Reynolds nominated for 2021 Sports Dad of the Year
22 Aug 2021
Kelly Grove Racing’s David Reynolds is in the running for a victory away from the racetrack, being named as a finalist in the 2021 Sports Dad of the Year.
The annual award highlights celebrity dads from various sporting codes, giving fans an insight into how they juggle fatherhood and sporting commitments while raising money for their chosen charities.
Reynolds and partner Tahan Lew Fatt
The 2017 Bathurst 1000 winner opened up about how fatherhood has changed his approach to racing, admitting he wants to do everyone proud.
“I really have started looking at myself and seeing myself from his perspective wanting to be the best role model I can be for him,” Reynolds said of Ryu.
“I always find myself wondering ‘would he be proud of that?’
“If I find myself doing something that I think can have a negative effect on him, I want to change it. I also want to make his life better too.”
The 36-year-old, who moved to Kelly Grove Racing in the off season, claimed his first podium for the Melbourne-based squad at the Sandown SuperSprint in March.
Previous Sports Dad of the Year winners include Wests Tigers John Skandalis, along with AFL players Brett Kirk, Jude Bolton, and Sam Mitchell.
Rugby league great Johnathan Thurston took out the title in 2018, with Team 18’s Mark Winterbottom claiming the checkered flag for the Supercar fraternity as the 2012 winner.
Lew Fatt shared her excitement for Reynolds’ nomination via social media, urging fans to vote.
“David being a good dad started way before Ryu arrived earth side,” Lew Fatt said on Reynolds’ voting page.
“I nagged David for five years to have a baby and before I got pregnant, he said read these books … they were pregnancy books!
“He actually had read them before me! He had done all the research and made me follow all these steps to have a healthier happier baby.
“Honestly, we have such a good baby that I’m sure it worked and it’s all because of him!”
The Albury-born driver joins a raft of celebrity athletes battling it out for the gong, with Queensland Maroons and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles captain Daly Cherry-Evans and Brisbane Lions Mitch Robinson named as finalists.
Reynolds claims his first podium for KGR at Sandown
Fellow NRL stars Dale Finucane, Aaron Woods and Thomas Burgess are also in the top ten, alongside AFL star and Melbourne forward Ben Brown.
Wallabies flyer Marika Koroibete is the hopeful contender for Australia’s national Rugby Union team, while BMX Olympic gold medallist Logan Martin and Australian hockey star and Tokyo silver medallist Jake Whetton round out the finalists.
More than 138,000 fans have voted for their favourite dad since the awards inception in 2008, with $80,000 donated to various charities close to the celebrity dads' hearts.
To vote visit: https://www.sportsdads.com.au/dads/david-reynolds/
