45-year-old Thomasville firefighter Tommy Benton was thrilled to be in the fan pit for Daytona's Speed Week action.

He remembers growing up a race fan, and has loved it ever since.

"I've got a lot of pictures I can look at. My son is filming the race and I can look at it in the future and bring back a lot of good memories that I've had here," said Benton.

You see those pictures and the memories they trigger, could soon be very important.

Benton is being tested for early onset Alzheimer's which if it becomes full blown, could erase the roaring excitement and the memories he's had of the Daytona International Speedway.

So when fellow firefighter Craig Dukes won tickets to Daytona in our NASCAR 's biggest fan contest, he didn't even think twice and he gave them to Benton.

But that's not all, his band of brothers pulled money together to pay for the family's trip to the speedway.

"My wife, my sons, the guys I work with, they want me to have a lot of memories in case it gets worse," said Benton.

He'll take off for Atlanta soon for more testing and hopes he won't need help remembering his life.

But for now thanks to the people who help him put out blazes, he might be able to fire up some memories should he need the assistance from his new mental pictures and a little help from his friends.