NEVADA, Mo. — Those who knew Joshua Haynes say besides his family and the fire service, he loved being on the racetrack.
"There's a lot of people that's hurt right here in the Nevada community, because he's raced out here for so long," Jerry Davis, owner of the Nevada Speedway said.
It didn’t take long for Davis to get word that something terrible happened to Haynes, a volunteer firefighter for Linn County, Kansas, Rural Fire District #1.
"I got text message from a friend that there was some bad news," Davis said. "And they said, ‘Have you heard about Joshua?’ And I said ‘No.’ And they said that he was in an accident with a fire."
The ATF said fellow firefighters rescued Haynes out of a burning clinic in Pleasanton late Monday night.
They did what they could until he was life-flighted to the University of Kansas Health Hospital.
Davis put out a call for prayer as Haynes fought for his life.
"It was very devastating because the racing community as a whole, we're just one big family even though we're not blood related," Davis said. "We all look after each other and we care about each other just as we're all family."
On Wednesday afternoon, Haynes, a father of four, passed away. He was 35 years old.
Main Street in Pleasanton, Ks., will be closed Friday from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. from the Haynes family store to the site of the fire.
People should bring candles or other forms of lights to honor Haynes.
There will be a moment of silence and people will be able to share their memories of Josh.
A visitation for Haynes will be held on Tuesday, June 28, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Pleasanton High School, 1001 Ash St., in Pleasanton.
A funeral with full honors will be at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 29, at the high school.
The visitation and funeral are open to the public.
"I shed a few tears and I know everybody else did that is also involved in racing," Davis said.
He will never forget Haynes' personality around the Nevada Speedway.
"He would go around through the pit area and make jokes and say, 'I'm going to smoke you tonight.' And he knew that he wouldn't. And he'd just walk away laughing from them," Davis said. "He was just out here to have a good time with his friends."
Davis said Haynes had just raced his super stock car this past weekend and was looking forward to the next big race.
"He was talking about how good his car was handling how good it was running," Davis said. "And he was looking forward to racing in it and unfortunately now he's going to be watching from the best seat in the house."
Nevada Speedway plans to honor Haynes with a memorial ride this upcoming Saturday just like they have with other drivers who've raced here and who have passed away.
They'll also be collecting donations for the family.
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