06/20/2026
Racers and Families,
It is with an incredibly heavy heart that we share some heartbreaking news.
Many of you may remember Jared Hannes, who used to assist Jerry Spencer when he sold tires and fuel during our early years at Cotton Bowl Speedway. Jerry was also our tire and fuel guy at Thunderhill Raceway.
Jared and his precious 3-year-old daughter, Sofia, were familiar faces at Cotton Bowl Speedway. They live in Giddings and had already been planning another daddy-daughter night at the races with us on June 27.
Sofia absolutely loved race cars—especially the pink ones.
This past weekend, Sofia, her mom, Brittany, and her baby sister were involved in a tragic automobile accident in Houston. Sadly, sweet little Sofia did not survive.
Our hearts are absolutely broken. 💔
If you ever saw Sofia at the track, you probably remember her in her little pink racing shirt. She loved sitting beneath the flagstand, watching every lap. She knew every flag, and whenever there was an accident, she would immediately ask, “Daddy, are they okay?” She loved the sound of the engines, especially when the drivers would rev them up.
One of Jared’s favorite memories happened recently when Robert Stewart won his Feature. As she always did, Sofia ran toward the flagstand, hoping to catch Robert’s autographed frisbee because she loved his pink race car. She didn’t quite catch it, but someone noticed how hard she tried, walked over, and handed it to her with such kindness. We just never know. 🩷
Life can be unbelievably unfair, this is one of those times. Makes some of our on and off the racetrack battles so minor.
Jared, Brittany, and their family will be joining us on Saturday, June 27, and we’d like our entire racing family to help us honor Sofia in a very special way.
Because Sofia LOVED pink, we are asking as many drivers as possible who have pink on their race cars/trucks to participate in our Opening Ceremonies. We’d love for each of those cars to stop beneath the flagstand—Sofia’s favorite place to sit—and rev their engines twice in her honor. 🩷🏁
As always, our officials will be throwing frisbees for each race car and truck participating in Opening Ceremonies. This time, they’ll be throwing our ODS/MAN pink frisbees in Sofia’s memory.
Each Feature Winner will also toss a pink autographed frisbee into the crowd in her honor.
If you’d like to join us in remembering Sofia, we invite everyone—drivers, officials, crews, and fans—to wear pink on June 27. 🩷
It’s a simple tribute, but we hope it lets Jared, Brittany, and their family know that their sweet little girl touched so many hearts and will always be remembered by her Cotton Bowl Speedway family.
Please keep Jared, Brittany, their baby daughter, and their entire family in your prayers. 🙏 We cannot begin to imagine the pain they are enduring.
Tonight, hug your children, your grandchildren, and those you love just a little tighter.
We will also be sharing the link to a GoFundMe that has been established to help the family during this incredibly difficult time.
On June 27, let’s come together to celebrate the beautiful life of sweet little Sofia and honor her at one of her very favorite places in the world.🩷🏁
For those wishing to donate please visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-brittany-jared-after-tragedy?attribution_id=sl:604ff986-8943-4169-b26a-baecccaaba8d&lang=en_US&ts=1781485116&utm_campaign=man_sharesheet_dash&utm_content=amp17_tb-amp20_t1&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=qr_code&fbclid=IwZnRzaASi1GZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeUq3OLfFTmMeY6nmwFepLWJsjQzYYQY3GCQfMHJPgtsUvwtC5f5h9GbK_c7I_aem_0EmepdN-cr55AG-3crFvyw&utm_id=97757_v0_s02_e227_tv2_tp1_a1dennhbnn187v
