---

Tina Davidson Keeping Late Husband Ricky’s Memory Alive Thanks to Success of Ard and Cook

By Chuck Corder

Somewhere up in heaven, Ricky Davidson is looking down and smiling from ear to ear.

Davidson lost a lengthy battle with cancer in February, but his untimely passing has inspired the racing team he left behind.

Going into the 50-lap Sportsman Spectacular on Friday at Five Flags Speedway, Davidson Racing has two of the favorites to walk away with the $1,000 winner’s purse.

Calvin Cook in the No. 81 and Shanna Ard in the No. 29 come into the race third and fourth in points, respectively.

Their continued success has routinely paid homage to Davidson, who has been memorialized this season on a sticker that adorns many of the Sportsman cars.

“We couldn’t ask for anything better, to be honest,� Ard said. “We’re keeping the memory alive.�

A win, on what is one of the biggest nights of the year at Pensacola’s high banks, would be the perfect keepsake.

The Modifieds and Bombers will complement the Sportsmen’s big race quite nicely. The other main attractions Friday will be the return of the Demolition Derby and a Faster Pastor Race, featuring five local pastors and the President/CEO of the United Cerebral Palsy Northwest Florida.

All that and admission to the grandstands is only $5 when the gates open at 5 p.m. Friday (under 6 is free).

Tina Davison, Ricky’s wife, even has to marvel by the performances of Cook, 26, and Ard, 31, this season.

“They get out there and beat and bang,� Tina Davidson said. “Whoever is in the grandstands, I promise they’re getting show. It’s very competitive between the boys.�

Cook, a dirt-track veteran since he was 11, took over in the No. 81 at last year’s Snowball Derby when Ricky’s 3½ battle with terminal cancer had weakened him and Tina stayed by his side every second of the debilitating struggle.

Cook knows the strategy for Friday will be much different than his aggressive sliding style that has become a trademark at America’s Favorite Home Track.

“My game plan is to ride for the first 15 laps and go from there,� Cook said. “You have to save your tires; it’s Pensacola.�

Cook got well-acquainted with Ricky Davidson last year and Cook, like everyone who was blessed to know Ricky Davidson, was immediately drawn in.

“This whole season means a lot,� Cook said. “Whenever we got to the racetrack, Ricky always had a spare part for us when we needed it. This year, he’s not there, but every time we’re at the racetrack and think we don’t have everything we need, you’ll find extra parts Ricky stashed away.�

That was Tina Davidson’s man. Always reliable. Always a step ahead of everyone else.

Not surprisingly, she struggled mightily in the first few months after Ricky died.

“It was just hard for me to come to the shop,� Tina said. “He was here his entire life. He was our Q.A. — quality control and quality assurance. He’d keep us in line. I miss that.

“You’d pull up to the gate (of their shop) and the emotions would start,� she continued. “I was with Rick 22 years. We’d come to work together, go home together, we were together 24 hours a day.�

So changes were inevitable. They rewrapped the No. 81 to alter its appearance and moved Ricky’s truck elsewhere so Tina and the workers didn’t have to stare at each day.

Slowly, but surely the pain eased and when the season kicked off in March, Tina knew it was time to move forward.

While she still has yet to race since last fall, Tina has plans to get back in the car at the next Sportsman race Aug. 24.

“We didn’t stop racing because that’s what he’d want,� Tina said. “He wanted us to continue. It’s all in his memory. I’ve got a wall full of trophies from the guys because the whole wall is for him.�

One of the last trips Ricky Davidson made to the track came last September, a night that was perhaps the proudest night for Davidson Racing.

Tina led wire-to-wire to capture her first career checkered flag.

Up out of the wheelchair he was thought to be confined to, Ricky Davidson could be seen celebrating wildly, have to be held back in Victory Lane while Tina crossed the finish line.

“He was very weak, but he was there cheering for me,� Tina fondly remembered. “There are not enough words to describe how happy I was. It meant a lot that he was there.

“He never had been one for public affection. He didn’t do it, but he kissed me in Victory Lane and they took a photo of it. I couldn’t have staged that. The Lord was on my side.�

Tina Davidson still has that photo along with one of Ricky in a golf cart with the winning trophy sitting on his lap on her Facebook page.

It’s a lasting image of Ricky Davidson. Tina and Davidson Racing members can always stare at it and remember the special place he held in their hearts.

They’d love to turn the page come Friday and create a few more lasting images to honor Ricky, who will undoubtedly be with them in spirit.

“You have to push forward. You can’t go backward,� Tina Davidson said. “Nothing in life comes from our past. We all have to go forward with our futures. If Ricky was still here, he’d tell us to get off our butts and go to work. That’s was him.�

Back to News