Dirt
TRIBUTE
erry Chandler’s commitment to helping others has
left an indelible mark on the National Hot Rod Association
and Don Schumacher Racing, and her memorable presence at
racetracks and with her Make-A-Wish families and the Infi-
nite Hero Foundation will continue to live on in the hearts of thousands.
Sadly, Terry lost her valiant fight with brain cancer on Tuesday, July
4. She was 65 when she died in Florida with family and loved ones
at her side.
“Terry is a great human being
who devoted the past few years
to helping the Make-A-Wish
and Infinite Hero foundations
with her love and kindness by
funding two of our Funny Car
teams,” said Don Schumacher,
DSR owner and close friend.
“Terry is such a beautiful
person. She was so much more
than a friend and partner. She is
family. We will always see that
wonderful smile of hers at the
starting line.”
The native of New Mexico
missed the NHRA Mello Yello
Series event at Las Vegas in early
April and a few days later under-
went major surgery to partially
remove one of three tumors in
the front lobe of her brain. It was
determined by an MRI that she
was suffering from Glioblastoma
cancer. She was immersed in the
fight of her life and battled val-
iantly to the end.
Chandler was presented with
the NHRA Blaine Johnson
Award in 2015 for her dedication
to helping others. “I love to race,”
she told Autoweek magazine in a
2015 article. “And bless my heart,
I love to win. These gol-darned
cars, I just love ‘em.” Earlier that
year, she was described as being
“the most influential woman in
drag racing” by the Inland Valley
(Calif.) Newspapers.
“I never dreamed that I would
be blessed in a way that would allow me to help others,” she told the
Southern California newspaper.
“Helping people is one of the most important things in the world to me
– my daddy, John R. Gray, was an extremely giving man, and I learned
from him how important it was to bless the lives of others. That is why
this means so much to me. I feel very fortunate to be in this position.”
Terry became a fixture at NHRA national events when her brother,
Johnny Gray, drove a Funny Car for DSR. In 2013, Terry and Johnny
decided to fund the car he drove as a tribute to their late father John R.
Gray, a self-made man who rose to legendary status in the New Mexico
and north Texas oil industry.
Upon Johnny’s retirement from driving at the end of that season,
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Terry began funding the team and added driver Tommy Johnson Jr.
Terry and her husband, Doug, own and operate Chandler Aviation
at the Cavern City Air Terminal in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Instead of
flying the colors of Chandler Aviation on Johnson’s Dodge Charger,
she chose to use the racecar as a platform to promote awareness for a
great cause. The car was painted and the transporters were wrapped
with a striking Make-A-Wish design. She wanted her racecar to be a
“giving car.”
Chandler and DSR host
“Wish Kids” and their families
to the VIP hospitality pavilion
next to the race team’s pit area
on Saturdays at each of the
24 Mello Yello events held in
21 markets across the country.
The Make-A-Wish crew has the
opportunity to engage with the
children, giving them a tour of
the pit area and racecar.
A few months of commit-
ting to fund the Make-A-Wish
team, another DSR team ap-
peared close to dissolving when
the woman with the infectious
smile stepped in to fund the
one driven by Jack Beckman
and donated its branding to
the Infinite Hero Foundation,
a non-profit organization that
combats the most difficult front
line issues by providing grants
to help the physical and psy-
chological challenges faced by
returning military veterans.
More than $300,000 has
been raised by the sale of “chal-
lenge coins” Beckman carries
on each run for a $100 dona-
tion to Infinite Hero, and nearly
$500,000 has been raised for
the organization through Ter-
ry’s efforts.
For the past two years, she
funded the Riley Kids Funny
Car to benefit Riley Hospital
for Children in Indiana during
the prestigious U.S. Nationals
near Indianapolis. She contributed additionally during DSR’s annual
Open House that weekend that also raised funds for Riley Kids, often
bidding on items she would donate back to the effort.
She funded countless Make-A-Wish dreams to provide monumental
memories. She always made it clear to the “Wish Kids” that the racecar
was their car. She would proclaim, “This is your racecar.”
“Terry is just an incredible lady, and we’ll never know how many lives
she impacted,” Don added. “We’ll miss her every day, but we’ll never
forget her smile and her big heart.”
A private funeral service will be held with a public memorial tenta-
tively set for over Labor Day Weekend near Indianapolis during the
NHRA U.S. Nationals. - JEFF WOLF
Issue 123
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Terry Chandler