Story By: DANI SEIPP / CHRISTOPHER DELFINO RACING – STANFORDVILLE, NY – As racecar drivers know, life can throw some curves you weren’t expecting, both good and bad. You have to roll with the punches because you never know where good things may come from.
Our own Christopher Delfino has had to put his racing dream on hold this season to follow another dream.
The call finally came, and after years of hard work, dedication, and prayers, Delfino will be joining the next recruit class at the FDNY Academy this summer.
This seemingly crazy and impossible dream didn’t start like most; it started on a family vacation, 14 years ago. The Delfino family was visiting friends on the Jersey Shore. One of those friends happened to be a firefighter and with the encouragement of his parents, Delfino filled out an application and took the test.
To discover what he had gotten himself into, Delfino joined the Milan Volunteer Fire Department. There, he fell in love with the fire service. What started as just filling out papers to appease his mother, turned into a dream career and Delfino would not stop fighting for it.
Delfino had found the perfect fit, he enjoyed helping people and the adrenaline rush is unbeatable.
“I’ve been trying since 2003 to get on this job. It hasn’t been easy. It’s been a long, hard road with many bumps, but it’s my dream.”
Life throws a lot at you and in the past 14 years a lot has happened including a deployment to Afghanistan with the U.S Army and becoming a father, but Delfino is never one to shy away from a challenge. FDNY was always the goal and he never lost sight of that.
“There were a lot of times I thought it wasn’t going to happen, or that dreams don’t come true, but when you want something bad enough there are no limits.”
Although this milestone means a hiatus from racing for a little while, Delfino will not be a stranger to the Lebanon Valley Speedway pits and will be behind the wheel of his TEO PRO Car again. Following one dream doesn’t mean you need to walk away from others.
“I plan to be back racing in the near future because dreams can come true, if you work your ass off.”
Thank you to our sponsors from the past two seasons: TACONIC DISTILLERY, FULLY LOADED PERFORMANCE, BLUE CORD MEDIA, PAUL MOLONEY POOL SERIVCES, TOWER PIZZA, MILLMAN’S T-SHIRT FACTORY, RYAN WUENST PHOTOGRAPHY, SARJO FASTENER WAREHOUSE, H & N TOWING, AND DIRECT DISPOSAL.
From the crew:
To say we are proud of this accomplishment would be an understatement. The Klicks & Tics Racing family may only date back to 2015, but our short journey has had a major impact. Aside from Delfino helping to launch the racing careers of two members of the crew, this race team has overcome some intense personal obstacles together. As much as we would love to be racing, we stand with our driver and could not be prouder of him. “No matter where this racing thing takes us, I’ve got your back. You have an awesome opportunity, congrats, brother, 2 worms.” – Tomm Gomm “Thank you and good luck, you can handle it from here.” -Jake Gomm