Against the Wind - National Air Traffic Controllers Association

NATCA Racing
The red-and-blue NATCA logo, a
visual symbol of the union’s identity
since before certification in 1987, has
appeared on shirts and jackets, pins and
belt buckles, coffee mugs and key rings. It
has graced the walls of air traffic control
facilities and homes, and can be seen on
many members’ cars and trucks.
On Memorial Day weekend 1998,
the logo debuted in a new venue: the Indianapolis
500. Its appearance represented
the union’s sponsorship of a car driven
by Sam Schmidt, a recent contender on
the circuit who placed sixth at Indy and
won the Las Vegas 500K in 1999.
Schmidt had been racing since he
was 5. He owned a car, but needed sponsors
when he met Taylor Koonce, a racing
fan and controller at Indianapolis Tower/
TRACON. Showing the union’s colors at
major spectator sports events appealed to
Koonce, as well as others in the local and
across the field at Indianapolis Center.
They also saw it as a natural pairing given
that controllers frequently work in temporary
towers at races to handle the influx of
drivers, pit crews, and spectators.
The two Indianapolis locals soon
began selling stylish polo shirts with
checkered trim, Sam Schmidt’s autograph
and car number—99—and a “NATCA
Racing” logo to help underwrite the cost
of sponsorship. “It’s a win-win situation,”
says Koonce, who spent ten years as a
Navy controller before joining the FAA in
1988. “The more we go to the track, the
more people recognize the shirts. They
get to know controllers.”
NATCA’s involvement took on
new meaning in January 2000 after the
35-year-old Schmidt suffered critical
injuries in an accident at the Walt
Disney World Speedway in Bay Lake,
Florida. Supported by a respirator for
months, he was diagnosed as a quadriplegic.
For the Schmidt family, history
had repeated itself. Sam’s father, Marvin,
remains partially paralyzed from a
racing accident that occurred when his
son was 10.
When the family established the
Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation, NAT-
CA Racing proceeds from an expanded
line of clothing sales were redirected
toward spinal cord research. A year later,
the foundation turned over $50,000
in donations from the union and other
sources to the Washington University
Chapter 6: Spreading its Wings
Japphire
Clothing for a cause: A portion of proceeds from
shirt sales helps underwrite spinal cord research.
School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Schmidt, who hopes to benefit
from that research someday, has not been
content to limit himself to daily physical
therapy. In 2001, he formed a team and
returned to racing. “Sam is not a quitter,”
Koonce says. “He continues to strive for
excellence, and that’s very representative
of NATCA.”
In 2002, the union began sponsoring
NASCAR Winston Cup star
Bobby Labonte, who won the Virginia
500 in April.
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