A hard hit at GALOT, one estimate from the race car builder he trusted, and a check in roughly three weeks—without the usual insurance runaround.
A race car can go from flawless to badly damaged in a fraction of a second.
Months—or even years—of work can disappear in one violent move toward the wall. The initial concern is always the driver. Once everyone knows the driver is safe, however, another reality begins to set in.
How badly is the car hurt?
Can it be repaired?
What will it cost?
And who is going to pay for it?
Wesley Washington was forced to confront each of those questions following an accident at the Sean Serra Memorial Drag Race at GALOT Motorsports Park in early June.
Washington had been putting together an impressive weekend. He was the lone semifinalist during Friday’s $20,000 race and remained in contention for the event’s Berserker MVP award. During Saturday’s $50,000 event, however, his car made hard contact with the wall, ending its weekend.
Washington was not finished racing. He borrowed another car for Sunday’s competition, continued accumulating points, and ultimately secured the event’s MVP title. It was an impressive display of resilience—but while Washington concentrated on finishing the weekend, the process of repairing his damaged race car had already begun.
That is where Laris Motorsports Insurance entered the story.
The Claim Started at the Racetrack
Laris Motorsports Insurance agent Kari Carr was at GALOT when the accident occurred.
There was no waiting until Monday morning to begin explaining the situation to someone unfamiliar with drag racing. There was no lengthy conversation attempting to describe what kind of car Washington owned, why it was at the racetrack or how the damage occurred.
Carr was already there.
She understood what had happened, knew the environment and immediately helped begin the claims process.
That presence mattered. Washington had just experienced the kind of accident every racer hopes to avoid. Instead of adding an insurance battle to an already difficult weekend, Laris went to work while he focused on everything else in front of him.
Washington described himself as almost entirely hands-off throughout the process.
“I really didn’t have to do anything,” Washington said. “They went to work and handled it.”
His Car. His Builder. His Decision.
After the event, Washington took the damaged car to Marty Dabney and Marty’s Race Cars.
Dabney was not selected from an insurance company’s preferred-provider directory. Washington was not handed a list of approved collision centers by someone who had never seen a purpose-built drag car.
He took the car to the person he trusted to repair it.
Dabney, a longtime racer and the operator of Marty’s Race Cars in Virginia, inspected the damage and determined what would be required to put the car back together correctly. He then provided Laris with the repair estimate.
That was essentially it.
In Washington’s claim, Laris did not require him to take the car to several different shops searching for the lowest bid. The company did not pressure him to use a repair facility unfamiliar with the car. There was no prolonged argument over whether a particular racing component was necessary or whether a less expensive alternative could be substituted.
Marty told Laris what it would cost to repair the car.
Within approximately three weeks, Washington had a check matching the estimate.
No bidding war.
No preferred shop mandate.
No drawn-out negotiation.
No second accident caused by paperwork.
Insurance That Understands What It Is Insuring
That distinction is important because a purpose-built race car is not a conventional automobile.
Its value cannot always be determined by entering a year, make and model into a computer. The investment is spread across the chassis, engine, transmission, rear-end assembly, wiring, electronics, fabrication, paint, safety equipment and countless hours of specialized labor.
Even two cars that appear nearly identical from the grandstands may have dramatically different values and repair requirements.
A general insurance adjuster may see a damaged body panel, bent tubing and a collection of aftermarket components. A racer sees the chassis geometry, mounting points, suspension location, drivetrain alignment and structural integrity of a car that must safely travel more than 130, 150 or even 200 mph.
That difference in understanding can determine whether a claim becomes a solution or another problem.
Laris Motorsports Insurance was created specifically because conventional insurance policies do not fit neatly around racing. The Laris family brings more than 80 years of insurance experience and over 60 years of firsthand racing involvement to policies designed around the realities of motorsports. Its drag racing coverage can include stated-value protection for race cars and broader coverage for trailers, pit vehicles, motorhomes, tools and equipment.
In Washington’s case, “insurance for racers, by racers” was more than a slogan.
It meant the company’s agent was standing at the racetrack when the accident happened.
It meant Washington could take the car to the race car builder he trusted.
It meant the builder’s professional assessment was treated like the opinion of someone who understood the work—not merely another number to challenge.
Most importantly, it meant Washington did not have to spend the weeks following his accident acting as the middleman between an insurance company and the racing industry.
“I Never Thought It Could Operate This Smoothly”
Most racers purchase insurance while hoping they never have to discover how well it works.
Premiums and policy documents matter, but the true value of an insurance company is revealed after something goes wrong. That is when promises become actions—and when customer service either provides relief or adds another layer of frustration.
Washington admitted he did not expect the process to be so simple.
“There were no arguments. It was completely smooth,” he said. “I never thought something could operate this smoothly.”
The accident itself was difficult. The insurance claim was not.
Laris could not undo the impact or immediately put Washington’s car back into the staging lanes. What the company could do was prevent a bad situation from becoming worse.
It allowed Washington to choose the person he trusted to repair the car. It accepted the repair estimate without forcing him through unnecessary obstacles. It handled the claim promptly and issued payment in roughly three weeks.
For Washington, that experience settled any question about where he will obtain his motorsports coverage in the future.
He is now, in his words, a “customer for life.”
That may be the most meaningful endorsement an insurance company can receive.
