Never thought I would describe Ryan Godown as a "good guy" but his actions last Saturday night changed all that.  In victory lane, Ryan donated $ 1,000.00 of his winnings to the family of a young female employee (sorry can't remember her name) at Bridgeport who recently passed away from illness.  It was announced that she was a young mother and well liked at the speedway.  Numerous drivers went thru the stands with their helmets to collect donations for the family.  Not a fan of Godown but I tip my cap to his generosity as well as to Bridgeport and those drivers who took the time to collect funds for the family.  It was a night that made me proud to be a Saturday night race fan!   Scott Ely

I didn't go to races from the late eighties to about 2013. When I came back mostly at Bridgeport and people talked about Ryan Godown it was in a negative way, the way people referred to him as "Mowdown Godown". When he started racing at Bridgeport I didn't see it I saw a very agrressive taleted driver. That was a very nice thing he did donating the $1,000 to the family of the female employee.

This is a little information about her -  " Bridgeport Motorsports Park is deeply saddened to announce the passing of long time hand scorer and Bridgeport family member Amy Barber.  Amy was a vital part of our team and beloved wife of our safety commander Ed Barber."  

I don't know Ryan very well other than a friendly wave when passing each other by in the pits, and some small chitchat, but I do know that family means a tremendous amount to him.  He's as fierce a competitor as you can be when behind the wheel of a racecar, and the generous donation he made to the Barber family is something that is an extention of who he is as a person.

Getting back to the importance of family (in addition to Ryan being Stan Ploski's nephew), Ryan's father Sam raced back in the 60's and he (Ryan) had asked me a long time ago if I ever found any images of his dad's racing days, to please let him know as he had very, very few.

Here's the only one I was able to come up with:

Sam Godown #34 - East Windsor Speedway

If anyone finds any additional images of Sam Godown in the #34, I'm sure Ryan would be very appreciative.   Thanks in advance.

I've sponsored R&M Motorsports for awhile now and I'm proud to say what Ryan did for the Barber family is no surprise to me. Ryan is all about family, on the track he's about winning and with the new team, he gets it done.

Ryan knew Amy and the Barber family and it weighs heavy on him.  He has a big heart.

God bless Amy and the Barber family.