Community & Business
24 May, 2022
Cruisin’ for Craig duo conquers rally
RAISING over $18,000 for cancer research and driving a “shitbox” for miles across the desert, Cruisin’ for Craig duo Travis and Ron Cummings are back home after taking on the Cancer Council Autumn Shitbox Rally.
BY BROOKE BUTLER
The father and son duo decided to do the rally after the loss of Ron’s brother and Travis’s uncle, Craig Cummings, to bone cancer. Travis says the whole experience was amazing and even better when you consider the rally raised a total of $2.1 million for the Cancer Council.
“We were stoked and could not have asked for anything better,” he said. “The highlight was the people we were with, and we could not have asked for a better rally family. “I think the best way to describe a rally family is that all 470 people that participated in the rally became one big family and they will be people that we will talk to and remember for the rest of our lives.”
Throughout the rally, organisers put on many activities to keep participants entertained, such as a dress-up day, where Ron and Travis decided to dress up as AC/DC – a tribute to Craig’s favourite band. Even with the weather hitting a freezing two degrees Celsius, it did not deter them from dressing up as cheerleaders and running around in “skimpy” little skirts and tops at one of the events.
While Travis and Ron barely coped with the weather conditions, their car held up better than expected but somehow they managed to acquire the elusive skill of stalling an automatic.
For Ron, the Shitbox Rally held an important place in his heart because “it helps support Cancer Council Australia after losing my brother 10 years ago to cancer”.
After 20 years working with his late brother, Ron and Craig had developed a strong bond and a great relationship. One of the biggest highlights for Ron was all the different people they met and their own experiences with cancer. “There were different stories about how families have unfortunately lost their loved ones to cancer, and it was just great getting to know everyone,” he said.
The duo said without hesitation they would definitely do it again and relive the amazing experiences they had. With the initial goal to honour the memory of Travis’s late uncle and Ron’s dear brother, the duo succeeded in their mission and more, with the journey and experiences they had along the way forever shared with Craig riding shotgun.
By Brooke Butler.
