lick spotlight - Zachary Tinkle NASCAR ® ARCA Driver Zachary Tinkle Zooms Into Partnership With Grateful Rescue
by Laurren Darr
pugs in the household. His former pug Bella accompanied him to race tracks and was even featured in a popular race magazine. Having a sixteen-foot unused trailer, the idea came to Zachary to use it to take supplies to pet shelters and rescues in the cities where he races in this year. Through family friend KJ McGlinn, Kitty Correspondent for Pet Pals TV, Zachary was introduced to Pamela Terhune of Grateful Rescue. As they talked about shared values, they became excited about the “Racing for Rescue Tour.” Zachary resounded, “I’m looking forward to giving back in a way that helps those that have brought happiness to so many with rescued pets.” Grateful is a nationally networked rescue with a partnership with Best Friends Animal Society. It has programs from reading with dogs to helping veterans. Most important is Grateful’s compassionate care of animals at its sixty-acre facility in Muncie, Indiana. When asked to comment, Terhune said, “We at Grateful Rescue and Sanctuary are so honored to join Zachary in the Racing to the Rescue Program. We share the same heart when it comes to animals and love of racing and we applaud and appreciate the Tinkle team for extending such generosity to our furry friends in need all over the country.” Plans are to take supplies around the following races: Daytona (February), Mid-Ohio (July), Lucas Oil IRP (July), Springfield (August), Salem (October). More dates can be added as support allows.
When asked how he got interested in racing.. Zachary Tinkle answers with a chuckle. His mom says that he came out of the womb wanting to race! He started racing go-karts around the age of 10. He’s won championships in go-karting, minicup stock cars, and full size late model cars. All of this was leading up to his goal of competing in the highest ranks of NASCAR® as a professional race car driver. Those dreams came to a screeching halt in the summer of 2021 when his father and main source of funding, Brad Tinkle, had a stroke and the family had to make the painful decision to shut down his late model team. A set of happenstances came together to catapult Zachary into the NASCAR® ARCA series – the national entry level of NASCAR. Fans asked to set up a GoFundMe to keep him racing. Meanwhile, Wayne Peterson heard of Zachary’s circumstances and offered Zachary a seat on his team. One race turned into the rest of the season with Wayne as owner and/or crew chief. Now, Zachary has a goal of racing the full 2022 season with the series. His father is still recovering, but is now able to work. In the midst of all this happening, the family had many talks about how, even though they had an unfortunate incident, they were blessed and humbled by the outpouring of support. This led them to ponder how they could use the resources they had to help others. Pets have always been a big part of Zachary’s life, having had multiple rescue
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