Josh

By MATT NESTOR of the Tribune’s staff
(reprinted with permission).

Published Monday, March 8, 2004

Josh Baysinger was walking around in the garage at Daytona International Speedway with NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Carl Edwards when they bumped into Nextel Cup driver Kurt Busch.

Busch took one look at the Dale Earnhardt Jr. hat Josh was wearing and said, "You need a new hat."

Busch took his hat off, autographed it and placed on Josh’s head, covering the Earnhardt hat.

That was one of many gifts Josh received during his few days in Daytona, a trip made possible by the Central Missouri Dream Factory. He received pictures, posters, hats - everything autographed. He had to buy a backpack to haul the stuff back in.

Drivers and crew members recognized Josh and had him sign their stuff. And fans who had seen Josh on the big screen were asking for his autograph.

At one point, Josh had become so overwhelmed with everything, he had to ask, "Am I a celebrity?"

Josh, 12, and his father, Mike Baysinger, had seats reserved for the NASCAR races at Daytona Feb 13-15. They used them once.

Josh sat on the couch in his aunt and uncle’s house in Jefferson City as he talked about the trip. He kept his hands clasped together and dropped between his knees. He had to tilt his head back to see out from under the bill of his father’s Edwards hat, but his smile was always visible.

Mike Whitworth of the Central Missouri Dream Factory helped set up the Baysingers’ trip to Daytona. Josh has neurofirbomatosis, a genetic disorder which causes tumors to grow along nerves and can affect the development of other tissues. He has tumors in his body that feed off his blood and mess with his nervous system.

He has a tumor on his back that reaches around to his side, making it look as if the bottom of his ribcage is sticking out. Baysinger said Josh has tumors that are expanding and deforming his chest cavity.

He’s had a couple surgeries to remove tumors, but they are expected to come back. Josh has also had two back surgeries and undergoes MRIs at Cardinal Glennon Hospital in St. Louis to make sure no tumors are affecting his brain.

Josh told the Dream Factory he wanted to meet a NASCAR driver. Whitworth made some phone calls to NASCAR and Daytona. It was too late, he was told, to set anything up, including getting complimentary tickets. Whitworth thought it would be a good idea for Josh to meet Edwards because the Mid-Missouri connection might catch Edwards’ interest. So he got in touch with Roush Racing.

A trip that almost never happened turned into a magical weekend.

"Going into it, we thought, ‘Well, we’ll get a couple minutes with Carl,’ " Mike Baysinger said. "That couple minutes started on Wednesday night when we got there, and it didn’t stop. It went all the way through to Sunday."

Said Edwards: "It was really neat to see because he was walking around there just like I was a year ago, the first time I got to race at Daytona, just kind of trying to take it all in. It was really neat to see how excited he was."

Edwards invited Josh to sit in the pits with Crew Chief Kevin Starland for the Florida Dodge Dealers 250. They gave Josh a set of headphones so he could listen in.

"I couldn’t even really understand what they were saying most of the time," Josh said.

When Edwards was getting strapped in the truck, he asked for Josh to come out. He took the hat off Josh’s head and signed it. He hooked it around the gearshift in his No. 99 Ford, looked to Josh and said, "I’ll give this back to you in victory lane."

Turned out that wasn’t going to be easy. Edwards had to switch engines before the race, meaning he had to start at the back of the field. As he pulled near the front, he got a flat tire and had to pit.

"I wasn’t sure if it was going to work there a couple times in the race," Edwards said. "We had some bad moments."

There was a 15-car pileup late in the race that the Speed Channel had said knocked Edwards out of the race. However, Edwards had turned on pit road to avoid incident.

"The entire crew, we were all standing there like, ‘Wow. What was that all about?’ " Mike Baysinger said. "It took us a few minutes to realize who it was."

Edwards again battled his way back to the front. He talked to Josh on the radio announcing he was going to win the race. Suddenly, Speed Channel was in the pits interviewing Josh.

"I was watching something in the pits there," Mike Baysinger said. "Next thing I know is Speed Channel’s got a microphone and camera right in Josh’s face doing an interview with him. There were like 12 laps to go in the race, I’m thinking, ‘What did I just miss?’ Then Carl’s girlfriend came over and said, ‘Did you hear that?’ And I said, ‘No.’

"She says, ‘Carl just came on the radio and told everybody to give Josh thumb’s up or go rub him on the head, because he’s the one that brought him all the good luck.’ "

Edwards eventually pulled out the win. When Edwards got to victory lane, after thanking God, he started talking about Josh. Edwards picked him up and put the hat on him. Then he announced to everyone that he was giving the trophy - his first Daytona trophy - to Josh.

"My first race, my first trophy," Josh said, beaming.

Edwards said he got the idea from a local racer.

"There’s a guy, who’s a really good racer from Columbia, named Danny Crane," Edwards said. "I saw him giving away his trophies that he won at Capital Speedway in about 1999. He used to give them to kids every night he’d win. And he’d win a lot. I thought, ‘Man, that’s pretty cool.’ So after I saw Danny doing that, I thought that’s a lot neater thing to do with your trophies than to let them collect in your house.

"I just hope that Josh enjoys it. I’ll always remember it. I just want him to always remember it."

Josh could be seen all over Daytona International Speedway that weekend. Greg Biffle’s crew chief, Doug Richert, took the Baysingers out for dinner Saturday night. Biffle took Josh on stage for the Daytona 500 prerace introductions. Josh rode in a Corvette in the prerace parade. He watched the 500 with Owner Jack Roush from Roush’s trailer.

"You can’t thank people enough for all of this," Whitworth said. "They just literally inherited our Dream family for a week and took care of them."

Jeff and Tamie Davis, Josh’s aunt and uncle, kept a diary from every day when Josh would call and tell him everything he did.

The only thing Josh didn’t make was Saturday’s Busch race, which was rained out. It was rescheduled for the next Monday, but Josh had gotten sick Sunday and was too worn out to go.

Josh is waiting for treatment, something the family hopes begins soon. It was originally scheduled to begin last Monday, but the treatment hasn’t yet been approved by the FDA. Josh will be taking a drug that’s supposed to stop the blood flow in the tumor. They don’t know if it’s going to work.

"We’ve got to do it," Mike Baysinger said.

Josh, who can’t stay active for very long without getting worn down, has become a wiz at racing video games. He’s challenged Edwards to a race next time Edwards comes into town.

Edwards talks with Josh over the phone nearly every day.

Each conversation, Edwards concludes by telling Josh, "Don’t give up."

Josh responds, "You don’t give up either."

Reach Matt Nestor at (573) 815-1786 or mnestor@tribmail.com.

A dream weekend for local boy
Edwards makes Daytona trip special.

Josh Baysinger, who suffers from a condition called neurofibromatosis, was the recipient of a trip to Daytona, where he watched from the pits.

For more information on the Central Missouri Dream Factory, contact Mike Whitworth at (573) 443-7500

For more information on making a donation to Josh Baysinger's medical fund, contact Jeff Davis at (573) 659-4915, ext. 101.

Jenna Isaacson photo

Josh & NASCAR

Website Created by: Michael and Janet Darmanin.
Please report any website problems to: zendestiny@gmail.com

Read The Dream Factory’s Privacy Policy