On behalf of the Wilson family, they wanted to invite any friends and acquaintances from the racing community to stop by and say hi to Kent who has been battling significant medical challenges in the form of small cell carcinoma.

His daughter Charlie dropped us a note requesting that we pass along a gathering they have planned for this Saturday, January 28th. It will take place from noon till 6 pm at 1835 W. Verbena Dr., in Meridian. Everyone is welcome.

Kent is hoping to re-connect with many of his friends from Firebird and beyond, past and present, to share stories and revisit all the fun days and stories that he enjoyed while competing at Firebird. Kent raced for a number of years with a very quick Chevrolet fleetside truck in Pro followed up by a 9-second `63 Chevy Nova.

One of Kent’s racing highlights had to be the 40th Anniversary of the Nightfire Nationals (pictured on this page) way back in 2011 when he not only won Saturday night’s Pro eliminator, but went onto sweep the multi-day point’s championships in the class, too. Hands down, this is Firebird’s biggest event of the season and to win it all was indeed an amazing accomplishment.

On behalf of all of us in the New family, our staff and everyone who has come to know Kent over all these years, we want to wish him the very best.