Sometimes, a misunderstanding can turn into a friendship. At the start of eighth grade in 1988, Jim Fogal and Lo Vang were writing their birth dates. But Vang was indeed born on the same day as Fogal. Vang, who has a gift for making friends, grew close to Fogal and another German American classmate, Brian Hodges, who had no clue about the Hmong. Vang, Fogal and Hodges got part-time jobs in the same warehouse, and dined on duck at Vang's wedding in Fresno in 1993.
Nobody's like an in-law.
Few things bring guys together like cars, and they spent many an afternoon souping up Hondas in Vang's driveway. His crew includes nine Hmong and one white driver, Joel Dennison. He invited me to a race. Vang, who works for a computer shipping company when he isn't burning rubber from Sears Point to Pomona, still hangs out with Hodges, now a firefighter, and Fogal, an armored car driver. They backed me up a lot.