Oh, wait. Wasn‘t that what happened last year? Jimmy came into Washington County leading the points, with lots of momentum, and his confidence was sky-high. But when he went sailing over the turn three wall, that certainly changed the picture. Steve Graffan went on to win the title and Jimmy went to rehab.
But Jimmy wouldn‘t wish that scenario on Sammy or anyone else.
All they could do was keep digging and try to win every race and let the points fall however they fall. Jack Harvey was surprisingly low-key about the situation, accepting their fate with only a few grunts and complaints.
That‘s why Jimmy was so happy that Harvey had been involved with his Champ Dirt ride this year. Winning the title a few weeks ago had lifted Harvey‘s spirits, too. Maybe that helped him mellow out a little bit when it became evident that another sprint car title wasn‘t in the cards this season.
Jimmy and Renee walked to their pit, where Slim MacDonald was showing some fans the finer points of the Ellison sprinter while Harvey fidgeted.
They stood around and talked for a while, and Jimmy was eager to get things going. A few minutes before the driver‘s meeting USAC publicist Jeff Todd approached their pit with a couple of people.
“Jimmy, do you remember Evelyn Brown, and her son Chris?”
“I sure do,” Jimmy smiled, embracing Evelyn and shaking hands with Chris. Evelyn was the widow of Phil Carney, and Jimmy first met her a couple of years ago when he won this race.
“I appreciate all of you racers honoring Phil,” Evelyn said. “It means such a lot to our family.”
“We‘re glad to honor him,” Jimmy replied. “Evelyn, this is Renee Johnson. Renee‘s dad Sid owns the No. 44 car down the way.”
“I‘ve heard so many great stories about your husband,” Renee offered. “When I was a young kid my dad talked about what a great racer he was.”
“Thank you,” Chris said, and he was giving Renee the eye. Jimmy was a little irritated, but he kept his manners in check.
Harvey spoke up. “Can I show you folks something?”
Harvey stepped over to his toolbox in the back of their pickup and began rummaging around. After a moment he retrieved three or four wrenches.
Everybody stepped closer as Harvey pointed to various spots on the wrenches. Although worn and weathered, you could distinctly see the initials “PC” etched into the metal.
“Why, those are Phil‘s tools!” Evelyn exclaimed.
Harvey nodded. “They sure are. When you had your auction sale after…well, you know, when you had your sale. Me and a couple of guys drove down and I bought several tools. These wrenches, a screwdriver set, and a couple of wheel hammers. Still using them all, to this very day.”
“What year was that?” Jimmy asked.
“August 1952,” Harvey replied. “I remember it like it was yesterday.”
“This is amazing,” Evelyn said. “I had no idea somebody in racing was still using something that belonged to Phil.”
“I have some good memories of Phil,” Harvey admitted. “I was a young man then, just back from Korea. Just starting out as a racing mechanic. Phil took a liking to me, and taught me a lot. When we lost him…well, I like to think that he‘s still along for the ride, every time we go racing. He‘s here with us.”
Evelyn was clearly touched, and she reached out to squeeze Harvey‘s hand. Chris‘s voice was trembling as he spoke.
“Say…if you ever want to get rid of…”