A Watkins Glen tragedy (of sort)…

This  one came  straight from Dave, our friend and US Ambassador and a BARC Boys at heart, and it is a sad story, with all the elements of a Greek (Suixtil) tragedy – well, some at least. But here we go, not about to shy away from the truth, we’ll bare it all – not like that – for you. Best be prepared, as it is a true racing story, with its heartwarming and heartbreaking moments and we will not be handing kerchiefs over. You’ve been warned!

So Dave, along with princess Rosemary, of course, arrived at the track with Honey Bee (the MGA with a sting, we like to call her as she has already helped Dave cling 5 national championships, the Colliers’ Cup and so much more). Like her owner, HB has a (racing) heart of gold and – thanks to great care and timely ministrations – she has always responded well to challenges over the year. And this year was certainly no different: allowing Dave to claim pole and Lord knows we know what he can do with that…

Anyways, comes race time and Dave races ahead, as he has known how to for oh-s0-many-moons that you can’t even probably count that far (the man has, after all, celebrated his 81st birthday) and watch him go: it’s a thing of beauty, how he holds his own and control the race. He has it so well in hand… and then the Bee’s heart breaks and it’s over. A mere 5 laps in and a piston came through the block and it’s over. Not a case when an easy fix can be applied and you start over – no! – this is one that will require a full transplant. And while it’s cold comfort for Dave, we, the broken-hearted (in more ways than one) are with him on this one – at life speed!