Jimmy Spenceris Notok
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llililllillililililillliltiltfi Theroad to theGrand Nationals isrftshort and it isrltsmooth, but this manwants to makethe trip. Thompson,CT racing,the 32ndannual Race of July 27, 1983 Championsat Poconolnternational Raceway. The crowdwatches in stunnedsi- Likethe Wranglerjeans lence man, as rescueworkers help nvo JimmySpencer is one tough driverswho have crashed hard into customer the first turn wall. Tothe reliefof Somemen are contentto spendtheir everyonewatching, both drivers exit entireexistence watching from the side- theirvehicles under their own pow- lines.Others never seem to be ableto find er But despiteoutward appear- theirniche in life.Occasionallv there ao- ances,Jimmy Spenceris notOK. pearsthe rareindividual who wouldnev- Spencerbegins having trouble er be contentas just an observef who maintaininghis balance asthey feelshe has a definitemark to leaveon loadup the wreckedcaf andis talk- this world. Jimmy Spencerknew long ago exactlywhere he wantedto be before ing incoherentlyon the tripback - home.Concerned, his crewstops histhirtieth birthday behindthe wheel at the of a stock car on the lucrativeWinston emergencyroom in Hartford, Cup GrandNational circuit. wherehe is diagnosedashaving a Growingup in Berwick,Pennsylvania, seyerebrain concussion. JimmySpencer began his racingcareer Thebad newstravels like wildfire on dirt tracksin the centralregion of the throughoutthe Northeast.The state when he was 19 years old. Be- tradepapers that week all echothe coming Rookie of the Year at the Port samesadsfory . "SpencerSeri- RoyalSpeedway in 1976,he went on to ouslylnjured - OutFor ResfOf accumulatemany featurewins over the Season'j next severalyears. However, when 1929 rolledaround, Spencer knew that if his Owego,NY careerwas to advancehe would haveto moveon up to asphaltmodifieds. JimmySpencer August6,1983 Modifiedsare one of the most exotic Racegoersare astonishedtosee classesof race cars in the countrv.With the Spenceroperation pull into the small-carbodies (such as Pintos and pits af Shangri-LaSpeedway. With Cavaliers)resting on custom built tube BYMICHAEL J.MARRER MnExcitement... severeheadaches continuously re- frames and powered by unlimiteddis- mindinghim of theneartragedi placementengines, these open-wheeled only 10 daysprevious, Spencer cars are the most popularclass in the looksshaky during the warm-ups. NortheasternUnited States and compete But insistingon stickingit out, his on tracksranging in sizefrom l/sIos/+ of a confidenceand smoothnessgradu- mile.Spencer found the conversionto ally returnduring the evening,and asphaltquite to hisliking, and whilecon- Spenceris able to beatvisiting centratinghis effortstoward Shangri-La Speedway,became GrandNational star Geoff Bocline to its Rookieof the Year the checkers. in'79. Notonly had Spencerbefuddled At the age of 27, after having raced modifiedsfor the previousfour years, the expertsby returningso quickly "1984 afterhis injuries, Spencerdecided would be his last but he alsowent full yearin that division.Io continuehis on to capturethe 1983Shangri-La advancementand to secure additional trackchampionship and the most sponsorshipand exposure,he chosean prestigiousevent in modified almostinsurmountable task - an allout 56 Aqua-Field fimmyspencer to the top divisionsof the sport. assaulton the NationalModified Title Owegofor the trip to Riverside.But way up race under the NASCAR The title holder for the last six years' by the timetheY reach Binghamton, Those who (NationalAssociation of Stock RichieEvans, was notabout to letanyone doubtfulthat sanction NewYork, it aPPears often begin their justwalk uP and takeit. in Car Auto Racing) theycan arrivein Massachusetfs careersin the Modified division' move on time.Spencer decides to chance Eng- Owego,NY to Late Model SPortsmanin New the weather,and makesa U-turn land or the southernstates, and then,if May5,1984 backtoOwego. to the premiereGrand mostof thedaY, lucky,advance tt hasbeen cloudY Evanswins hisevent. Nationaldivision. but Spencerfeels he shouldattend Shangri-Lais rainedout. The JimmySpencer was well aware of how theopening event at Shangri-La gambledoesn't off, and Evans the systemworks. Winning consistently in track PaY 'AA' sincehe is the defending gains180 uncontested Points. what could be consideredthe champion.Evans, meanwhile, has league,Spencer has found, like manY optedfor the 50JaPevent at River' Similarto otherforms of professional othersbefore him, that a verygood living sidePark in Massachusetts.UPon sports,auto racing has its own form of can be made in the modifieddivision. hearingwhere Evans is, the crew farm league system whereby drivers Moreand moreattention is being paidto suchas reloadstheir equipment and leaves honetheir skills as they advance on their theclass, and major corporations MotorSports 57 R.J.Reynolds and Gatoradeare adding hugesums of moneyto bothpurses and pointfunds. But Jimmyfeels he has al- ready spent enoughtime here,and is itchyto moveup to the nextclass. His self- imposeddeadline of age 30 israpidly ap- proacnrng. In most other sports,representatives fromthe otherdivisions are continuously watchingfor hotnew prospects. However, there are no scoutsscouring the short tracksof Americanlooking for up and comingtalent. You must make your pres- ence knownto the scouts,who in this caseare the car ownersand crewchiefs. Todo so requiresthat you seek them out "turf." andcompete on their Today,major league racing has be- come a high-budgetoperation, with at leasta millionand a halfdollars required to fieldan adequateteam. Attimes, it may be the driverwho can providefinancing thatwill be hiredinstead of anotherdriver withmore talent. No longercan a racerbe contentknowing he isjust a good driver. He mustbe skilledin publicrelations, ac- counting,marketing. In short,he must pursueracing as a business. Jimmy is well awareof what he is get- "Geoff ting into. Bodinetold me thatthe biggest mistakeyou can make is that if Spencerslingshots past Richie Evans in car 61 at Shangri-La. you're not really prepared to go into GrandNational racing with the properfi- 'grease nancingand properteam, you're not go- the betterthey get,and they'renot going and tubes"(hot dogs). One is of- ingto makeit. You're going to makea bad to retire." ten in competitionwith the fliesfor the impressionon guyslike Junior Johnson, With hundredsof driversacross the relishjar. the Wood Brothers,Dale Inman - any- countrycompeting for the same limited In mostother sports, travel is an accept- bodywho couldpossibly pick you up in numberof GN ridesand financing, Jim- ed nuisancethat is madepalatable by the thefuture," he said. my Spencerknows that he has a tough teambeing able to traveltogether. Only in Bodinestarted his climb up the ranks in rowto hoe. racing,where titles are determined by to '70s, the modifiedcircuit. In the late Bo- tal accumulatedpoints, will an athletebe dinewas the most successful driver in the Rochester,NY forcedto competein two separateevents country- one yearwinning 69 percent June 17 in differentparts of the country on the of the raceshe entered.After capturing Spencerwins the firstof two sched- sameday. Splitting up the crew,the driver almost every major event possible in uled 75-lapfeatures. To save time, will havea car readyat bothtracks. After modifiedracing, he movedsouth to furth- track officialsdecide to performin- competingin the afternoonshow he will er his career.At a press conferencein fea- hop a planeto try and makethe evening spectionsonly after the second show.Schedules are usually so tight they Juneof that year, Geoff elaborated on the ture,in which Spencerfinishes sec- processJimmy Spencer must undergo. oftentry to havesomeone else qualify the "Thereare two waysI know of to do it ond.ln teardown,officials deem car. That'swhere Jimmy'sfather comes (get into Grand Nationals).You have to Spencer'scarburetor illegal, one tn. argueshaspassed,n- The patriarchof thefamily, Ed Spencer havemoney in yourfamily or haveaf riend whichJimmy '50s withmoney who willsupport your efforts. spectio n at several tracks prev io u s- beganhis racing career in the early Or you can do it the waythat l did it; go ly and wasnotthe sameone on the and was a frequentwinner at the local tracksin centralPennsylvania. At the start through modifiedsand be successful, car duringthe firstfeature. Never- '60s, get intolate models and be successful, theless,after having beaten Evans of the his sponsorsoffered him the run some superspeedwaYlate model to theline in both events,NASCAR chanceto enterthe biggerleagues, but racesand be successful,and then hope- finishes. he refusedso he could devotemore time sfnpsSpencer of both to his growingfamily. Although no one tully,maybe, you can get a GrandNation- Thepsychological blow is deva- al ride.But nobody is going to comeand has keptcount, Jimmy estimates that his stating.The team returnsto Ben fatherhas won 300 to 400 featuresin his getyou,' he said. '70s, Whatis the biggestproblem in getting wickto regroup. career.In the late after25 yearsin the "lt's onthe GN circui? no bigsecret," con- The racersdiet is a nutritionist'snight- soort.Ed wentinto semi-retirement. "There tinuedBodine, isn'tthe turnover of mare. What with the long days, short Jimmynow has hisfather run one of his drivers.lt's not like basketball, or football, nights,and constanttravel, the crewis of- carsjust for fun,as he neverhad the op- or anyother sporting event. Age isgood. tenforced to violateone ofthe first rules of portunityto runa reallygood asphaltcar Themore experience you have,the better racing-