Cheryl Denyer has opened up about the moment she learned husband Grant had been in a high-speed car accident and why she won’t be forcing him to give up the sport he loves.
The mum-of-two said she was at home when she received a phone call around lunchtime on 26 March telling her Grant and his partner Dale Moscatt had crashed in stage 12 of the Lake Mountain Sprint in Marysville.
“It’s certainly not the phone call I was expecting to get that lunchtime,” Cheryl wrote on her blog The Chezzi Diaries this week.
Addressing the question she says she’s been asked several times since the accident, Cheryl wrote that she would not be encouraging him to give up racing.
“I support him in his (decision) wholeheartedly and while I’ve been asked many a time in the past three weeks, will I make him give up racing because of this latest accident, the truth is that no, I will not make him give it up.”
“And no, I do not want my girls to grow up without a father but I don’t believe this decision is that clear cut.”
Cheryl explained she wanted her daughters, Sailor, five, and 19-month-old Scout, to “follow their passions” and saw Grant pursuing his racing career as a way of encouraging this.
“I want them to know they can achieve ANYTHING they set their hearts on if they work hard for it.”
“They learn by what they experience and they see and they see this in their Dad.”
However, while Grant won’t be giving up track racing, Cheryl said the accident did force him to reconsider if racing in tarmac rallies like the Lake Mountain Sprint was worth it.
“He has said no more tarmac rallying. That this accident that could have cost him and Dale their lives has shown him being competitive in this type of racing is just too dangerous at this stage of his life,” she wrote.
“He loves it but he loves his family more and he doesn’t want to do anything to jeopardise seeing our girls grow up and I fully respect and support this decision.”
Cheryl reiterated that Grant wouldn’t give up track racing and that she supports his decision “wholeheartedly”.
“Track racing is a very different ball game so to speak and I am happy for him to continue with his passion.”
“He is a fantastic driver and I love him so very much that to make him stop doing something that is so quintessentially him would be so very wrong.”
Even though the pair has discussed the “what ifs” of Grant’s racing pursuits at length, Cheryl said she was never afraid when he drove.
“It’s a very serious sport, with serious consequences if things go wrong,” she wrote.
“I’ve always felt confident with Grant behind the wheel as I know he is a perfectionist. He is not reckless.”
You can read Cheryl’s post in full here.
Top Comments
This guy already has two strikes. How many more wake up calls does he need?