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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Sandwiched between a 1969 Shelby GT500 Fastback and the very first 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 2-Door Coupe is Lot 1330: the Chip Foose-designed 2007 Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car that stole the show and countless hearts at the U.S. Nationals as Mike Ashley drove the Eric Blake Faulkner tribute car titled "Purpose Beyond Reason" all the way to the Winner's Circle.
The storybook ending on Ashley's emotional win is about to be written at the hand of the highest bidder tomorrow, Saturday, January 19, at the Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction in Scottsdale, Ariz. Along with Hollie and Donnie Faulkner, others will be boosting the bidding from the podium, hoping to raise both funds and awareness of the pain suffered when couples lose a child before or during the birth-process.
According to National Center for Health statistics, every year in this country more than 39,000 babies are stillborn (delivered without signs of life after the gestational age of 20 weeks). Added to that are the facts that one in every five pregnancies ends in miscarriage and one in every 102 live births result in death before the age of 28 days, totaling almost one out of every 3-4 pregnancies in the U.S. that ends in a loss. The EBF Funny Car has given a voice to those suffering and brought caring acknowledgement to the tragic isolation and psycho-social needs of the families dealing with the situation.
Lynette Spruiell, RTS Coordinator of the Journey Perinatal Bereavement Program at St. Vincent Doctors Hospital in Little Rock, Ark., along with RTS Bereavement Services founder, Rana Limbo, RN, PhD, will also be attending the event to witness the unprecedented support for the Faulkners and others like them.
"This is an amazing acknowledgement of these families' grief and I'm just so touched by all the NHRA, Mike, Evan, Jim and the others have done to make this all come true. It's hard to find words to describe what a difference this has and is making," Spruiell said.
Mike Ashley added, "I don't think there's any greater loss than that of a child. To think that this has gone un-noticed for so long is terrible, and I'm really honored to have been a part of making a difference. Aside from the adrenaline and the power, and away from all the noise and everything, I do this because I want to make a difference with my life, and this has been one of those things that really worked out well."
As a rolling Funny Car show car, complete with chassis and show-engine, the car's value is estimated at $200,000. However impossible to estimate what the car will actually fetch, Ashley guesses the car will go for at least $450,000 to half a million.
"With the fact that this is the winning car, and what it's for, it's a great way for collectors and supporters to get a piece of history that will keep on giving. I'm really excited to see what happens," Ashley said.
ASHLEY’S US NATIONALS-WINNING FC UP FOR AUCTION AT BARRETT-JACKSON TOMORROW
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Sandwiched between a 1969 Shelby GT500 Fastback and the very first 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 2-Door Coupe is Lot 1330: the Chip Foose-designed 2007 Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car that stole the show and countless hearts at the U.S. Nationals as Mike Ashley drove the Eric Blake Faulkner tribute car titled "Purpose Beyond Reason" all the way to the Winner's Circle.
The storybook ending on Ashley's emotional win is about to be written at the hand of the highest bidder tomorrow, Saturday, January 19, at the Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction in Scottsdale, Ariz. Along with Hollie and Donnie Faulkner, others will be boosting the bidding from the podium, hoping to raise both funds and awareness of the pain suffered when couples lose a child before or during the birth-process.
According to National Center for Health statistics, every year in this country more than 39,000 babies are stillborn (delivered without signs of life after the gestational age of 20 weeks). Added to that are the facts that one in every five pregnancies ends in miscarriage and one in every 102 live births result in death before the age of 28 days, totaling almost one out of every 3-4 pregnancies in the U.S. that ends in a loss. The EBF Funny Car has given a voice to those suffering and brought caring acknowledgement to the tragic isolation and psycho-social needs of the families dealing with the situation.
Lynette Spruiell, RTS Coordinator of the Journey Perinatal Bereavement Program at St. Vincent Doctors Hospital in Little Rock, Ark., along with RTS Bereavement Services founder, Rana Limbo, RN, PhD, will also be attending the event to witness the unprecedented support for the Faulkners and others like them.
"This is an amazing acknowledgement of these families' grief and I'm just so touched by all the NHRA, Mike, Evan, Jim and the others have done to make this all come true. It's hard to find words to describe what a difference this has and is making," Spruiell said.
Mike Ashley added, "I don't think there's any greater loss than that of a child. To think that this has gone un-noticed for so long is terrible, and I'm really honored to have been a part of making a difference. Aside from the adrenaline and the power, and away from all the noise and everything, I do this because I want to make a difference with my life, and this has been one of those things that really worked out well."
As a rolling Funny Car show car, complete with chassis and show-engine, the car's value is estimated at $200,000. However impossible to estimate what the car will actually fetch, Ashley guesses the car will go for at least $450,000 to half a million.
"With the fact that this is the winning car, and what it's for, it's a great way for collectors and supporters to get a piece of history that will keep on giving. I'm really excited to see what happens," Ashley said.
