NATHAN VANBEEK
out to his family .”
“ RIP Nathan VanBeek , gone too young ,” said Jason Harris , a two-time PDRA Pro Nitrous world champion , multi-time Piedmont Big Dog Shootout champion , and reigning PDRA Pro Boost world champion . “ He loved the sport of drag racing and dedicated so much to the sport .”
VanBeek ’ s passion and dedication at such a young age was recognized in 2017 when he was named to the Drag Illustrated 30 Under 30 List . His untimely passing touched many of his fellow 30 Under 30 honorees , including Top Sportsman standout Dan Ferguson , who won a CXPM race at Darlington in 2017 .
“ Man , it ’ s some really shocking news to hear that we have lost Nathan VanBeek in a work accident today ,” Ferguson said in a Facebook post on February 8th . “ He was two years younger than me . We were just reminiscing yesterday on a post he made on Facebook about some of the Top Sportsman races he put on back in 2013-2014 , which was pretty much the beginning of me racing . He was a good dude . So sorry to his family and closer friends for your loss . Godspeed .”
Promoting races was VanBeek ’ s way of contributing to the sport he loved , but he was also
an active participant as a racer . His father , Tom , raced Top Sportsman for a number of years before handing over the driving duties to Nathan , who drove the family ’ s 1988 Beretta to a second-place finish in the 2017 IHRA world championship , missing out on first by just five points . He enjoyed watching his father race just as much as he enjoyed driving , though , and he most recently started racing his own dragster .
“ He wanted to race as bad as anybody ,” Wilson said . “ He wanted to be in a Pro Mod car , but he wanted to see everybody else have fun and enjoy Pro Mod racing as much as he did as he was growing up .
“ He looked up to the Ronnie Davises , the Bruce Thrifts ,” Wilson continued . “ He was a big advocate of Top Sportsman racing . He was a very good racer himself .”
Wilson , who encouraged readers to donate to God Speed Ministry in VanBeek ’ s memory , is planning a memorial event such as a candlelight vigil for VanBeek later this season .
“ I also wouldn ’ t be surprised if you don ’ t see a race pop up in the next year or so in memory of Nathan ,” Wilson said . “ But I want people to know that he needs to be honored and remembered for what he did . I helped with it , but he needs to be remembered for what he done for local Pro Mod racing and Top Sportsman racing , and also remembered just for being a good person .”
VanBeek leaves behind his parents , Tom and Trish , his brother , Wayne ( Stacy ), sister , Shannon , and many aunts , uncles , nephews , cousins , and special friends who will make sure that he is never forgotten . DI
50 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 187