Late driver's car to be raffled off Sept. 18

Angi Maloney, widow of Tim Maloney, a Hustlin' Hornet driver and one of the initiating forces behind the division, has chosen to raffle off his "race" car so another person can have fun.

"Tim was an all-around cool guy," said Angi. "This is something I know he'd want me to do."

Maloney died Aug. 18 from leukemia. He worked for Capital Beverage as operations manager in Carson City for the past 11 years. Prior to that, he worked at Nor-Cal Beverage at South Lake Tahoe for 14 years.

Tim's car is a 1990 Toyota Corolla, two-door sedan. It has a new engine and all required safety equipment according to 2004 Champion Speedway rules.

The drawing idea came from Tim's friend and crew member, Anthony Cozzi.

"Anthony suggested I do this," Maloney said.

"I had no idea what to do with it. This would have been Tim's wish - for someone not fortunate enough to afford a car, to get in there and try to do it."

Maloney does not care if she makes any money off the drawing.

"I'm doing this in Tim's honor. It's something he would want me to do. I don't have a clue what to do otherwise."

The car will be at the track Sept. 11 and 18, and raffled Sept. 18. Track promoter/manager Les Kynett told Maloney the last Hornet race of the season will be in honor of Tim, called the "This Bud's for You," cup race.

Maloney was the operations manager for Capital Beverage, which handles Budweiser distribution.

"Every year the final race will be called the Tim Maloney This Bud's for You cup race," said Angi. "Tickets will be sold for $25 each or five for $100.

"The car with its new engine raced four times and won two trophy dashes. Just think, for $25 you can get into a car that probably cost three or four-thousand for everything. There are also some extra parts in the back seat. Anything I can scrounge up, including the car cover, will go with it."

Tim also volunteered for the Douglas County 4-H program for seven years as the instructor for the Happy Heelers Club, was a civic-minded person and was an avid NASCAR fan.

"It will be something cool for somebody," Angi said.

For tickets, call Angi at 265-5936 or Cozzi at 720-1039, or tickets can be purchased Sept. 11 or 18 at Champion Speedway.

Contact Rhonda Costa-Landers at rcosta-landers@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1223.