Even though I have been doing this for a couple of years and had been incident free I knew the day would come when I would damage the car. That day was yesterday at Lime Rock. Having qualified 3rd it was a little discomforting sitting on the grid like the rest of the field on dry tires watching the sky spit rain drops. Then off we went and the track actually was providing grip, yet every time we came down the main straight I kept telling myself its raining...Don't do anything stupid. And then in the closing laps the rain apparently had wet down the downhill enough where the back end snapped on me when i had to move the car slightly off line lapping a Production car. Half way through the spin I'm thinking I'm still on the payment...just maybe... then I saw dirt flying from the right front wheel followed by a slide in the grass which got me into the tire wall left front.

The result was a bunch of damage to my otherwise pristine bodywork (chassis #862) and a bunch of broken suspension parts. Once the car got back in the paddock area, with me contemplating how I was going to get this broken car back in the trailer over comes Bob Devol, Mark Peyser, Bill Watts, Kevin Treffeison who I was paddocked with, Joe Wolfe and Dave Mailhot offering help. Next thing I know Devol is giving orders to make a list for a parts run to Motion Dynamics and at the same time he, Mark and Bill are positioning things to disassemble the car. I'd like to say I helped but mostly I was watching, learning and finding various size tools while trying to stay involved but out the way. With things being finally reassembled I was shocked to look up and see my front bodywork being pieced back with by Kevin and Joe. Another task done. Finally after setting up the strings Mark reset the camber and tow and I drove the car through the paddock.

The security guard commented afterward what a masterful repair job these guys had done. All I can say is THANK YOU ALL...What a great class and one that I am glad to have become a part of. Between having a CSR like Motion Dynamics with parts on-hand and the skill level of all of the guys that helped me there is no dark side in SRF only great people.

Jim Regan
SRF #0
Chassis #862

As Mark Peyser remarked while were thrashing on Jim's busted Number Zero, "what the heck, this is half the fun." My reply was, "well, it's maybe a tenth of it."

Jim -- you are so very welcome. All of us pitching in got your car repaired in under three hours. In fact, every SRF that had either crashed or had a mechanical during the morning qually race finished the feature race that took the green right after lunch break. (Congrats to Lee McNeish on winning both!)

I think every Spec Racer driver and crew member has a bit of the carny spirit in him or her. As soon as one of us goes down, someone calls out, "hey rube!" And guys come running with tools, parts, duct tape, pop rivets, dark humor and that "crash in the AM, race in the PM" attitude that gets us all back on the track the same day or the next morning. Amazing.

I was thinking this morning why this seems to be most prevalent in our class and I think part of the answer lies in the fact that our cars are so easy going when it comes to between-runs maintenance. As a result, there are always a fair number of SRF drivers who are available -- ready, willing, and able to help get wounded racecars repaired quickly before the next session.

Whatever the reasons, it's unique to our class.

By the way, Jim was in the lead when he crashed in the qualifying race and turned a fast time of 59.9. He was flying.

Jim, your welcome, its just what we do.... It really is a great class with a great group of drivers. Heck, I wanted you back on track to race with. Like I told you I have ALOT of respect for anyone getting in the 59's here!!!
I've got some great video of that race I'll share with you sometime....
See you at the next one...
Kevin