really passionate people who aren’t going to quit. They are competitive by nature and have bonds to the racing community. If I wasn’t fielding a car this year, Ryan Smith would be in someone else’s car. By me quitting or someone else quitting it hurts the sport. It eliminates another car.”
The selfless decision to continue in a sport that ripped loved ones away is a credit to not only the passion Johnson and Heffner have ingrained in them, but the compassion and support from the racing community.
There’s one significant and horrifying moment that haunts Jason Johnson Racing and Heffner Racing Enterprises. Fortunately, there are so many more positive memories that make reminiscing lead to smiles.
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