Friends helping a friend.

That is what Ron Midford Jr of Tolland and his race crew plan to do on June 30^th when they compete in the annual Carquest Champions For Charities Event at Stafford Motor Speedway. Midford, a two-time Wild Thing Kart Senior Champion (2010, 2011) will participate in the event to help support the Greg Caron Family Fund.

Last November, Caron -  an Ellington native serving a second tour of duty with his Marine Corps unit -  lost both of his legs, the tip of his finger, and broke his collar bone after stepping on an IED in Afghanistan.  The Greg Caron Family Fund was established to help Greg adjust to a new lifestyle.

Midford, Jr. will be representing the Greg Caron Family Fund in his Carquest Champions For Charities effort. The Champions For Charities is a 15-lap event featuring invited champions from different divisions. The drivers compete in an effort to raise money for their various charities and will drive in the Senior Outlaw Karts during the event. Through the end of April the drivers had already raised more than $12,000 for their charities.

For Midford, the event has a bit more of a personal flavor this year.

"My parents are good friends with Greg's parents, they ride motorcycles and play golf together, so there's a family connection," said Midford.  "Greg Hurlburt, who owns the kart I'll be driving, is also friends with the Caron family.  We were both in the stands last year for the Carquest Champions For Charities event and enjoyed watching the race. When we heard about what happened to Greg Caron, Greg Hurlburt and I were motivated to get in this race to help raise money for he and his family.”

Greg Hurlburt’s son Cole races in the Tiger A division on Monday nights in Stafford.  “Greg (Hurlburt) bought a Sr. Outlaw kart and motor that I will run in the Champions for Charities Race and Cole will use when he moves to the Jr. Outlaw division.”

“I feel we take for granted what our soldiers do for us on a daily basis. They protect our freedoms and allow us to live our lives the way we do. We are all extremely fortunate to have soldiers like Greg Caron defending our country and it’s nice to be able to give something back.”

As part of Midford's fundraising efforts, there will be a Greg Caron Poker Run on June 30^th, the morning of the Carquest Champions For Charities event.  The Poker Run will begin at TSI Harley-Davidson in Ellington and run to Stafford Motor Speedway.  Registration is from 9-11:30 am at TSI Harley-Davidson, which is located at 398 Somers Road in Ellington.  The cost for the Poker Run is $30 per bike and proceeds will benefit the Greg Caron Foundation.

"This poker run is great way to be able to raise some money for Greg," said Midford.  "We have some great sponsors in TSI Harley-Davidson, Trantolo and Trantolo, Kar Kare Auto Body a Division of Bolles Motors, and Stafford Motor Speedway that all pitched in to help put this Poker Run together. I wanted to especially thank Lisa Arute for allowing us to be in the race and organizing the Poker Run. We hope to have a big turnout of riders for the Poker Run help raise money for Greg."