Kevin Oklobzija

Staff writer

TURIN – As family, friends and the racing community said goodbye to Kevin Ward Jr., they clutched tightly the memories of their "favorite race-car driver."

He was remembered for his "goofy" smile, his insatiable love for speed, and the lookin'-for-a-good-time demeanor with which he lived his life.

"Our family couldn't have been blessed by a happier person," his cousin, Amanda Ward, told the overflow crowd in the auditorium of South Lewis High School at the funeral on Thursday morning.

Kevin Ward Jr., 20, was killed Saturday night during a Sprint car dirt track race at Canandaigua Motorsports Park when he exited his car after a crash and was run over by NASCAR star Tony Stewart. Ontario County Sheriff's Department investigators continue to investigate the incident.

Mourners, many wearing orange shirts, dresses or ties, filled the auditorium past its 550 capacity. Folding chairs were placed in the aisles and an overflow area was set up so the service could be watched on TV in the gymnasium.

Dozens of floral arrangements hung along the stage of the auditorium. Above the open casket was a white 13 surrounded by orange flowers. Kevin Ward Jr. drove car No. 13.

His father wore a Ward Racing shirt with a bright orange #13 on the right sleeve. On the inside top of Kevin's casket were a pair of criss-crossed racing checkered flags.

Ward was born in Rome and spent his entire life in Port Leyden, a tiny community of maybe 700 at the southern foothills of New York's Adirondack Region. His exploits in dirt track racing made him well known in town.

One fan wore a Kevin Ward Jr. T-shirt with the driver's autograph prominent just below the front collar. Others wore bright orange T-shirts that read "In loving memory of … WARD 13 RACING."

Family and friends wore orange and white ribbons, the colors that were prominent on Ward's No. 13 race car.

"Even against black, orange and white shine through," his sister, Kayla Herring, said.

Herring said the past five days have been "rough" for the family but "we will get through together."

Ward's three sisters, Christi Cavanaugh, Herring and Katelyn Ward, spoke together from the podium about Kevin, the youngest child of Pamela and Kevin Ward.

"You are the son our parents tried three times to have," Kayla said. "And what does that mean?" In unison, the sisters said, "Spoiled rotten."

The sisters laughed. So did the crowd.

Ward was a 2012 graduate of Lewis County Senior High School and dirt racing was his dream. He was the Empire Super Sprint Rookie of the Year that same year.

"Junior was fearless," said his best friend, Dylan Swiernik, a fellow racer who grew up with Ward in Port Leyden. "We were just two small-town boys trying to make it in a big world."

Swiernik said that to each other, he and Ward were the brother each didn't have. He recalls years back when a race director asked him to name his favorite driver. "I said Jeff Gordon," Swiernik said sheepishly, somewhat embarrassed.

He knew it wasn't true then and it sure isn't true now.

"My favorite driver," Swiernik told the mourners, "is my best friend, my brother, Kevin."

The Ward race crew attended the funeral wearing their track suits. Competitors and various tracks showed support as well. The pace car from CanAm Speedway and Motorsports Park in LaFargeville was parked outside. Glenn Styres, a driver and co-owner of Ohsweken Speedway near Hamilton, Ontario, made the drive to Turin. He brought with a winner's circle picture from Friday night, when Kevin Ward finished second in the Ohsweken race.

Dean Reynolds, vice president of the Empire Super Series, said the ESS asphalt race will be renamed the Kevin Ward Jr. Memorial."

Mike Emhof, regional director for the Patriot Sprint Tour, told the crowd that "orange will fly forever."

And Kevin Ward Jr. memories will live on.

"If there wasn't a dirt track in heaven before," sister Kayla said, "there is now."

KEVINO @DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/@kevinoDandC

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