A family has shared how proud they are of their cheerful, cheeky, drag race-loving son, who was determined that even an extremely rare cancer would not stop him from doing what he loved.
On Friday, members of the Ipswich motor racing and biking community will take to the roads to accompany Jack Gooding on his final journey.
Jack, a drag racing champion who had dreams of working with cars, passed away on August 18, aged 24.
When this newspaper met Jack in April, he was still hoping to attend drag racing events in his prized Volkswagen Scirocco, which he regularly raced at the Santa Pod Raceway in Wellingborough.
This was despite being in the midst of treatment for a gastrointestinal neuroectodermal tumour. This is an incredibly rare cancer, with Jack being one of only 112 people to be diagnosed with the disease worldwide, although that number could be as low as 96.
Speaking of the Wellingborough raceway, Jack said: “It’s a second home to me. I am completely relaxed, I have a lot of friends there and they look after me well there."
Ever since Jack was a little boy, said his mother, Rebecca Gooding, he has been fascinated with cars.
“He absolutely loved cars,” said Rebecca. “His dad (Gary) used to go down to the Santa Pod Raceway and race his car down the strip, so Jack was going there from an early age. That’s where his passion grew.
“As Jack got older, he started racing in the junior drag star group and then progressed to racing his Scirocco there as well.”
Jack was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare type of cancer that more often affects children and teenagers, when he was five years old.
At the time, said Rebecca, Jack was given a 15% chance of beating the cancer. However, after two years of chemotherapy at Addenbrookes and Ipswich Hospital, he was in remission at age seven.
Jack also became a big brother around this time, with younger brothers Jamie and Archie completing the family of five.
Jack attended Whitehouse Community Primary School, and then Westbourne High.
At school, Jack was a cheerful, happy-go-lucky boy, and surrounded himself with a close group of friends.
Jack remained very loyal to his friends, said Rebecca. He was also very kind to his younger brothers. Having passed his driving test first time, Jack was always happy to give the boys lifts.
Rebecca was impressed with Jack’s confidence, for he was soon driving all around the country, visiting friends who lived near London and Birmingham.
“I asked him, don’t you get bored, being on your own?” Rebecca remembered. “He said, ‘No, I turn my music on, and I love it.’ He absolutely loved driving.”
In 2018, Jack took part in the Junior Dragsters held in Hockenheim, Germany – and won.
There was also a jokey, cheeky side to him, for Jack never liked to lose an argument. Rebecca can remember laughing with him, as he tried to convince her that the GP surgery was located in “Nor-wick Road”. Eventually, Jack had to concede it was indeed Norwich Road.
During a trip to Malta with Gary in November 2022, Jack developed pain in his shoulder.
Back home in the UK, he underwent various tests at Addenbrooke's Hospital and Ipswich Hospital.
At the end of February 2023, Jack was diagnosed with the gastrointestinal neuroectodermal tumour.
Because this cancer is so rare, treatment was a balancing act of seeing what worked and what did not. Initially, Jack underwent chemotherapy, but this had to be stopped because of the effect it had on Jack’s heart, which was already weakened by his childhood cancer treatment. He was also left needing frequent blood transfusions.
After a few weeks, Jack made the decision to stop treatment.
Although by this time he was very unwell, Jack stayed positive, and still talked about the future. He continued purchasing additions for his beloved car, with help from the community who rallied around them, donating to a GoFundMe set up to help him continue to chase his dreams.
Jack also continued entering Santa Pod events, although he was not strong enough to compete.
In July, Gary and several friends worked hard to add new wheels and amendments to Jack’s Scirocco, and he was delighted to see the car finished in all its glory.
Jack’s final days were spent at St Elizabeth Hospice, where he passed away on August 18, at the age of 24.
Jack's family would like to thank the St Elizabeth Hospice for all the treatment, care and support they and Jack received.
His funeral will be held on Friday, with an escort led by members of Suffolk's motor racing and biking community.
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