Jack Lufkin's Sports Racing car killed the class. It's best record was 291.783 MPH (AA/SR) in 1973 with Jerry Spotts driving. On the return of the record run, Spotts hit a 50 gallon barrel when he lost the chute and couldn't get stopped. If I'm wrong about the circumstances I am certain someone will call me on it. I do know the car was destroyed and never ran again.
great pic!
i'm not sure that i have ever seen a 50-gallon, 55-gallon or any barrel ever out near the course.
here's how it happened:
i just finished making a pass in the ranchero and were towing it back when we heard over the radio that car number 646 was on the starting line.
so, we stopped our tow back to the pits to watch spottsie drive by.
the car was straight when jerry hit the chute.
that' when it all went bad.
a panel ripped out and turned the car over.
i jumped out of the back of the push truck, unhitched the ranchero, and we drove straight out to the car.
jack and members of his crew were arriving at the very same second.
we flipped over the car and jerry popped out so fast i'm surprised he didn't get hurt doing that.
i sustained the only injuring in the crash: a badly cut palm from sheet metal that sure made it tough shifting the racecar for the rest of the week.
btw: jerry was fine and the car was far from destroyed as it was a really gentle rollover.
when i retrieve the rest of my things from pebble beach i will submit some pics that i took at the crash site, which reveal that the car is practically intact. you can also see that, except for the damage to the tops of the fender pods from the rollover, there is no damage from hitting anything on the course.
i was never really sure why jack never rebuilt the car. maybe the writing was on the wall for the longevity of the sports racing category.
i do know that it was the last time that jerry ever drove at speed.
he always scared me when he drove! a real bag of worms who never should have been in the car: "if anything happens greg my wallet is in the glove compartment of the push truck. my mother's phone number is tucked in with my drivers license. call her and tell her what happened."
that fact that i didn't have to make that call to his mother on that day is due to the safety of that car!