Really is cool to read these posts about my great-grandfather, or Bompa, as we called him. He lived for 92 lively and fun-filled years, before passing away peacefully in his sleep Thursday morning. His real name was Wardell E. Shackleford, but clearly "Friday" was much more appealing to the ears, haha. He and his wife of over 50 years, Betty, along with their three granddaughters, would spend their summers during the 80's traveling across Indiana and the rest of the midwest, racing his #41 Valvoline TQ whenever he could. As mentioned above by TQ29m, Friday had two granddaughters, Wendy and Cindy, who both married into other racing families, with Wendy marrying Bobby Michnowicz from California, and Cindy (my mom) marrying Michael Nigh (son of Carl Nigh) from Rushville. Both my mom and my aunt Wendy met their prospective husbands while on the TQ tours with my Nana and Bompa. I'm thankful for him introducing my parents to each other, as it has enabled my entire family to continue to grow up in the racing community. Friday raced well into his late 60's and early 70's before hanging up his helmet (yes, the one with roll of plastic) to spend time with Betty, his grandkids and great-grandkids. After TQ racing, he moved on to RC boat racing, which he did for over ten years with my Nana, Betty, who would "launch" his boat for every race, until her death in 2002. As it was mentioned above, Friday truly was "one of a kind," always wanting to be creative (a la, the plastic roll on the helmet), and always someone with a story to tell. I can't thank you all enough for the kind words about my Bompa, it truly means the world to me.

Cody Nigh