Henry, I had hoped you'd do us proud at Grattan. Good job. Nice writeup, too!
- Tony
At 09:44 AM 8/19/2008, you wrote:
>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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