Parisi races for late wife

The Christmas decorations are still up in Paul Parisi's Riverhead home.

They probably will be for the foreseeable future, just as they'll remain on his No. 69x blunderbust.

It's a tribute to his wife, Traci, who loved Christmas and passed away several weeks after the last holiday season from a blood clot in her leg that spread to her lungs. She was 37.

"I was in shock, I'm still in shock," the 52-year-old said of the sudden passing. "I don't know how I get through the days without her. Sitting here in the living room, it's still decorated like Christmas. I don't know when it's coming down."

Two Saturdays ago, Parisi earned his first win at Riverhead Raceway since 2008. His car, as it has been all season, was a symbol of his wife's love of Christmas. On each side of the 1980 Chevy Caprice are Christmas trees next to a Taz cartoon dressed as Santa Claus. Frosty the Snowman is on each side's rear, and on the hood is a picture of Traci between two angels.

"For some reason, I knew it was gonna be a good night," Parisi said of his recent win. "All I thought about was my wife. I was driving for her, and everything went perfect the whole race."

For some, hobbies like racing are a diversion from tragedy. For Parisi, it's been anything but that.

"We spent every weekend at the track," he said. "We were together 24/7. I never spent a moment away from her."

So while it's still hard for Parisi to race, nothing was as difficult as getting in his car for the season-opener in May.

"That was one of the toughest things I've ever done," he said. "I'm crying while I'm in the car. Everybody there was there to support me. I had 10 to 15 people in my pit wishing me well, but I still almost walked off before the race."