I’ve had the pleasure of working with Jim Rosenblum of FDNY Racing on a couple of occasions and each time I am so impressed with him, his team and their dedication to their mission. They don’t have corporate sponsorship that allows them to run every race on the Camping World Truck Series schedule despite the fact that Jim has been a NASCAR team owner for 40 years or more. But when they do compete the reception by the fans, other teams, NASCAR and even the track emergency personnel is amazing. That helps fuel the fire, so to speak, to keep their message alive.
FDNY Racing is heading to Pocono for this weekend’s Good Sam RV Emergency Road Service 125 with driver Wes Burton. They have a new paint scheme and graphic design to commemorate next month’s 10th anniversary of 911. To the team their presence means more than racing as you will come to realize in the following interviews with Jim, Mike Bolnik, gas man for the team, and Billy Rock, jack man.
Giving a short history of his lengthy racing career Rosenblum said, “When we started out we ran the Trans Am Series and won the championship with Jocko Maggiacomo and then we went Cup racing. Beginning with NASCAR, it was probably 40 years ago. We did that until the truck series started in ’95. We ran the 1st truck race and were one of the first teams. Then in ’96 we ran the trucks and a couple of Cup races but it got too expensive so we just stayed with the trucks. To quote Randy LaJoie, whenever you come over to our team we’ve always got a smile. We may not be winning but we’ve always got a smile on our face.”
“As far as my involvement with the fire department, after 911 when everybody was collecting billions of dollars, and of course none of the money went where it was supposed to which is another story, someone wanted to donate money and asked us who they could donate to where it will actually go where it’s supposed to. Mike Bolnik, a Lieutenant with the fire department, said to give it to the Widows and Childrens Fund. That’s run by the fire department union and there are no administrative fees so whatever is collected goes where it is supposed to. Right after 911 we were collecting a lot of money, but like everything else there are a lot of short memories in the United States. If you’re west of The George Washington Bridge most people don’t know what’s going on, but we’ve been donating to that fund ever since. And we’ve helped fire departments in different parts of the country when they were having fundraisers for themselves.”
When 911 happened at WTC and the first responders headed to assist Jim said, “Nobody asked am I going to get sick, should I go down there cause it’s dangerous. Everybody just went to do their job. Most of our team are either retired from the fire department or the police department. Plus we have volunteers from Michigan, Ohio, Florida and North Carolina. We go race, we eat very well, we go there to have fun and bring attention to some of the problems we still have. In the New York Post the other day, a WTC worker with cancer actually received a compensation check for zero dollars. (Cancer-stricken Ground Zero worker Edgar Galvis gets settlement check for zero dollars – NYPOST.com ). The first responders that are dying from rare forms of cancer, I think there are 55 already, their doctor has said their rare cancer can only come from working at the Trade Center, but now some doctor has said there’s no proof of that so they aren’t going to receive any money. The whole thing is a joke.”
The disgust for the treatment of this man and so many others was evident in his voice. Instead of continuing he chose to have me speak with 2 of his team members.
The first of those I spoke with was Billy Rock, a member of NYPD on 911 and now a jack man for the team. Billy now resides in Florida. Billy is, as he says, Jim’s “go to man”. “Jim is well known and been involved in NASCAR for 40 years. It was amazing for him to take the initiative after 911 to change his established race team name to FDNY Racing to commemorate the fallen heroes. It was a privilege for me to meet him, get the opportunity to join the team and become a part of that family nearly 10 years ago. This upcoming race in Pocono is a real special race, especially with the (upcoming) anniversary of 911. Nobody really forgets that tragic day but it’s just a reminder that we’re still out there representing all the fallen civilians and first responders. I am really excited and just can’t wait to be there, be a part of it and represent the team. I haven’t seen the truck but I hear it is amazing.”
“When we get to the track everybody knows what to do. It’s strickly business. We get the job done and then afterwards Jim usually takes us out for a really nice steak dinner. We just enjoy ourselves, talk about the race or the days events and it’s an honor to be a part of that organization. I can’t wait for the truck to be out there. It’s such a feeling of pride. There’s fire fighters, police officers, construction guys, a bunch of different guys who do different things for a career and when we get to the track we’re a race crew. It’s just nice.”
Regarding what this team represents Billy continued, “The human sacrifice is still continuing day to day, including myself. I’m part of the Mount Sinai World Trade Center Monitoring Program. I have my yearly examination this coming Monday. I live in Florida now so when I go home to visit for my examination it’s a reality check because every time I watch the local news there’s still a fire fighter or police officer who has passed away with illnesses related to those toxic chemicals that were ingested or inhaled at the time of the attacks. It scares me when I go home and put the news on. The loss of life that happened on that day in Pennsylvania, in New York and at the Pentagon isn’t over.”
“In addition the team has a tremendous respect and appreciation for the men and women soldiers that are fighting for our freedom overseas. At the track or at the airport when we see them coming home or leaving for deployment we always wave and thank them. Sometimes they seemed shocked that we’re thanking them. More people, when they see a soldier in uniform should really thank them for what they’re doing for us. They are part of that tragic day just as much as a first responder. We’re all in this together.”
“Jim is just a very generous guy. For all the money he donated to some police departments and the Widows and Childrens Fund he was presented with the very prestigious Ambassador Award, part of the Liberty Medal Award, by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2004. He continues to donate today.”
A sort time later I spoke with Mike Bolnik, retired now from FDNY, who is the gas man for the team along with many other duties. According to Rosenblum Mike has 2 sons on the fire department and a grandson who will be one day. Apparently serving their community is a family tradition.
Everyone from this team (except Jim himself) always gives credit to Jim and Bolnik started out that way as well. “You know who deserves all the credit is Jim because he funds the whole thing out of the goodness of his heart and it’s a costly endeavor. I want to make sure he is recognized for all he has done. And I think it’s important that we keep the memory of 911 alive. Unfortunately this country seems to have a short memory. In the New York metropolitan area it’s still fresh but in many other parts of the country it’s a distant memory for them. It was the worst day in the history of this country. Unfortuantely there are a lot more people who have come down with illnesses, and a lot more are going to, due to the work they did there. It’s important to remember them, as well. I lost a lot of friends that day, spent a lot of time working there and it is something that will affect you for the rest of your life. Keeping their spirit alive is important, as well. It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years. Sometimes it seems like yesterday.”
“We all have the utmost respect for Jim and what he has done. I can assure you of that. He’s a fantastic human being. Remembering is what this is all about and hopefully people will be motivated to donate to The FDNY Widows and Childrens Fund. That’s where the money goes primarily.”
It’s amazing to me how each member of this team gives the credit to Jim. “Self” is not a word that any of them speak. That is a true sign of a family, an amazing patriotic racing family.
343 NY fire fighters, 72 NY police officers including 2 NY port authority officers died that day. 2973 total people died in New York, at the Pentagon and in the field in Pennsylvania. But as you have read here those totals aren’t the whole story. Thousands of people all across this country are still dealing with the death of family, coworkers and friends. And now other first responders and the crews that worked for months on end are becoming very ill, some succumbing to this. And so far no end is in sight. As Bolnik said, “keeping their spirit alive is important.”
More than the landscape in New York City and the Pennsylvania corn field changed that day. More than a strangley shaped building in Arlington County, Virginia had to be rebuilt. Lives were lost, lives were forever changed and lives had to be rebuilt. Heartbroken people had to go on living while some heroic people are, now, paying the price for the horrific work they did that day and in the following months. Awareness, memory, that’s what FDNY Racing is about. Unfortunately they no longer have a webmaster so it hasn’t been updated with events and news in quite some time, however they still have diecast and T shirts available for sale. Please be sure to check it out at www.fdnyracing.com
One of the first things you will see when you go to their website are the compelling words, “All gave some…some gave all”. FDNY Racing is trying to give back! Sponsorship can help this team carry their message to more tracks and states and reach more people. If you are interested contact information is available there.
Good luck at Pocono, Jim. We’ll be watching and cheering!
