AND THE HEAT GOES ON... & on (Part 175j)

AND THE HEAT GOES ON… & on (Part 175j)

When I got back to pit road Cliffy was out of the car and was standing there with his helmet in his hand and a perplexed look on his face. Both Dick and Alan were on the ground looking under the car. I walked around to the back and could see it was covered with a film of oil/grease but it was like it had been sprayed onto the trunk of the car. No matter which gear Cliffy tried to put the car in it wouldn’t move. I heard Cliffy say he heard a grinding sound even above the roar of the motor and then the engine revved up and the car slowed. He said he was lucky to make it back to the pit road. It was certainly discouraging after all that we’d gone through to get there. The actual pit area and the hauler were located down between the first and second turns. We started to push it by hand but were told by the official to stop as there was the possibility of cars pulling in at any time. So, we just stood there and started watching the race. I really wasn’t interested in the race anymore so headed back to the hauler. I figured I could put the ramps down to save time when the race was over. The car haulers were parked right at the fence and as I pulled the first ramp off the bed I heard a screeching of tires and then a crash. I looked up and saw the roof of C J’s car as it was getting higher and higher in the air. I watched as it started to come down on top of the cement wall at the top of the turn. The next thing I saw was his car getting sort of wrapped up by the chain link fence that was there to keep parts and pieces of cars from doing damage outside the track. I remember standing there almost dumbstruck, not able to move. When I got my senses back I could see a big red car right up against the wall and facing the wrong way. I figured it had to have been involved and may have caused the crash. It wasn’t long before there were a lot of people clinging to the fence and a wrecker and ambulance to pulling up to the wall. I could barely see C J’s car because it was clearly over the wall. The race was stopped at that point and declared over.

         

C J just about to leave the track

The weekend was a disaster… not only for us and C J (BTW; he wasn’t hurt) but all the racers. We’d been told we’d get $1,000 to show up and take the green flag. The problem was that the promoter of the race was counting on having a big crowd to show up but it was a very small group that actually paid to watch. When the word started to spread though the pit area that we weren’t going to get paid anything it didn’t take long for a full fledged ‘angry mob’ to form. Long story short, they headed for the race track offices only to find the door locked. Someone broke the window in it and, after clearing the glass from the frame, a bunch of the racers climbed through and confronted the promoter. In the end there was no payoff for the race and each team was offered $300 if they would sign a paper holding the promoter harmless. Someone, who supposedly had some knowledge of the law, told the group that if they didn’t sign they could sue the promoter… but pointed out the fact that there was no official document issued by him guaranteeing the $1,000. He told us to take the $300 and go home. It was a lesson learned!

By the time everything got sorted out and we finally got the car up on the bed of the hauler it was close to 8pm… and we were all looking forward to getting back home. As it had been all season, Elle was babysitting Cliffy and Beth’s youngest child and Beth had made calls to check up on him. Even though I didn’t speak with Elle, at least she knew what was going on. She told Elle we would try to make it home that night but I had my doubts. Before we left the track Cliffy had a chance to speak to “Seeg”, C J’s father and was told he was OK but probably would have quite a few bruises when he woke up in the morning. They were staying overnight to give C J a chance to recover. Freddy, who was credited with finishing 4th, had left as soon as he got his money.

Since the hauler was still owned by Cliffy’s father he’d limited the driving to either Cliffy or Dick. The plan was for Dick to drive half way with Alan and I riding in the truck to keep him awake with Cliffy to drive the second half. As I said, that was the plan. But plans get changed for various reasons. In this case it was because the hauler decided it wasn’t going to co-operate. We made it to the New Jersey Turnpike by the time it was dark. It was almost like the power of the motor decreased as the sun went down. Fortunately, we made it to the first rest stop so we weren’t stranded on the side of the road. There was a service garage at the stop but, being a Sunday night, it was manned by a skeleton crew. Cliffy was able to determine the problem was in the ignition but needed parts to attempt to make the repair. The men who were there knew next to nothing about repairs and less than that about what kind of parts were at the shop. Cliffy tried to persuade them to let him go look but they refused to open (or maybe they didn’t have the keys) the room where their parts were stored. So, we ended up sleeping (?) in the station wagon and cab of the hauler. Being August, it was still warm. In fact, it was downright hot as it had been all day. All of us, at least the guys, needed a shower back when we were leaving the track. Now, at 10pm, in the small cab of the truck, it was more than obvious.

The service part of the rest stop opened for business at 6am and by 7am we were on the way home. We ended up getting to the city just about the time all the delivery trucks were making their first deliveries of the week slowing us down... a lot. I’d talked with Elle and told her call Bret to let him know I’d be more than a little late. I told her to tell him that the last word we’d heard was that C J was OK. After hanging up I realized that the statement wouldn’t mean anything unless he knew about the crash. But, there wasn’t time to call her back. When we stopped for the last time I switched over to ride with Beth and Ra. Beth would going to our house to pick up her baby so it made sense. She left Ra off at her house first and when we pulled up my driveway Elle had the baby in our old carriage with our girls pushing it around. They really loved having a real baby to play with rather than their toy ones.

Elle and Beth talked while I ran inside to shower and get dressed for work. By the time I was ready to leave Beth had gone. I asked Elle if there was anything new and she said it could wait until I got home. I hated it when she’d do that but I also wanted to get in to work to cover at least the last part of lunch breaks so didn’t push it. It wasn’t quite 1pm when I walked in and expected to see Bret… but he wasn’t there. I asked Joanie where he was and she just shook her head. He usually took the first lunch break so his wife could get off to work. But, he wasn’t there. In fact he didn’t get back until close to 2pm. I wasn’t pleased especially when I’d about killed myself to get in as soon as I could and without eating anything for lunch. When I asked where he’d been his answer made sense. When Elle told him about C J he’d called C J’s mother to find out what she was talking about. She, of course, told him about the crash but also said they’d just pulled into their yard… and Bert took off to go see him.

To be continued…