Tony Roper, left, with former NCTS champion Ron Hornaday at the track.

On Tuesday, his competitors and peers remembered him as a "blue collar racer," a "clean competitor" and "dedicated" and acknowledged he would be greatly missed in years to come.

Roper, 35, passed away Saturday morning at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas from injuries suffered Friday night in a three-truck accident in the O'Reilly 400 presented by Valvoline DuraBlend at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

Visitation is Tuesday from 6-9 p.m. CT at Greenlawn North Funeral Home in Springfield. A memorial service is scheduled on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. at Roper's alma mater, Fair Grove High School, in the gymnasium located approximately 10 miles north of Springfield on Highway 65.

A second memorial service for Roper has been scheduled for family and friends in the Charlotte, N.C., area for Monday, Oct. 23 at 6:30 p.m. ET. The service will be held at the West Cabarrus Church on 7655 Speedway Boulevard in Concord, N.C. For information call (704) 455-2591.

Roper left his father, former ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series and USAC stock car driver Dean Roper, his mother Shirley Medley, wife Michele and sister Kim Medley; among other relatives. His wife said her husband had embraced the "family" that the racing community becomes, wholeheartedly.

"Even while he experienced the challenges every driver faces, Tony never let go of his dream," Michele Roper said. "He loved the thrill of competition, but even more so he loved the racing family. Whether it was ASA or NASCAR, Tony appreciated the importance of teamwork and knew he couldn't fulfill his dream without the help of those around him.

"That's why it means so much to me and Tony's family that we've already received so many expressions of support and kindness. Tony was loved by so many and he will always hold a special place in our hearts."

Tony Roper was a racer. And in the ultimate show of respect for their own the racers came in a parade on Friday night to pray for Roper, and console his family and friends.

In the hospital's waiting area, sometimes as many as two dozen people gathered throughout the evening and into the morning. NASCAR officials, family and friends, crewmen and crew chiefs lingered. Even drivers, including such as Rick (and wife Cathy) Carelli, Randy (and wife Tiffany) Tolsma, Randy MacDonald and his family and Lance Norick, hung out. Doug George, a former driver now working as a crew chief and Carelli's crew chief John Monsam were there.

The Ropers were a racing family and the racing family proved again that in tough times it pulls together.

"We appreciate the show of support from the other drivers and teams who came here to be with us last night and this morning," Dean Roper had said on Saturday. "We appreciate everybody who helped him along in racing and all the friends he has made as a result. He was a good little racer."

On Tuesday, the Brevaks, another hardcore racing family, perhaps paid Roper the ultimate compliment. The family-run team had given Roper his first full-time ride in the NCTS. Co-owner Bob Brevak had gotten out of the seat for the first time in his career and put a driver who could have been mistaken for his twin -- in background -- into his No. 31 Ford.

"He was a hard worker and was not shy about jumping right in there and working on the trucks," Brevak said. "That's what I really enjoyed about him. His working on the equipment was certainly a benefit to us and we are talking about trying to get back with someone like that -- that was one of the reasons we were still talking to him about next year."

"We certainly had a soft spot in our hearts for Tony," Shelly Brevak said. "We watched him grow up while we raced against his dad and we wanted to do what we could to help him, too. He was so full of energy and he wanted to do well."

That desire might've led to a permanent rift between lesser people. In 1998, Roper saw an opportunity for a plum ride with the well-sponsored Gloy/Rahal Racing team. He left the Brevaks in mid-season for Gloy/Rahal's truck but ultimately only completed the season with them before moving on for 1999. It left a sore spot with the Brevaks for a time but recently the parties had talked of getting back together in 2001.

"Over the years our friendship remained intact," Shelly said. "When he made the decision to leave it was difficult, but more recently I think he had reconsidered the grass maybe wasn't greener. We had sent him a proposal for next season, which he had requested."

Roper, as Bob Brevak said, "dedicated his whole life to racing." At times in the last couple years when he struggled in the NASCAR Busch Series, he sometimes talked of quitting, but Brevak said Roper told him "I don't know anything else..."

Roper's best finish in NASCAR's two major touring divisions was second, at Indianapolis Raceway Park in 1998. But for his relative lack of results he was certainly not shy on respect.

"I was fortunate enough to race with him for a couple years in the truck series," said newly crowned NCTS champion Greg Biffle, whose background is similar to Roper's. "He was a competitive guy but a good guy to race with. He was a clean driver and not a guy who would take a cheap shot at you and that really means a lot. It's a tragedy -- our sport has lost three great drivers this year -- and our thoughts are with his family."

"I give him a lot of credit for what he accomplished," said ARCA president Ron Drager, who was familiar with Roper and his father, a USAC and ARCA stock car stalwart. "Tony won a pole for one of our races at I-70 Speedway, in one of Ken Schrader's cars."

The thought allowed Drager to spin a rustic tale of devout racers -- all Missouri natives no less -- banding together to make something happen.

"Schrader couldn't get there until the race," Drager said. "So Tony practiced and qualified the car for him. Dean ran a lot of races with us -- in fact, Dean was making an attempt at Springfield (Ill.) to become the oldest driver ever to win an ARCA race, when he was 61, just last August.

"Tony spotted for him that day, which was something they reciprocated on. Yeah, Dean and Tony at the race track -- it was a Missouri kind of deal, they were inseparable."

Marc Olson, general manager at the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Lakeside Speedway short track in Kansas City, Kan., who formerly held the same role at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Mo., a former NCTS venue; said there was no mistaking when the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was coming to town.

"When he came in to run the truck series races it was like a mini-homecoming," Olson said with a chuckle. "All those fans out of southern Missouri would just pour in to watch Tony run. He had formerly run there regularly but since he had gotten out on the road a lot it was the only chance a lot of people had to see him race anymore."

And Olson's recollection was the same as the countless fans and competitors whose paths crossed with Roper's.

"He always had a smile on his face at I-70," he said, brightening at the thought. "I think he definitely looked at it as sort of a homecoming because to him it was a chance to race close to home."

And how much of a racing family are the Ropers? His uncle, Dale Roper is in his 60s, Olson said, yet he still runs the Modified division at I-70 every Saturday. Dale won the track's Modified championship in 1999 and is "still extremely competitive," Olson said.

"Tony really was just a blue collar racer," said Steve Post, who worked closely with Roper in his position as PR representative for Xpress Motorsports, for whom Roper drove in the NASCAR Busch Series in 1999. "He was not nearly the spokesman that many drivers are nowadays, but he was no less committed to what he was doing."

Roper, who raced go-karts and started his serious racing career in the mid-1980s running Modifieds and Late Model cars at weekly dirt and asphalt short tracks, listed "building race cars" as his chief hobby. His wife, who coordinated his fan club, accepted the responsibility, and the risk of life with a devoted racer.

"Being with a small Busch team, Tony worked in the shop as much as any of the other guys," Post said, but added a key difference in Roper's makeup. "But he was there before most and stayed after most had left.

"When I think about Tony all I can remember is a bunch of guys in a van cutting up and laughing and having fun as only a bunch of guys going to the track can do. He was just one of the guys and it was a neat time dealing with him because it is rare in this day and time to find someone like that.

"Tony had a great comfort level working on the trucks and cars he drove and he felt it made him better as a driver. Long before he came to work for us with Xpress I thought Tony was the real deal.

"I remember one of the races he ran for the Brevaks. He had a problem before the start and was last and worked his way up to an eighth or 10th place finish. He was impressive with what he was working with.

"Like I say he was a blue collar racer and when he needed to he could hustle a race car and get some speed out of it. The way he operated he had a tremendous comfort level working on the cars and driving 'em and that is where he shone."

Donations continue to be accepted for the Tony Roper Scholarship Fund that was set up at his alma mater, Fair Grove High School. Roper was heavily involved in sports and activities and graduated from the high school in 1983. The family has requested donations in lieu of flowers to: Tony Roper Scholarship Fund; c/o The Bank of Bolivar; 40 North Main Street; Fair Grove, MO 65648.