Blake didn’t let accident keep him from fulfilling dream

Anyone attending the Lucas Oil NHRA Drag Racing Series regional this weekend at Lebanon Valley Dragway should keep an eye out for the Permatex-sponsored Follow a Dream racing team Top Alcohol Funny Car driven by Marty Nothstein. What makes this team especially unique is that Jay Blake, the owner and crew chief, is totally blind.

“A forklift wheel and tire assembly blew up in my face while I was at work,” Blake said. “The accident happened 11 years ago, on May 22, 1997, and I lost both of my eyes, along with my sense of smell and my sense of taste.”

But not even an accident of that magnitude could keep Blake from realizing his dream.

“I started a company called Follow a Dream, and have taken what once was a dream of working on a professional race team to owning my own racing team,” he said.

But Blake’s involvement doesn’t stop at the ownership of the racing team. He also works on the race car.

“I can basically disassemble and re-assemble the majority of the car myself,” he said. “I was a head technician before the accident, and when the accident happened, I was a head mechanic for a transportation company.”

Blake has been a mechanic for most of his life, and he has a picture of himself in his office from when he was 3 years old that reminds him of how he got interested in working on cars.

“I have a picture of a pedal tractor tipped over, with a tool box next to it, from when I was a kid,” he said. “I was 3 years old at the time, and as I have gotten older, the toys have gotten bigger and the tool box has, too.”

Following his accident, Blake refused to give up on life, and aggressively participated in rehabilitation. After being released from Massachusetts General Hospital, Blake enrolled in an intensive program at the Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton, Massachusetts.

With renewed self-determination, Blake began to follow his dream, and turned it into reality with the start of his own race team. But he didn’t stop there, as he combined his renewed participation in drag racing with his desire to spread his true-life success by inspiring others to accomplish their goals through the power of positive thinking, determination and teamwork.

He started the non-profit Follow a Dream program in 1999.

“The accident and wanting to move on like nothing happened gave me the initiative to start the Follow a Dream program,” he said. “My dream as a kid was to work on a professional race team, and I was able to do that, but the biggest part of the Follow a Dream program is the speaking side of it, and trying to motivate both children and adults to better themselves, and believe in themselves.”

Blake does his motivational speaking at corporate events. On Wednesday, he was at the Spray Nine Corporation in Johnstown representing his sponsors, Permatex and Spray Nine, who are both owned by Illinois Tool Works.

“I also speak at a lot of high schools and colleges,” he said. “Permatex is very excited about their acquisition of Spray Nine, and having them as a part of their team and their family.”

The speeches that Blake discuss five tools for your life’s toolbox.

“Those five tools are positive attitude, basic skills and education, passion, self-determination and teamwork,” he said.

The speeches are not only given to people with injuries or disabilities, either.

“I do speeches for sales groups and corporate executives, as well.”

Blake is a father of five, and lives on Cape Cod with his wife, Ann. He has more than 15 years experience as a professional auto mechanic, and more than 20 years experience in drag racing. He is responsible for the Follow a Dream organization’s management, operations and community outreach programs, as well as owning and performing much of the mechanical work on his race car.

“We started out with a Super Comp dragster, and ran that for a couple of years before we stepped up to the Alcohol Funny Car, where we have been ever since,” he said. “My brother, Jim, is the tuner on the funny car, and it is a total team effort to get this 3,000 horsepower, 526-cubic-inch alcohol-fueled Top Alcohol Funny Car down the track.”

There is also a unique story behind Nothstein, who is from

Orefield, Pa.

Prior to embarking on a career in the world of drag racing, Nothstein was a professional cyclist, winning a gold medal in the Olympics in Sydney, Australila, and a silver medal in Atlanta.

He is also a 35-time U.S. National Champion, a three-time world

cycling champion, a four-time Pan American Games gold medalist and a world and Olympic record-holder. As executive vice president and CEO of the Valley Preferred

Cycling Center, Nothstein is fulfilling his obligation to help steer American cycling back into medal contention.

Nothstein isn’t too bad at drag racing, either. Last year, he qualified in the top half of the field in every Top Alcohol Funny Car race that he entered, and he also set top speed at five races. A couple of weeks ago in Englishtown, N.J., Nothstein ran a speed of 261.9 mph, putting him in the top five in speeds in the country.

He sits 10th in NHRA PowerAde championship point standings in Blake’s Top Alcohol Funny Car.

“Marty does the driving, and the team does their part in preparing the car,” Blake said. “As long as we give him a car with a good tune-up, he can go rounds.”

“Our plan for the future is to pursue a national championship, which we have never won before, and hopefully, step up to a fuel car [nitro] which would be the next step for us. That is a huge step, though.”

“Life happens, and sometimes it isn’t what we’re looking for. Sometimes, it is more like a roller-coaster ride.”

AROUND THE TRACKS

History was made last Sunday at Devil’s Bowl Speedway, when Frank Hoard Sr. won the 358-modified feature and his grandson, Frank Hoard III, won the budget sportsman feature. Frank Hoard Jr. was also involved in the historic night, as he finished right behind his son in the budget sportsman race.

Because Albany-Saratoga Speedway ran Thursday, the action switches to Devil’s Bowl tonight for the running of the CJ 101-lap event for the modifieds, which pays $3,000 to win. All other divisions are also on the racing card, along with fireworks, with a starting time of 6:45.

Devil’s Bowl will also be in action on Saturday at 6:45 p.m. with the running of a 76-lap budget sportsman feature, along with a 98.9-lap enduro and fireworks on North-South Border War Night.

Also tonight, Glen Ridge

Motorsports Park will host a 40-lap, $1,500-to-win feature for modifieds, along with a 30-lap, $400-to-win feature for the budget sportsman. The street stocks and cruisers will also be in action, starting at 7.

On Saturday night, all divisions will be in action at Fonda Speedway on Tribute to the Past Night. The Northeast Vintage Dirt Modified Racing Cub will also be on hand, and the pro-stock feature will be the re-scheduled Hondo Classic that was rained out last week. Starting time is 6. The fireworks display that was scheduled for last Saturday has been rescheduled for Saturday, July 26.