BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – Former Jacksonville State student Leah Tarvin, who tragically died when she was struck by a vehicle in 2022, will be honored at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend.
Joey Gase will race his No. 35 car in the Xfinity Series on Saturday with a picture of Tarvin on his hood. Gase lost his mother to a brain aneurysm when he was 18 years old. She was also an organ donor. With that in mind, Gase often recognizes other organ donors at NASCAR tracks around the country.
“She was able to give that gift and now she’s out here today on top of that raising awareness for organ donation. She’s also saving lives that way. It’s one thing to have logos on the car, but when the public sees hand prints and honoree photos on the car they are going to stop and ask what’s on there. We get to tell them why and that saves lives by getting people to register as well,” said Gase.
Leah’s father, Mark, shared with WBRC 6 News that Leah always wanted to take a lap at Talladega. She grew up watching races with her father.
So when it comes to the Xfinity Series race this weekend, you know exactly who the Tarvin’s will be rooting for to win. And if Gase does win, Leah’s mother, Cindy, thinks she’ll know why.
“I’d be saying, Leah was probably driving that car. She had some spunk about her. She was very talented, she was smart. She was not the geeky smart. She had a lot of spunk about her,” said Cindy.
The Ag-Pro 300 is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. Saturday.
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