News : Unique funeral at Victory Lane honors the 'Urbana 5'

Justin Stander was one of 8 drivers to honor the Urbana 5 during Friday's funeral at the race track.

They loved racing, the three younger members of the “Urbana 5.”
Even as youngsters, their enthusiasm earned them a spot on the pit crews of local dirt track competitors.
For years, photographs have documented that love of the local sport that fills grandstands throughout Iowa several nights each week.
There’s Triston Randall, standing in front of a race car, wearing a shirt that says, “I’m with her” and an arrow pointing to his right. Standing to his right with a similar shirt with an arrow pointing left and a smile as big as Triston’s, was his girl, Alexis Waddell.
There’s Hunter and Zoey Tuttle, in several photos, celebrating with racers who won, standing in Victory Lane. Last year, Zoey was standing right beside Justin Stander after his first win in the Stock Car division, during the 2014 Hogan Memorial. A couple of years earlier, someone had photographed Zoey as she used a power wrench to change a tire on a race car, prompting her mom, Tia, to observe how much she already was hoping to one day have her own race car.
Triston, 17, Zoey, 12, Hunter, 14, along with their cousin, Quentin Ary, 19, and their friend Nicole Jacobson, 20, died in an accident on April 9. Three days after Nikki’s family and friends laid her to rest, students from Center Point-Urbana and Vinton-Shellsburg joined the family and friends of the others for a memorial service at the Benton County Speedway.
Friday morning, the four caskets lined Victory Lane, where just last year, Zoey had stood with Justin Stander, one of the eight race car drivers who would end the ceremony by driving five slow laps around the track – one for each of the Urbana 5.
Since the accident, friends and relatives have been sharing memories and tears and the enthusiasm they brought to life and racing.
One of Zoey’s pallbearers was her pony-riding friend, Kelby Robb, who has a very special photograph of her and Zoey riding a pony named Sox. On the night of the accident, Kelby expressed her grief in a message directed to Zoey:
“Thank God we took this photo. It's all I can think. You were going to be a vet. You wanted to breed husky dogs and open a rescue to save wolves and work on race cars on the side. I loved hearing about your dreams every time I sat behind you on Sox. We rode through the pasture and we spotted a possum. We ducked under the branches of fallen trees and you maneuvered us skillfully over logs and along the fence line. You were such a talented rider. It was so natural to you, from the first moment you sat in the saddle. Next time we rode, we were going to make pokey pony Sox cross the creek. I just messaged you today asking if you would ride with me this weekend. You and Hunter please rest peacefully. We will miss you so much.”
Rev. David Arnold of Prairie Creek Christian Church, along with friends of the four, shared memories during the ceremony.
Zoey was a “sassy tomboy;” Triston earned the nickname “Field Boss” while helping on the family farm. Hunter and Quentin were proud of their fishing ability.
Friends recalled how Quentin, as a small boy, would find a spot on his own, as far away as he could be while still being in site of the others. Soon other fishermen were stopping to ask how he was catching so many. They discovered Quentin’s plan: Toss a few worms into the water to attract the fish before dangling one on a hook. As a young boy learning to read, Quentin saw a sign that said “Glass Road” and told the driver not to take that route, or the car would get a flat tire.
Hunter too, said a friend, would want people to know how good he was at fishing. He loved the outdoors and being part of racing crews.
Triston, a senior member of the Center Point-Urbana football team, was remembered a “professional procrastinator” as well as the best friend who welcomed a new student on the first day of seventh grade.
Triston also hated saying “good-bye.” Alexis told the crowd during her eulogy – which she had promised Triston she would give after the couple saw the movie “The Fault in Our Stars” – that Triston taught her to say, “See you later,” instead.
“It’s not good-bye,” said Alexis as she ended her eulogy. “I will see you later.”
And as Pastor Arnold observed about each of the four, they loved spending time with family.
Every night, before going to bed, Quentin, even at age 19, would walk down the hall to his grandparents’ bedroom to say “I love you” to each.
The service began the same way every racing event begins, with the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Laughter from the Tilford Elementary playground, which Zoey once attended echoed across the grandstands as the funeral began.
Pastor Arnold addressed a question that he said he had heard many times since the accident: Why?
“I don’t know,” he told the crowd.
Yet, he said, God was there. He also urged his audience to remember that Jesus is the way, and that the God of the Bible is true – something he said that Hunter and Zoey and the rest have learned. He also remarked that Victory Lane is an appropriate place for this funeral, because of their love of racing and also because "they finished well."
Pastor Arnold also offered some prayers requested by the family. He prayed for the emergency personnel who responded to the accident scene, and to the chaplains who came to offer comfort to friends and family. He prayed for the truck driver.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the semi driver,” said Heather Tuttle, an aunt to Hunter, Zoey and Triston. “We are amazed by the tremendous out pouring of support from everyone. We will forever miss the kids. They have left a void that cannot be filled. We love them always.”

After the final eulogy and prayer, the casket bearers, all wearing matching black caps and t-shirts, silently carried each of the four caskets to the hearses.
Led by Tamra-Randall Osborn, the grandmother of Triston, Zoey and Hunter, the crowd sang “Amazing Grace.” Then the announcer declared, “Gentlemen, start your engines,” and the crowd stood in tribute as the eight racers honored each of the Urbana 5.