We often experience things in life that are unexpected.
Arizona resident Ron Neis didn’t expect his brother Rick would pass away just days after Christmas. And, when he planned an elaborate surprise for his niece to honor her late father, he didn’t expect the entire plan to fall through.
He had it all planned out. Ron would surprise his niece Kyndra with a car built in her father’s honor. He had Rick’s jacket and helmet laid out for her to wear.
She had always wanted to race, and now she’d get the chance to at Arizona Speedway on Saturday.
“We thought it was only fitting that we could get a car together for her,” Ron said.
Unfortunately, Kyndra was traveling to Arizona on a flight from Minnesota that was delayed several hours.
Ron didn’t give up hope that she’d somehow make it to the track in time, but eventually, the race started without Kyndra. It was afterward that Ron revealed what could have been. Emotions flooded. Shock, disappointment it didn't all work out and gratitude for the loving gesture her uncle had put so much work into.
“He knows how much I love racing and he knows that it’s something that my dad would do,” Kyndra said. "It meant a lot because you know, wishing my dad was here. I couldn’t believe the thought he did to get this ready for me. It meant a lot.”
After the shock wore off, reality hit. It wasn’t about the surprise. It was about honoring a dad, a brother, who loved his family and loved to race.
“It helps to be around family and I’m at a race track, that’s where he would want me to go.”
Kyndra said she still plans on getting in a car to race this year and she’ll use her dad’s number, 96.