Hearts were pounding Friday night, May 15, at the Mt. Pleasant Speedway, not because of the action on the track, but instead it was more for what was going on off the track.
The night belonged all to Brian Freeman Jr., a 6-year-old from Owosso, otherwise known as "Little B."
A huge fan of racing, "Little B" was born with a disorder called Neurofibromatosis, which is a potentially fatal disorder his doctors call the "Ticking Time Bomb."
With his disease, "Little B" could also develop seizures and his family said he is already showing signs of them and could possibly go blind and has some learning disabilities, not to mention about two years ago he developed some tumors, which may or may not be cancerous. "Little B" has also developed some cysts on his brain which have to be monitored frequently.
Even with all the issues he has to deal with, "Little B," who turns 7 on June 28, has one dream. To be a racecar driver.
On a recent vacation trip to Harrison, "Little B" and his parents, Kari and Brian Freeman Sr., passed a house with a racecar out front and instantly "Little B" had to stop and look at the car. That car happened to belong to Harrison resident Chuck Powell, who now drives the No. 95 UMP Modified at the Mt. Pleasant Speedway. After stopping and visiting with Powell, "Little B" is now one of Powell's biggest fans.
"Every time we go back on vacation to Harrison we stop and see Chuck (Powell)," Brian Freeman Sr. said.
To show support for his friend and fan, Powell through his Chuck's Discount Foods store sponsored the May 15 "Little B's Bonus Night" with the feature winners in each class receiving bonus money.
"He's got a lot of rough roads ahead of him and I wanted to do something to make it more memorable for him," Powell said before the racing got underway.
Having never been to the Mt. Pleasant Speedway before, the Freeman family arrived early and were given the royal treatment by Mt. Pleasant Speedway promoter Betty Crook and promotional director Bill Long.
"Tonight is just unbelievable," Brian Freeman Sr. said. "There has been one other track (Owosso Speedway) that's done something for us and the Mt. Pleasant Speedway did this really special thing for us. We appreciate everything that everybody here (Mt. Pleasant) has done for him (Little B)."
Before the racing began Long took "Little B" and his father through the pits to meet the drivers.
"That was really cool," Freeman Sr. said. "It's really exciting because I can honestly see him (Little B) doing that (racing). That's a dream to see him racing. It's a feeling that's unexplainable he gets around the cars."
Once in the pits "Little B's" eyes widened and he was all smiles.
"It was exciting," Little B said of meeting the drivers.
When asked what his favorite part of the night was, Little B said "I got to stand by the cars and see the drivers."
As for the best part of racing, Little B said with an excitable voice, "I like to see the cars go fast and crash."
Asked who his favorite driver was, Little B answered quickly, "I like Chuck (Powell)." On the NASCAR side, Little B also had a quick response for his favorite driver, "I like Earnhardt," he said referring to Dale Earnhardt Jr.
"Little B's Bonus Night" developed from the efforts of Powell.
"We got a phone call originally from Chuck (Powell) himself and he said someone had contacted him from one of the race tracks and Chuck said he'd like to do something for 'Little B' and it just went from there," Freeman Sr. said.
The "Little B" journey to being a race fan began early.
"He started out as a young baby at Owosso Speedway watching the races and he would fall a sleep on his grandpa's lap watching the races," Freeman Sr. said. "Friends of ours from the Owosso Speedway, the Adkins racing team (Kevin and Hurley Adkins) are the ones who have really brought him along into racing."
To top off the night, Little B had the honor of being in the victory circle with the feature winners.
"Everybody was great to him," Freeman Sr. said. "The drivers and everyone here at the Mt. Pleasant Speedway has been great to us."
For one night all eyes were on "Little B" to make his dreams come true and this little boy was on top of the world.
