General News
4 May, 2022
The Cruise for Craig begins
DETERMINED TO take a $1000 “Shitbox” car and test its limits on 3,500km of outback roads, Ron and Travis Cummings are preparing for take-off as they hit the road today (Wednesday) for the Autumn Shitbox Rally.
DETERMINED TO take a $1000 “Shitbox” car and test its limits on 3,500km of outback roads, Ron and Travis Cummings are preparing for take-off as they hit the road today (Wednesday) for the Autumn Shitbox Rally.
Ron and Travis Cummings have been trying to get involved in the Shitbox Rally for years after the loss of their brother and uncle Craig Cummings to a vicious cancer, with the team determined to help raise funds for the Cancer Council.
Since last speaking with The Express, Ron and Travis have raised over their goal of $10,000 giving them a grand total of $16000 worth of donations to cancer research.
Overwhelmed by the support, Travis expressed his gratitude to the Mareeba community and local businesses who have taken the time to donate to their cause.
“We are pretty excited, and we just have to hope the car is ready for the challenge. We have had heaps of donations and sponsorships from the community which we are super grateful for,” he said.
“My favourite parts have been just working on the car as well as watching the community come together and join us on this incredible journey.
“I think Craig would be very proud of us.”
In order to get the car in tip-top shape, the team purchased a second car to take parts from, which Ron believes will help them successfully make it over the finish line with out to many hiccups.
With a bit of fine tuning on their Falcon Wagon, the duo has managed to road worthy and register what once was a “true blue shitbox”.
“We’ve given it new tyres, we’ve serviced it and we bought a new car from the council auction and taken some parts out of it to fix some problems we had in the car we’re taking,” Ron said.
“We’ve taken out mainly electrical components and the dash and a few other parts like the starter motor and alternator - so fingers crossed we will make it across that finish line.
“Its mind blowing the amount of support that everyone has given us along the way, especially all of our sponsors who have done work on the car at no cost and we really appreciate it.”
As Ron and Travis hit the dusty corrugated roads of the outback, they will reflect on their time with Craig by sharing a few of his favourite biscuits and playing some of his favourite tunes.
“He will be in the car with us, we have his favourite biscuits and a bottle with his ashes as well so he will be with us every step of the way,” Ron said.
They have also written the name of everyone who has donated on the top of the Falcon as a way to bring their supporters along for the ride and recognise their contributions.
Crusin’ for Craig thanks their sponsors Pumping Irrigation and Machinery Services (PIMS), Central Tyre Service FNQ, Irrigear, MarineTuning.com.au, Outback Solar and Outdoors, Norweld, Mareeba Leagues, Bruno’s Batteries, NQ Offroad, NMM Towing and Alan Harris transport.
To follow their journey, visit their Facebook and Tik Tok pages “Cruisin for Craig” and to make a donation before May 13 visit https://autumn2022.shitboxrally.com.au/cruisin-for-craig
