I had a long time to reflect during my tow home from Grattan. If you
think reading about this tragedy was tough, being there was no easier.
On Sunday I knew Jack would have wanted me to go race, and even though
my heart was not fully in it, I did. I ran a few laps of the enduro, but
was determined to do us proud for the feature. Missed first overall by
less than a tenth of a second to Rick Cook in his Lotus Super 7, and the
two of us were 1.5 minutes ahead of third place. I think Jack would have
smiled...
For me, it all started in late 1998. Somehow I got accepted into this
fraternity of misfits.
I first met Jack and Joe in person at Mid-Ohio in June, 1999. It was at
the SVRA event, billed as an MG/Triumph clash. I hadn't bought my race
car yet, but was checking out the scene. This was when Sean and Joe were
running #197 and Tony and Jack were running Old Blue. These guys didn't
know me from Adam, but after some email exchanges and an invite, my wife
Helen and I invade their world. While my memory for things like this is
far from good, I do remember coming away from that weekend with a real
feel of the camaraderie we all enjoy so much. Jack and Joe showed us
their cars, they introduced us to the scene.
In October 1999 I bought my yellow TR4 racecar. I had absolutely no clue
what I was doing, and I bought a rather poor excuse of a racecar.
(Sorry, Bruce, but by the time I got it, it was truly used up!) I had
tons of questions, and Jack was my go-to guy. He answered every email,
took every phone call. He always seemed genuinely excited when I called.
That made me feel good.
As I was slowly figuring out this racecar stuff, Tony had his fateful
ride in Old Blue. Suddenly Jack and Tony had no racecar, and Tony set
out in earnest to find a car for his own. Meanwhile, Jack starts to
build New Blue. My race program was really struggling, but I reach a
breakthrough and decide I am going to run the SVRA event at Road America
in May, 2001. It just so happens, this is the inaugural outing for New
Blue.
Like every new racecar, New Blue has teething issues. Jack needs
something, I am thinking maybe it was the top cover off the spare
gearbox I was carrying, I can't say for sure. But whatever it was, I had
it and Jack felt indebted to me for lending it to him. So he offers me
the Sunday warm-up session in his brand spanking new racecar. Here I
was, just barely off my rookie stripe, and I was offered a chance to
drive Jack's new racecar. That was the kind of guy Jack was.
And I was so naive I said yes. I brought his car back in no worse for
wear, and learned what I was shooting for in the handling of my car. New
Blue was my first experience with a neutral handling TR4 racecar, and an
engine that ran right, all the time.
The other thing I remember about that weekend is when the time sheets
showed a practice session where I ran one magic lap in my car that was
sub-three minutes, Jack had that famous twinkle in his eye when he told
Joe and the rest of us, "That's it, no more help for this guy!" Of
course, he was kidding. I think he might have been a bit proud,
actually.
When I said I planned on flying in to Hallet the year our feature event
was there, both Jack and Tony said bring your driving gear. I got time
in both their cars, and it saddens me that I was never able to
reciprocate with Jack. The offer was there, but he never took me up on
it. Tony did, and of course he beat my best time for the weekend in my
car!
Then there was that time I bought my street TR4 off eBay. Art DeArmond
picked it up, and hauled from California to his shop in Iowa. I flew in
with parts, tools and a cylinder head under my arm. Back in Art's shop
we get the beast somewhat roadworthy and I start my drive to
Connecticut. First stop, Geneseo, for my dose of that famous Drews
hospitality. I got in late, but Jack drove out to Route 80 to guide me
back to the house. He checks out the sorry looking excuse for a car, and
I check out his workshop. We talked about the strange things that this
hobby brings upon us, and he commented about how much joy he got out of
the various characters that make up the fabric of our hobby. After a
good nights rest, Francis made us a wonderful breakfast and they sent me
on my way.
As the tributes to Jack have poured in, I see this was not an unusual
occurrence at the Drews house.
Then there are the countless times I am working on something in my shop
and I want to bounce an idea off somebody. Jack was still my go-to guy.
Invariably, the conversation ended up going in ten different directions,
and an hour or more would pass that seemed like ten minutes. As we were
wrapping up the conversation, Jack always thanked me for calling. He
always made me feel like he got as much out of the conversation as I
did.
I'm going to miss that. A lot. I also am going to miss him picking up
the phone and hearing his greeting "Hello, this is Jack".
Jack's approach to racing was what we all strive for. He was a mentor to
all Triumph racers who knew him.
He might have thought I graduated from his program, but nobody ever
could.
I am sure he's in a better place now, I am sure he's figuring out how to
make that place better than it already was...
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