Ric Moore's eyes glazed over and he fought back the tears yesterday when the new start-finish line was unveiled for the Molson Indy Vancouver this summer.
Below a checkered flag painted on the pavement of the temporary street course at False Creek, in the shadows of downtown Vancouver, were the words Courage and Greg Moore.
Ric Moore, father of the auto racer tragically killed during a Championship Auto Racing Teams race, made a rare public appearance to introduce the Greg Moore Foundation, created to continue the charitable work of his son before the horrific accident at Fontana, Calif., on Oct. 31.
The winner of the pole position for this year's Vancouver CART race on Sept. 3 will receive the Greg Moore Pole Award, presented by Ric Moore in his first appearance at a race event since the fateful Marlboro 500 when Greg crashed into a retaining wall.
The Moore family in suburban Maple Ridge, B.C., wanted to continue Greg's commitment to charitable organizations, especially speaking out against drinking and driving, raising funds for hospitals and health charities and aiding developing athletes.
"Greg thought of Vancouver as his home and his only regret was his bad luck -- he never won a race in Vancouver," Ric Moore said. "He'd be really happy today.
"This is the first time I've been down here. Because of his popularity, his job and his fame, you really never get away [from the limelight] It is hard. But everytime we get sad, I know he'd be damn mad if we weren't smiling."
The Moore family hopes the foundation assures his son's name won't be forgotten after CART officially retires Greg's No. 99.
The number became the Moore trademark after his first GoKart race as a 10-year-old at Westwood Circuit in nearby Coquitlam. Greg was assigned the number because he was the 99th member of the Westwood Go-kart Club.
Ric Moore is chairman of the foundation that will channel funds to scholarships for postsecondary education and health charities.
Moore has also been involved in writing a book about his son that will be launched Aug. 30, just before the Molson Vancouver Indy race.
"Coming back to the thing he loved so much is so hard," Moore said about visiting the Vancouver track. "Healing, I guess, is just a matter of time. That's what everybody says.
"I still keep in touch almost daily with some of his buddies -- Dario [Franchitti] Max [Papis] Jimmy [Vasser] Tony [Kaanan] It's really hard to think about going to a car race and not seeing [Greg]
"I never went to a lot of car races to watch car races. I went because he was racing. This will be really tough."
Vancouver race officials elected to not rename the street course in honour of Moore because it's a temporary circuit, said race general manager Stuart Ballantyne.
"I'd much rather have a more permanent legacy for Greg, not something we're building and tearing down all the time," Ballantyne said.
Ticket sales for the 11th Vancouver CART race have fluctuated this year, Ballantyne noted, adding, "I know the fans may feel a little reluctant because their hero's not here. But there are other heroes they can come and pay homage to as they celebrate his life."