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EYE ON THE INDUSTRY

THOMAS M. ARGY JR. – A GIANT OF A MAN
Eulogy by Darrell Sitarz, editor

Tom Argy Jr. was a giant of a man – in more ways than one; Large in stature, but gentle in nature. Like a gentleman, Tom could quickly take control of a situation and make a decision, more often than not, the right one. Yet, he could mentor a young karter with the finesse of a kindergarten teacher.

To the karting industry, Tom was unique. He was the liaison between the States and Europe, and was known across the pond as “Mr. USA”. He was on a first name basis with manufacturers both here and around the world. I was at the European Championships in France some years ago, and Tom introduce all of us to the presidents and CEOs, and drivers of all of the top European kart companies – talking to each like they were family. He was welcomed with open arms – which was amazing to watch! And Tom, more than any one person in this country is responsible for the influx of European chassis entering the US marketplace.

Tom’s unending love for karting included many aspects of the sport: track officiating, safety official, race promoter, journalist, videographer, and more that anything else, a teacher. He never, and I mean never, failed to help someone who asked for his help.

He was a crowd pleaser and boy, did he love to talk about karting. Tom was a staple at Kart Expo – almost since its inception, presenting seminars on sponsorship, track promotion, and others subjects. I never had to ask him, he would ask me – “You want me to do a seminar, don’t you?” When the show moved back to Chicago in 2001, the date was the same weekend as the Daytona 500. Tom had promised to do a seminar at the show, which was heavily promoted, when he realized that it was, indeed the Daytona weekend. He called me and said he’d still be able to do the seminar if I could move it back to Friday, instead of Saturday when it was originally scheduled. True to his word, he flew (at his own expense) from Daytona, presented the seminar on Friday, stayed around for Q and A and flew back that afternoon. How many people would do that?

Tom did not seem to have a need for glory – a need for recognition for what he was doing. He did what he did, the best he knew how and take it or leave it. I hope now that he’s gone, folks in the karting industry will realize how much of an impact he had on the sport and how much he’ll be missed, maybe not today, but tomorrow when they realize just what he really was doing for the sport!

Tom and I have been friends for a long, long time and we talked often and forever about the sport, about a karting museum, about TAG, about everything under the sun! There was no one, I repeat, no one more devoted to karting than Tom Argy Jr. was. Whether you agreed with him or not, Tom's heart was always in the right place - and by golly, karting is a better sport because of him!

Tom was one of a kind and I will miss him!

NOTE: An ‘Irish Wake’ for Tom Argy Jr. will be held on Saturday, February 22, 2004 at Kart Expo. Everyone is welcomed to pay tribute. More information will be forthcoming in ‘Kart Expo Update’ on this site.

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