Building the ‘71 Margay Cheetah
Tom Brabant is a relative newcomer to the sport of Vintage Karting. He’s actually one of only a handful of folks from right here in my home-town KC that are involved. Over the past three years, I’ve been Tom’s emissary by trying to model the same incredible camaraderie that so many people showed me when I was first entering the sport and trying to increase my own knowledge base over the past five years.
During the time I’ve known Tom, he’s become one of my absolutely closest friends. Sadly, Tom is (once again) battling cancer. So I suggested we work together to restore this incredible Cheetah as a way to keep his mind off the rougher side of life while engaging his body in something productive that can stand in testament to his spirit for decades and decades to come, no matter what.
What a blast we’ve had. The Cheetah made its debut at the Broadhead Wisconsin Race in late July of 2021, taking home top honors for “best restored original”. It was the first trophy Tom’s won since he was a kid—and I can tell you, he looked just like a kid when the kart won. Pretty darned cool!
I think everyone battling cancer should win a trophy. It sure seemed fantastically beneficial as a part of Tom’s treatment regime. He’s doing GREAT! And I’m super glad we were both able to dedicate the time to do this together from start to finish.
Most recently, Tom’s been returning the favor by providing inspiration to my Grandma (they’re almost exactly the same age) who’s got stage-4 metastasized breast cancer. Grandma says, “if Tom can do it, I can do it. I’m tougher than Tom anyhow!” I think she just might be.
Maybe I’d better get started with her on a fresh kart build so we can coax her out onto the track this spring. . . I think there’s one or two on the way to the Mayo Clinic up in Minnesota where she’s getting her treatments.
Karting: A new weapon in the “race” to cure cancer.
