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lockportlegend.com life & arts
the Lockport Legend | July 19, 2018 | 17
Schenk raises money for Special Olympics ahead of race
Mary Compton
Freelance Reporter
Legend has it, the best
stock cars are made in the
junkyard.
Lockport police officer
Debbie Schenk took the advice
of Ron Johnston from
Camp Depression to help
her create her vehicle for
the Saturday, July 21, Five-
0 at the Dirty O at Route 66
Raceway.
The police car race benefits
the athletes of Special
Olympics. Each race
team was required to raise
a minimum $500 donation
to compete, but Schenk
has already blown past
that total.
“I’m at $2,000 for Special
Olympics, [and] my
goal is $5,000,” Schenk
said. “[Anyone] can make
a donation at www.soill.org
and search the Five-0 at the
Dirty O and then search Officer
Debbie Schenk.
“I love the paint job. It
went from being a red car to
black and white. Last year,
my car was purple; it was
thrown together. It’s nice
to have a black and white
[car] this year. My number
will be on the car — number
45 in purple — which is my
badge number.”
Last year, the event was
sold out, and those interested
in attending this year
can purchase tickets online
at www.dirtoval66.com.
Twenty-five-year Lockport
resident Bert Thompson
works at O’Hare Towing,
and he donated a
vehicle for Schenk.
“I’ve been involved in
Special Olympics for a
few years now with Torch
Run and the Five-0 at the
Dirty O; it’s a good cause,”
Thompson said. “This year,
we gave her a better car, we
want her to finish in the Top
five. I helped Debbie strip
the car and interior. State
Street [Auto Body] stepped
up and volunteered to paint
the car, which is a huge undertaking.
This car will also
bring awareness to what the
Lockport Police Department
does as well as Debbie
herself.”
Jim Pelc, owner of State
Street Auto Body for 31
years, did some body work
and painted the Grand Marquis
for Schenk.
“They brought the car in,
it was a piece of junk,” Pelc
said. “We donated our time
and materials to paint the
car black and white like the
Lockport squad car because
the driver is a police officer.
I sanded it down and we
did some body work. The
prep time for the car before
painting was two weeks.
The paint always covers
the sins of the car. The
more you put on the better it
looks. We’re happy to do it
for them and Special Olympics
of Illinois.”
Ron Johnston, a Lockport
resident since 2009, owns
the race team Full Throttle.
He is a union carpenter full
time and does racing as a
hobby.
“I’ve been around this
sport my whole life,” Johnston
said. “We raced 12 cars
last year; the first night we
wrecked 12. We bought 40
cars this year. Last year was
Debbie’s first year. There
was supposed to be another
officer racing and he chickened
out and officer Debbie
stepped up. She didn’t want
to race at first, but she did
it. She had some guts to go
out there and race with a
bunch of guys. This year,
we made sure everything
was good mechanically for
her car.
“If you want to win, you
have to win in the garage
first.”
Lockport officer Debbie Schenk checks over her stock car at Camp Depression, which she will be driving Saturday, July
21, Five-0 at the Dirty O Tournament of Destruction at the Dirt Oval at Route 66 Raceway.
Photos by Mary Compton/22nd Century Media
Anthony Schenk, 14, helps his mom wipe down her stock car.