Twilight of Doom

Racer remembered for dedication, upbeat attitude

Shane Hammond may have raced Midget cars, but there was nothing small about the size of his heart.

Sunday, Hammond was the victim of a fatal accident during the fourth lap of the season “Icebreaker” race at the Thompson International Speedway in Connecticut.

    “He was just a wonderful son and so caring and kind,” said Hammond’s mother Deb Marvuglio. “A mother could not have asked for a better son.”

Hammond, a resident of Halifax, spent most of his time racing in the Northeastern Midget Association, a group of drivers who race and compete in scaled-down race cars. During his time in the association, Hammond was recognized as one of the best rookie drivers.

 “Shane was a very smart kid and he was a great race car driver,” said NEMA president Mike Scrivani. “I had some great memories with Shane during both the off-season and the racing season. Shane didn’t have a mean part in his body. He got along with everybody”

Hammond’s upbeat personality and selfless demeanor earned him respect both on the track and in real-life scenarios.

When Midget car owner Mike Jarret, of Bellingham, was in a tight spot, Hammond was there to bail him out without a second thought.

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“My professional driver lives in Pennsylvania and often couldn’t make it to races,” said Jarret. “Shane was always willing to test the cars for me. He was a backup driver for my team and was a very good and responsible young man.”

Jarret said in the three years that they knew each other. Hammond had helped accomplish more in two seasons than most Midget car owners and racers can do in a 20-year stretch. Because of Hammond, said Jarret, his team has been very successful and they owe a huge part of their success to all of Hammond’s help.

“he filled the seat and kept the momentum effective,” he said.

    But when he wasn’t test-driving cars or preparing for competition, Hammond was lending a hand wherever he could.

“Shane was always there when I needed him,” said Anthony Marvuglio, Hammond’s 16-year-old brother. “Whether it came to trying to figure things out off or on the track, I could always count on Shane.”

Anthony, who follows in Hammond’s dreams of becoming a racing champion, had planned to race with his older brother for the first time this season side by side. Anthony said he owes his love of racing to Hammond.

“One of my biggest dreams was to race with Shane,” said Anthony. “There were times that we got to race together but he always had a better car. This year we were supposed to be running against the same people.”

Without the chance to race in the same league together, Anthony is determined to carry out Hammond’s goal to make it as a racing champion and said he will represent Hammond’s dreams in his own career.

“i would love to do that quest of shane,” said anthony.

Outside of racing, Hammond was an employee at Tom O’Brian Hyundai in Quincy. He worked part-time in the parts department.

Supervisor Kurt Hawes, who had developed a friendship with Hammond over the six years he was an employee, kept Hammond at the top of his list for most exceptional workers.

“In the car business there is a lot of filing that goes on. We have to keep documents for years and we had a filing clerk who left the job,” said Hawes. “We got very behind in our filing and Shane just jumped in without really saying anything. Within two weeks we had our filing system back up to code. Everything was in order and all caught up thanks to Shane.”

Hawes said that Hammond was such a valuable member of the team that despite the company making major cutbacks on the staff, he did his best to keep Hammond around.

“He was so committed to his job. Anytime I needed something there was never a time that Shane didn’t help me out,” said Hawes.

Hammond’s dedication for the job was a characteristic that he displayed with everyone that he knew, said Hawes, especially his friends and family.

“Shane would call me every single night of the week and ask me how my day was. Without a doubt he did that every single night,” said long-time friend and fellow NEMA racer Randy Cabral.

Hammond and Cabral had trained and raced together for the past three years and have supported one another’s racing careers as much as possible.

“He ran a …

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