Doc Lavinder was the victim of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis at the age of two and a half, and was thereafter classified as "severely disabled." He was told all of his life (by Doctors, Nurses, Physical Therapists, Rehabilitation Counselors) that he had to "Realize his limitations, he would never be able to drive." But Doc's dream was to drag-race...(being the son of a race-car mechanic, he had been a fan for as long as he could remember.) His father always told him that he "could do anything he wanted, he just had to figure out how."

Doc persevered and received his first driver's license in 1986 at the age of 27. As he attended college, he also began gathering parts for his race car. He graduated from college on June 8, 1990, and made his racing debut on June 30, 1990, at Woodburn (OR) Dragstrip's "Oldies But Goodies" race, driving his 1935 Nash Lafayette Coupe, in red primer, with the name the SEVERELY DISABLED CHICKEN COUPE proudly displayed in shoe-polish on the doors. Doc enjoyed his career, promoting the ABILITY in Disability, racing every weekend during the Season until his death, exactly 7 years later, on the weekend of the "Oldies But Goodies."(Which for the first time ever, was rained out.) He never used his college degree, as prospective employers would look at him, and say, "But what can you DO???"

Doc could DO anything he wanted. But what he enjoyed most was drag-racing. He promoted the ABILITY in Disability every weekend. Proving to thousands of fans that "people with disabilities are just people. People with the same wants, needs and desires of everyone else, and it just takes "things" to accomplish their goals." Doc lived a perfectly normal life (if you consider drag-racing normal!) LOL

Doc named his race car with tongue in cheek as he was considered "severely disabled" and his car was being used as a chicken coop when he found it. Overtaken with chickens, it was a rusting hulk of "some kind of old car" sitting in a farmer's yard on cinder blocks. It was knee-deep in rotten eggs, chicken dung and feathers. But under all the chicken "stuff" Doc could see the car of his childhood dreams. It took several months of library research to identify that his car was a very rare, 1935 Nash Lafayette 5-window coupe. We used the chicken coop theme throughout his career. When another racer, Gary Eaves (and his race-team) volunteered to paint the car lavender (they were tired of looking at it in primer), they had an artist, Linda Wiles, add a purple rooster in a wheelchair doing a burn-out on the tail section of the car proclaiming, "Cocky on Wheels". And I always added, "In the car or out, he's still cocky on wheels!" Another friend added an old Rambler gas cap and filler tube, which I kept stocked with feathers to give to kids for good luck. Over the years many fans gave Doc stuffed toy chickens and roosters which we tucked in along the roll-cage. One of our sponsors, R∓J Mobility Services, (in Independence, Oregon) even roosted a taxidermed real Rooster, complete with lavender 5-point harness and a cock-a-doodle horn. Now THAT got attention!

Doc's disability made him visually unique in the world of drag-racing. So we took advantage of people's natural curiosity to show them the very low-tech adaptive equipment that enabled him to compete at an equal level with able-bodied racers. R&J Mobility was the sponsor for all of Doc's adaptive equipment. Although their business is doing Van conversions for the disabled, outfitting the Chicken Coupe was their first race car conversion. They put in a swivel & slidable seat, that allowed Doc entry into the car. They built the gearshift up where he could reach it and extended the gas pedal up to reach his foot. He gassed with his right foot and used a left hand-brake mounted to the dash. although he shifted 3 times during a pass, he had a manual shift-body transmission so he didn't have to clutch. He had a Chrysler tilt-telescoping steering column that he would position after he was in the car. He had a small, after-market steering wheel with a custom-to-fit-his-hand spinner-knob for making turning in the pits and at the end of the track easier. As he increased his speed, the safety equipment had to be modified to keep him safe and legal. The roll-bar was hinged so it could open to allow his seat to slide for his transfer from his wheelchair. R&J made a special locking device to attach the seat to the roll-cage during competition. His 5-point harness had quick-release locks which were also attached to the roll-cage. We found that at the drag-strip, there was no discrimination. Doc loved racing, mainly because, at the Drag-strip, he was "normal". Just another guy who wanted to go fast! Doc took the car from its very first pass of 23.73 seconds at 51.36 mph to its best of 11.12 at 120.85 mph in the 1/4 mile. His goal for the 1997 Season was 10.90, he didn't quite make it, but now he's racing in Heaven against racers like Blaine Johnson, and I continue to promote the ABILITY in Disability.

In the seven years that Doc raced, he received much media coverage, appearing in local Newspapers, Magazines and TV News programs. The spotlighting of him on TNN's "NHRA Today" in 1993 was his first National coverage.

I encourage other people with disabilities to try drag-racing, because at the track, there is no discrimination. It's the very rare sport where people with disabilities can compete AT AN EQUAL LEVEL with able-bodied people. And that is why Doc loved racing... it was the only place in his life where he was an equal. When he first started racing, Doc couldn't imagine why everyone was so impressed. He just wanted to race, but people were amazed that he was doing it!

I have donated Doc's race car (on loan) to the NHRA Museum in Pomona, CA, so Doc can continue to inspire people to reach for their dreams. If you visit their website and decide to take their tour, the Chicken Coupe can be seen in the background of the "Helmet Display Case", and is featured about 2 pages later. Enjoy the tour!

I am compiling a book of what people have written to him (or about him) and eventually plan to write his story and get it made into a movie. Doc's perseverance and determination is an inspiration to the disabled community, and I hope to keep his story alive. Doc guides me through these endeavors and sends me signs...in the form of Lights, Birds, and Angels...which will be other stories I'll be adding to his page, so keep coming back.

The song that you hear, is Bette Middler's "Wind Beneath My Wings". It was dedicated to me at the Woodburn Dragstrip during "Doc Lavinder's Farewell Tour", as I towed the Severely Disabled Chicken Coupe for its last trip down the 1/4 mile prior to taking it to the NHRA for entry into their museum.

I am the wind beneath his wings, Doc Lav's Lady