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SLINGER - An amateur pit crew prepared Eric Klumb for his practice run at Slinger Speedway Saturday. He sat behind the wheel of the toy his little brother only dreamed about. “He always wanted a go-kart,” Eric reflected. Click on the link under related content to see interviews with Betsy, Ken and Eric Klumb at the benefit Saturday. Ken Klumb and his son’s buddies, dubbed Parker’s Dream Team, built the Klumb car from scratch. The car construction is where Parker would have likely found the most fun. “He would pull the motor out and tinker with it and put it back together. Then, leave my tools lying all over the place,” Ken told TODAY’S TMJ4 reporter Tom Murray. A driver hit and killed 13-year-old Parker Klumb last September while he rode bikes with his friends. The simple idea of building a go-kart in Parker’s memory inspired Saturday’s full-scale invitational, the “1st Annual Memorial Go-Kart Event.” “I actually didn’t think it would turn out this big,” said Eric. The field of drivers who competed Saturday included Parker’s friends. There were boys and girls, first-timers and seasoned youth of the go-kart circuit. Neighbors and strangers pitched in to volunteer. “All of his friends, they’re doing similar things that he would have been right in there with them,” explained Betsy Klumb, Parker’s mom. Pinching the heart-shaped locket bearing her son’s picture, this mother carried her little boy with her every step of the way. “It’s a locket that actually contains his ashes,” she said. “I keep it with me 24 hours a day.” This community gave so much to make the race happen. People and businesses gave everything from free cans of soda to the very track the karts raced around. The actual speedway is too steep for go-karts, so volunteers built a special course within the infield to make this dream a reality. Organizers originally scheduled the Memorial Go-Kart event for last Saturday, but moved it up to this Saturday due to last weekend’s rain.