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Hayward
,
CA
…..James C. “Jim” Booth, a longtime Northern California oval
track racer, was fatally shot Wednesday evening, January 26 – the
apparent innocent victim of a neighborhood gang dispute.
The 65 year-old Booth, a forklift mechanic by trade, was only a
week away from retiring with a pension and had just purchased a new
home in
Silver Springs
,
Nevada
. Family members said
that he was anxious to move from his modest
Hayward
neighborhood due to the upsurge in gang violence.
At
9:15 PM
, Booth and family members heard a disturbance outside their home.
As he stepped onto his front porch to investigate, shots rang
out on the street and he was fatally struck in the chest by a stray
bullet. Police are still
searching for the unidentified gunman and have stated that they
believe Booth was “in the wrong place at the wrong time” and not
the intended target.
Over the years, Booth competed at many
Northern California
race tracks, driving racecars which he built and maintained himself.
Affectionately nicknamed “Grumpy” by his fellow racers,
Booth was a former stock car champion at the now-closed
Baylands
Raceway
Park
in
Fremont
. Later, he competed for
several years with the Northern California Modified Association (NCMA)
and served as the club’s president for three terms.
Booth also helped establish the Wingless Sprint Car (WSS) class
at the Antioch Speedway in the late-1990’s and, at the time of his
death, was restoring an old Ford “hardtop” racecar.
Booth is survived by four children and two stepchildren.
His wife, Mary, passed away five years ago.
A memorial service is tentatively scheduled for
1:00 PM
this coming
Saturday, February 5, 2005
, in the main grandstand of the Antioch Speedway.
The speedway is located at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds,
10th and L Streets, in
Antioch
. The service will be
moved indoors to one of the fairground buildings in the event of
inclement weather. In
lieu of flowers, the family has requested memorial donations to the
Make-A-Wish Foundation in the memory of their parents, Jim and Mary
Booth.
Please visit the Antioch Speedway website at www.antiochspeedway.com
for additional information. You
may also visit www.lokent.com
which is a website maintained by Don and Linda O’Keefe, close
friends of the Booth family.
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