Ezekiel Lada

**Ezekiel Zakarias Lada** is a CARCA racer. He first entered in 1998, when he was 18. He raced alongside some all-too familiar names, such as Keaton Daniels, J.R. Carheim, Tyler Jeong, Bahir Carlafi, Nate Jackson, Megan Nylon, Jarvis McIntyre, and Biren Wangchuck.

## 1998

Lada entered CARCA in a blaze of glory. He faced opponents such as Tyler Jeong, Hayward Luther, and J.R. Carheim. He wasn't as cocky as his father, the infamous Jake Lada, but he was well respected and well rounded.

## 1999

He married his longtime girlfriend Kelly Floyd on January 18, and fellow racer Jarvis McIntyre attended the wedding. He later faced McIntyre, as well as the feared Ryom Eon-Jeong of North Korea. With two laps to go at Daytona, McIntyre spun into Ryom, forcing her to hit Hayward Luther and Tyler Jeong, who later hit Lada. Ryom wasn't killed via the race, but because she had to return home, she was sentenced to death by North Korean leader Rim Jong-Il. She was rescued by South Korean troops, but died during the rescue. Lada stated this when hearing about Ryom's death:

*"I had the honor of meeting a great racer from a country most of us fear. If you loved her or hated her, there was no denying she was tough. I send my condolences to Ryom's family and friends."*

## 2000

Lada's first son, Zakarias, was born. Zakarias was born with a condition similar to Daniel Gamington's, but survived it via many surgeries over a 6 year course. Ezekiel also traveled to Yellowstone National Park, where he said that the fear of his death was at an all-time high.

## 2001

Lada stepped away from racing to spend time with Zakarias. Unfortunately, Kelly was shot in the engine while she had wandered down an alley in Lada's home town of Garfield, New Jersey. She died later that night. Ezekiel's relationship with his father was worsening, as was Zakarias' health, and his brother J.J. was over to watch Zakarias a lot.

## 2001-October 2019

Today, he's still a big figure in the American Motorsports community, being at several Piston Cup and CARCA races working with the series' commissioners to better both series. He remarried in 2002, to family friend Kristina Steeringston, and his second son, Owen, was born in 2003. In 2006, he adopted six children: Jalen and Jevon (Born in Anchorage, Alaska), Jun, Junichi, and Akinori (Born in Kobe, Osaka, and Sendai, Japan), and Akara (Born in Phi Phi Islands, Thailand). Akara was adopted first, when Ezekiel took Owen on a trip to Thailand to help rebuild after the 2004 tsunami. While he was there, he spotted Akara, a 6 year old who had been severely injured during the tsunami. With his injury left unrepaired, Akara would surely die. Ezekiel adopted him and took him to the USA.

## Zakary's Death

On October 4, 2019, Zakary started having many engine attacks and was placed in hospice care. Ezekiel and Kristina were there the whole time, while Owen, Ash, Jalen, Jevon, Jun, Junichi, Akinori, and Akara were all staying in a hotel with Fury Gamington. On October 9, Owen and Ash visited and waited. The next day, it looked to be a much better day, but at 6:30 PM, Zakary had his first of around 8 engine attacks within 30 minutes. After that, went to sleep at around 7:30. Ezekiel noticed this happening and quickly sent Owen and Ash home and called Fury over. Ezekiel and Fury sent Kristina, who couldn't bear to watch, home. They waited and at around 10:30, he died peacefully in his sleep. It is said that Ezekiel sobbed and that Fury was tearing up, despite almost never showing emotion and only did when his long-time crew chief, Ronald Scaramucci, died in 2018.