This Father's Day has a lot of people celebrating the first man in their life by giving ties, belts, shirts, and electronics. Others will not be so lucky and only have memories to reflect on. At Needmore Speedway Saturday night a young man by the name of Cale Dixon was asked to come out onto the track to be recognized as a tribute to his father, Marvin Dixon, whom he lost in 2003. As he led the pack for the hobby stock heat race I looked around the race track at all of the fans clapping and cheering for Cale and the memory of Marvin Dixon.
Cale was born in to racing by having a father who was drag racing at the time and who eventually turned to dirt track racing at about the time Cale was 5 or 6. Marvin was known at the track as an easy to get along with person who was always willing to help anyone out anytime they needed it. He was a well liked and well respected man by many but to Cale he was a dad and hero. Cale, growing up, was like most boys playing video games and watching dad work on the race car. Marvin would come in and sit down to play video games with him even though he wasn't the best at it and took him fishing just to have some time with his son. One Christmas Cale recieved an electric track with cars and he and his dad would sit down and play for most of the day. Just another way he could be with Cale.
As Cale got older he started spending more time in the race shop watching his dad work and eventually he became more involved with helping. The shop wasn't just a place to work, it was a place for Marvin to find out how things were going in his son's life and to help him along in whatever way he could. Most days talk could be about radiators and springs or it could be about life and day to day things. It seemed the shop was becoming more about bonding than work. It became apparent to Cale that he wanted to be a driver just like his dad.
In 1998 Marvin decided to stop racing but it wasn't a year later that he decided to get back in it which made Cale decide he wanted to start racing. Marvin bought a car and took it to a practice at Cordele and let Cale get in and drive which was all it took to get Cale hooked. So, in 2001 Marvin bought his son a car and the two began working together in their spare time and eventually got the main part of the roll cage built and then June 20, 2003 happened. The day was a Friday and the two had worked all week to get the first car that Cale had drove in Cordele ready to move up a class from pure stock to superstreet at that same track. It was another practice and Marvin came home that day not feeling well and with a headache but by later in the day had started to feel better.
The two got everything loaded up and headed for the track. Everything seemed fine and as Cale was going from the infield to turn 4 to get a better view he saw his dad go off the track. Marvin had went over onto the grass and into a tree. Cale wasn't allowed to go across the track to see his dad but eventually knew things were as bad as they could be. Marvin was cut out of the car and was worked on but it was too late. The coroner said it looked like Marvin had an aneurysm. It was the kind of thing that made a 16 year old Cale grow up quickly and become the man of the house for his mom and sister.
Cale decided to stay away from racing for a couple of years but eventually got back into it by getting a drag car and going to the races with his uncles who were also drag racers. Three years passed by and Cale's mom met a man by the name of Paul York who was involved in dirt racing and became Cale's stepdad. Since Paul was involved in short tracks it got Cale back into it and had him taking the motorsports program at South Georgia Technical College in Americus. Cale started going to races at Albany Motor Speedway and decided he needed to get back into racing more. He still had the car he and his dad had started and decided to finish it. It made it's first race debut this year on April 14th. His dad would have been proud to see the car they started together make it onto the track for the first time. Marvin has left behind a legacy in Cale and one that Cale intends to keep alive with every drive to the track. Cale wants to be everything his dad was, a good driver, a clean driver, but more impotantly a good person. With the help and support of his family and friends like Jeff Holbrook who have been there through it all, he will succeed.
For me, his story has touched me personally. My father was taken just this past September in a car accident way too soon and having Father's Day today has made me mindful of others like myself and Cale. Father's are the most important men in our lives and they leave us before we are ready but what they leave behind is a legacy. Love, memories, and pictures are what we have and for some of us it means everything. To Marvin Dixon, I thank you for being an influence to so many and to Tommy Clifton, I thank you for loving me always and being the best father a girl could want. These are the men that every child should I hope, one day all know.
