All,
On Saturday Jan 4, we lost another great contributor to our sport. Jim
LeVack was a guy that most of you have never heard of, but you can see his
picture in the 200mph club roster. He and his partner Bernie Brown finally
got their '53 Studebaker A/GC over 204 in 1978 after a lot of years trying.
In 1999, Jim, Bill Grimes, and I teamed up to attack the new Production
Pickup class. For me, this effort was as much about getting Jim some more
passes on the salt as anything else. You see, to me he was much more than
just a racing buddy - he was like my second Dad. This project became even
more fun when we conned Bernie into building engines for us and coming back
to the salt. For me, having these guys together on a project again was the
biggest thrill.
In 1976, when I was a snot-nosed 17 year-old kid, Jim's son, Ted and I made
a trip to Bonneville (my first) to 'help' with the Studebaker. It was the
epic road trip of my life. My help consisted mostly of waxing the car in
line and wandering through the pits until dinner time. That was my
introduction to Land Speed Racing, and it was an eye-opening experience.
After '76 - and despite the fact that I drove Fords at the time - Jim hired
me to work in his shop. For all of you that never knew him, Jim and Bernie
ran the only shop in town where anything that came in actually got fixed. It
didn't matter the problem, it didn't matter what country it came from, and
it didn't matter how many other people had 'fixed' it first. He put up with
my mistakes and gradually he and Bernie taught me the fundamentals of auto
repair and engine theory. Some of it I even remember. We had some really
neat projects go through that shop.
I could say hundreds of things about what a sense of humor he had, how
pissed off he could get, how much he knew about cars, racing, and racing
history but it would just be words to you guys.
For me, his passing leaves a hole in my heart and a gap on this year's entry
form. The long drive from south Texas to Wendover and back will never be the
same. Me and my teammates are sure gonna miss him.
Godspeed, Jim LeVack.
Jim Webb
Ps. Just a message for you guys on the list... I don't respond to a lot, but
I read a lot. In a lot of ways, I feel very connected to you all and
appreciate what everyone brings to the party. I hope to meet each of you
that I haven't met already. jw
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