[CHAPTER 1]
Chapter 1 "The Crash"
It was a beautiful June day in the Pacific Northwest, but then again any day without rain and above 60 degrees is a good day. The sun poked through the morning clouds and shimmered onto the mighty Columbia River as we crossed the I-5 Bridge from Washington over to Oregon, destination - Portland International Raceway. After a long glance at the river I affixed my eyes back onto the trailer traveling ahead of us, I was so thankful to know the Firebird was safe, traveling in style inside a racecar trailer. I was still amazed that Jeff Biffle, brother to the famous Nascar Driver Greg Biffle, would loan out one of their car trailers without hesitation.
Crossing over the bridge its but a couple more minutes to the Raceway as we quickly took our exit and descended down toward the gate of the speed way. I had a sense of pride as I watched the big black F-350 Ford hauling the car trailer carrying the name of a local racing hero. It made me feel bigger than we were, but that is how it had been during this journey, a part of something bigger than ourselves. As we reached the gate we were asked to pull over to the side as they showed no record of our name or passes in will-call to allow us through. I reassured the gate staff that Dan Halloran one of the directors of the event knew us and had secured us some passes. Then with a simple push on the event staff radio Dan was on his way up to the gate and we were let through. Dan Halloran was one of the event directors for Rose Cup at the Portland International Raceway. He was a great guy, the kind of guy you wanted in your corner when you are doing something “out of the box” and boy were we out of the box. I met Dan over the phone when I was investigating locations to make some test runs of the car and right away Dan caught the vision. Within a few moments on the phone we had scheduled a meeting with Ron Heagy to discuss the potential of a few track runs at PIR, little did we know Dan had bigger ideas.
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Crossing over the bridge its but a couple more minutes to the Raceway as we quickly took our exit and descended down toward the gate of the speed way. I had a sense of pride as I watched the big black F-350 Ford hauling the car trailer carrying the name of a local racing hero. It made me feel bigger than we were, but that is how it had been during this journey, a part of something bigger than ourselves. As we reached the gate we were asked to pull over to the side as they showed no record of our name or passes in will-call to allow us through. I reassured the gate staff that Dan Halloran one of the directors of the event knew us and had secured us some passes. Then with a simple push on the event staff radio Dan was on his way up to the gate and we were let through. Dan Halloran was one of the event directors for Rose Cup at the Portland International Raceway. He was a great guy, the kind of guy you wanted in your corner when you are doing something “out of the box” and boy were we out of the box. I met Dan over the phone when I was investigating locations to make some test runs of the car and right away Dan caught the vision. Within a few moments on the phone we had scheduled a meeting with Ron Heagy to discuss the potential of a few track runs at PIR, little did we know Dan had bigger ideas.
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Within a few minutes Dan arrived at the gate in style, a brand new bright silver BMW from the local dealership, the official pace car of the event, "wow what an entrance." He pulled up alongside me and said follow me, I radioed the black Ford to fall in behind and we were on our way as Dan paraded us to our pit location, "this was so cool!" In tow was the remainder of our team along with the documentary crew that was to film our every move as we began our day at the racetrack.
As the crew settled in and began the process of removing the Bird from the trailer I had a chance to take a breath and look out at what was unfolding in front of me as I lost myself in thought and recollection. Just the thought of Ron driving around the track two times in front of all these people flooded my body with a rush of emotions, mainly relief and I could sense joy on the way. Though I was never a race enthusiast I have always been a car guy and now I was being flooded with images, sounds and smells that impacted my senses. Porsches, Corvettes and Trans-ams, everywhere I looked I was happy. Suddenly I was brought back to our task at hand as my pocket began to speak to me. It was Pete on the radio confirming Ron was here and we needed to finish unloading the car.
I squeezed myself up through the trailer and into the cockpit of the reconfigured 1968 Firebird that had been modified for both Ron Heagy to drive with his mouth and a standard driver – me. The rest of the team continued to disconnect the vehicle from its trailer home until I was given the thumbs up to fire-on. Turning the ignition key the Bird roared to life with the sweet sound of an entirely new exhaust system donated by our local muffler shop, "dang she sounded good." It was the kind of sound that played a special tune in the souls of all our crew members and a requirement from the man we were doing this for. Ron Heagy had made any early request to make the car loud and roar when he revved the engine and that is exactly what Rick from Orchards’ Muffler did when he donated a brand new exhaust system to our cause.
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Photo Courtesy: Jay Delaney
I revved the engine a couple of times as I warmed her blood to operating temperature to let everyone know the Quad Squad was here and drew the chests of the crew members as I released the Bird from her cage. Down the ramps with a dramatic slow roll, I could almost see the car exiting the Biffle trailer through the eyes of the team members.
The slender backend emerged first with the shine of silver pewter led only by the steam and throaty sound of her tail pipes. Slowly the trunk and rear quarter panels began to reveal themselves showing the stark contrast of the sponsor logos adhered to her paint. Carrying the load at all four corners was a set of brand new Torque Thrust II wheels donated by Les Schwab, the choice of hot-rodders around the world when building a 60’s style machine. "Wow, did these wheels pop", as they rolled her majesty out over the ramps; it was like having the right shoes with the right outfit. Finally, her long sleek ram air hood pulled away from the entrance of the trailer to reveal a very large and important logo placed directly on the hood. A piece of prime real-estate reserved only for those sponsors supporting at the highest level and we had only one; a company named Dignified Motors as they had donated and installed the unique control system that translated Ron’s direction from his mouth and neck via a joystick to the Pontiacs vital control systems.
With the car fully removed from the trailer Ron Heagy could look upon what his prayers had constructed. A machine that was to help him another step closer to reaching his dream of driving 100mph, but for today he would enjoy a smaller of many firsts for a man in his condition. Ron was about to be the first ever fully quadriplegic human to drive a car over 50mph as an honorary pace car for a race event.
The slender backend emerged first with the shine of silver pewter led only by the steam and throaty sound of her tail pipes. Slowly the trunk and rear quarter panels began to reveal themselves showing the stark contrast of the sponsor logos adhered to her paint. Carrying the load at all four corners was a set of brand new Torque Thrust II wheels donated by Les Schwab, the choice of hot-rodders around the world when building a 60’s style machine. "Wow, did these wheels pop", as they rolled her majesty out over the ramps; it was like having the right shoes with the right outfit. Finally, her long sleek ram air hood pulled away from the entrance of the trailer to reveal a very large and important logo placed directly on the hood. A piece of prime real-estate reserved only for those sponsors supporting at the highest level and we had only one; a company named Dignified Motors as they had donated and installed the unique control system that translated Ron’s direction from his mouth and neck via a joystick to the Pontiacs vital control systems.
With the car fully removed from the trailer Ron Heagy could look upon what his prayers had constructed. A machine that was to help him another step closer to reaching his dream of driving 100mph, but for today he would enjoy a smaller of many firsts for a man in his condition. Ron was about to be the first ever fully quadriplegic human to drive a car over 50mph as an honorary pace car for a race event.
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From a distance I watched Ron speaking to Mike Peters and Mike Tabor whom I affectionately called the two Mikes about his usual concerns; the mouth piece. Mike and Mike were in charge of constructing a custom mouth piece for Ron as an interface option to the joy stick module that translated Ron’s directional commands to the control system. This was an important part of the system as it had to articulate in a manner to serve both Ron’s limitations while providing safe and comfortable control of his new toy.
Ron Heagy was a tall man and this was noticed by everyone that met him even though he sat in a wheel chair. His countenance was always confident no matter the situation and rarely did I see him waver in this disposition. Slender and handsome he cared about every detail of his appearance and always dressed appropriate for every occasion and today was no exception. Unlocking the trunk of the now staged Firebird I removed a gift that had been presented to Ron a few weeks earlier by Mr. Itto, president of SEH America, the company that supplied the core of his Quad Squad team. The gift was a jet black Pontiac racing jacket, with a bright yellow Firebird across the chest and a custom stitched SEH America logo on the arm to show the support of the company and the staff that they were behind Ron and his dream to do the impossible.
Kelly, Ron’s wife unhooked the jacket from its hanging location under the trunk lid and began to exchange his dress jack to a racing jacket which was a sharp look for Ron and a nice touch for the event he was about to experience. Fully wrapped in his new threads it was time to prepare Ron for his laps. I requested the loading duo of Robert Withee and Jay Delany to prepare to load Ron. These two team members along with a caregiver were responsible for the loading and unloading of Ron into the Bird. This was not an easy task as Ron was a lengthy man and the Firebird an American sports car from the 60’s, it was a tight fit. Preparations for his legs and proper placement in his custom racing seat were critical to a foundation that Ron would depend upon navigating the corners of the Portland International Speedway.
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Photo Courtesy: Jay Delaney
Finally, a five point harness anchored Ron securely into the cockpit as one of the two Mikes climbed in from the passenger side of the vehicle – Mike Tabor. Mike Tabor was Ron’s passenger for most of his test drives and would act as co-pilot for Ron in the event a malfunction occurred with the car or Ron during the drive. Along with moral support and words of navigation, Mike brought one important tool with him as he strapped himself in alongside Ron for the trip – the ‘Manual Brake Pole’. This was a long yellow extendable pole that would adjust to the exact distance from Mike down to the brake pedal. This pole was physically bolted onto the brake pedal every time Ron went for a drive giving the passenger a direct link to stop the car in the event of an emergency. The final piece of preparation was the joystick placement; this joystick was essentially Ron’s steering wheel that Mike Tabor would swing into place to exact specifications and distance to Ron’s face and with the turn of the key the Pontiac roared back to life with Ron behind the wheel.
Arriving in our camp, Dan Halloran reported that it was time to stage Ron at the starting line and with that Mike placed the custom constructed mouth piece into Ron’s teeth and turned on the cars control system. The system came alive with a few self checks of the servo motors that controlled the cars steering, braking and acceleration. When the all motors reported back to the system ‘ok’, the 1968 Pontiac Firebird was now fully in the control of Ron. Leaning inside the driver’s side window, Ron’s wife Kelly, spoke a few private words of encouragement and a kissed him on his cheek as Ron reved the engine loud for family and friends.
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Arriving in our camp, Dan Halloran reported that it was time to stage Ron at the starting line and with that Mike placed the custom constructed mouth piece into Ron’s teeth and turned on the cars control system. The system came alive with a few self checks of the servo motors that controlled the cars steering, braking and acceleration. When the all motors reported back to the system ‘ok’, the 1968 Pontiac Firebird was now fully in the control of Ron. Leaning inside the driver’s side window, Ron’s wife Kelly, spoke a few private words of encouragement and a kissed him on his cheek as Ron reved the engine loud for family and friends.
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With a slow dramatic roll and the throaty sound of the exhaust system Ron taxied Mike Tabor and himself away from the team and family who had seen Ron do impossible things before and today would be no exception. Arriving at the pit exit Ron was directed to the starting line by the track attendant until he reached a complete stop as the announcer began to speak out over the crowd; “Today ladies and gentlemen you will get to experience history in the making, Ron Heagy is about to drive with just the use of his head and teeth, this has never been done before. Put your hands together and let’s welcome Ron Heagy ladies and gentleman.” As the crowd began to applaud and cheer, Ron roared the engine one last time as the track attendant motioned for Ron to ‘go’ and with a firm grip on the mouth piece and the thrust of his neck forward the Pontiac muscle car leaped into history and began to fly like a baby bird stepping from her nest, trusting in her destiny to become what she was designed to be – a miracle.
As a believer I have always known that God was doing miracles all around me, heck my life was a miracle, but today we were witnessing the fruit of trusting God to this milestone. Through a team of average men covered with the requests of prayer, we discovered that trusting God for something bigger than ourselves was a journey that required obedience to the open doors of Gods provision and hope for things unseen. As a team we were now living out our dream by watching Ron Heagy live his.
From the stands I watched Ron motor past me and down the track, this was surreal and emotional. I could feel a deep satisfaction welling up inside me which quickly converted itself into tears of joy that I shared only with myself and my God behind my sunglasses. As the back side of the bird got smaller into history I murmured one small prayer – “thank you Lord”.
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Photo Courtesy: Jay Delaney
As Ron disappeared into the distance I found myself refocusing my thoughts and concerns about his success around the track. “This isn’t over yet”, I thought to myself. “He still needs to navigate all the corners of the track”. Anxiety began to trade places with patients as the reality of a complete pass around the track takes much longer at 30 ~ 50 MPH than it does for the cars the track was designed for. “Is he still not here yet?” an awkward silence fell across the crowd as it seemed similar to the amount of time it takes a man to drive to the local seven eleven for a slurpee.
Fixing my eyes into the distance of turns 11 and 12, these where the last two corners of this 2 mile track before the straight away. Then emerging from a tuft of trees at turn 11, I saw with much relief a small insignificant machine doing something significant. For in the distance I saw more than a lone car seemingly swallowed up by this enormous track, I was witnessing a moment larger than any track could ever contain, I was witnessing hope realized.
That if Ron Heagy who is paralyzed from the neck down was now realizing his dream of driving a car with only the use of his mouth, what was my excuse for not having more hope in the things I aspire to do and fear to fail. This was my moment to grow, an epiphany came over me that day at a race track, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” This was a verse from the Bible our team had adhered to the driver’s side door of the Firebird as an inspiration to doing something bigger than ourselves. I needed to get outside of myself more often and wade into deeper waters of faith and hope, a place where Ron Heagy had been most of his life, a place he ultimately hoped his life would point others to.
Rolling out of turn 12 with smooth and confident navigation, Ron entered onto the straight away passing in front of the cheering crowd at a blazing speed of 50MPH! Though somewhat an uneventful rate of speed for the fans of the raceway, the team recognized the speed and confidence Ron displayed that day and knew this would be the foundation they could build upon to reach the other half of their goal – 100MPH
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Fixing my eyes into the distance of turns 11 and 12, these where the last two corners of this 2 mile track before the straight away. Then emerging from a tuft of trees at turn 11, I saw with much relief a small insignificant machine doing something significant. For in the distance I saw more than a lone car seemingly swallowed up by this enormous track, I was witnessing a moment larger than any track could ever contain, I was witnessing hope realized.
That if Ron Heagy who is paralyzed from the neck down was now realizing his dream of driving a car with only the use of his mouth, what was my excuse for not having more hope in the things I aspire to do and fear to fail. This was my moment to grow, an epiphany came over me that day at a race track, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” This was a verse from the Bible our team had adhered to the driver’s side door of the Firebird as an inspiration to doing something bigger than ourselves. I needed to get outside of myself more often and wade into deeper waters of faith and hope, a place where Ron Heagy had been most of his life, a place he ultimately hoped his life would point others to.
Rolling out of turn 12 with smooth and confident navigation, Ron entered onto the straight away passing in front of the cheering crowd at a blazing speed of 50MPH! Though somewhat an uneventful rate of speed for the fans of the raceway, the team recognized the speed and confidence Ron displayed that day and knew this would be the foundation they could build upon to reach the other half of their goal – 100MPH
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Photo Courtesy: Jay Delaney
Rolling past me and headed into his second lap, Dan Halloran shadowed the firebird tracking 50 yards behind Ron’s historic drive in the bright silver BMW. The official pace car was there to serve as an early responder in the event Ron or the car experienced any problems during his laps. This also provided a great view for our camera man as he rode shot gun to document every corner of the two passes.
Nearing the end of his second lap at turn 11, Ron led the duo onto the track exit; it was no small surprise to Dan Halloran when the firebird came to a complete stop at the exit entrance. While still in view of the crowd, what Dan didn't know was that our team had planned Ron’s exit from the event that included a trick Ron had just learn a few weeks prior – a burn out.
Now with the Firebird at a complete halt, braking duties were about to change. Thrusting the bright yellow poll downward, Mike Tabor fully engaged the brake pedal not allowing the vehicle to move. With three words from his co-pilot, Mike commanded Ron to “GET ON IT!” Biting down on the mouth piece, Ron mashed the joy stick throttle forward as all available fuel was dispersed into the Pontiacs 350 cubic inch engine. With nowhere to go and the brake pedal to the floor, all requested energy was now translated to the rear wheels. The result was a long dramatic burn out leaving Dan and his bright silver beamer lost in a cloud of spent BF Goodrich rubber as the Trans-am cars roared onto the raceway for the main event.
Ron gently motored away from his copious amounts of tire smoke and into our staging area as a sense of relief began to flood my body. “Thanks Lord we did it, you did it!” I felt like nothing could stand in our way of reaching 100mph. Ron piloted the car into its resting place next to the Biffle trailer to the cheers of family and friends that were only drowned out by the first lap of the Trans-Am main event.
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Nearing the end of his second lap at turn 11, Ron led the duo onto the track exit; it was no small surprise to Dan Halloran when the firebird came to a complete stop at the exit entrance. While still in view of the crowd, what Dan didn't know was that our team had planned Ron’s exit from the event that included a trick Ron had just learn a few weeks prior – a burn out.
Now with the Firebird at a complete halt, braking duties were about to change. Thrusting the bright yellow poll downward, Mike Tabor fully engaged the brake pedal not allowing the vehicle to move. With three words from his co-pilot, Mike commanded Ron to “GET ON IT!” Biting down on the mouth piece, Ron mashed the joy stick throttle forward as all available fuel was dispersed into the Pontiacs 350 cubic inch engine. With nowhere to go and the brake pedal to the floor, all requested energy was now translated to the rear wheels. The result was a long dramatic burn out leaving Dan and his bright silver beamer lost in a cloud of spent BF Goodrich rubber as the Trans-am cars roared onto the raceway for the main event.
Ron gently motored away from his copious amounts of tire smoke and into our staging area as a sense of relief began to flood my body. “Thanks Lord we did it, you did it!” I felt like nothing could stand in our way of reaching 100mph. Ron piloted the car into its resting place next to the Biffle trailer to the cheers of family and friends that were only drowned out by the first lap of the Trans-Am main event.
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I enjoyed our victory from afar as I watched family and team members surround the car cheering Ron's first major milestone. I could hear Ron calling for me from inside the car as I approached the driver’s side window. I was anticipating some profound words that declared our first victory, but instead with confidence in his voice Ron said, "I want to take a victory lap around the parking lot to get more footage for the documentary”. I thought to myself; “are you kidding me, a victory lap around the parking lot, with other cars AND people!” My first instinct as the project leader was to tell my friend 'no'.
Rising from the driver’s side door I approached the now gathered Quad Squad to inform them of Ron's request hoping they would confirm this as a bad idea. What I discovered was they too didn't want to make the decision - tell a man who hasn't driven for 28 years 'no'. I felt alone, more alone than usual, this is where leaders are made by the decisions they make and I made one. "LET’S DO IT".
I decided to place a team member on all four corners of the parking lot to monitor and help guide Ron around his new course as well as the documentary team to film additional footage. Then I requested team member Robert Withee to get into the car with Ron and 'man' the breaking pole and help navigate our last drive of the day. What I was about to discover, was a life lesson that I would not soon forget. God was NOT partnering with us in this unique event, we were partnering with Him and with my pride fully intact we moved forward out of His will and into ours, a place without protection and provision.
As Ron arrived back from his victory lap I could see from a small distance away Robert exiting the vehicle and ushering in Kelli - Ron's wife. I thought to myself “This situation is going from bad to worse” as all three of Ron’s daughters squeezed into the rear seat. In hindsight I realized my pride was getting the best of me. God had already answered our prayer of reaching our first milestone as the honorary pace car at Rose Cup and by His grace we had completed it safely – we should be done.
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Squatting down at the drivers side window once more Ron looked at me and said," one more lap, I want to take my girls for a ride!" I hesitated, but found myself not saying 'no' as I looked at the smiles of the Heagy clan. I placed the mouth piece back into Ron's mouth as he drove away with confidence like he had been driving his whole life. "But this was going to be OK, we are on a magic carpet ride, nothing could damper this day, not even this second victory lap under dangerous conditions" - WHAT WAS I THINKING. The Firebird pulled away as I began to pray.”'Lord keep them safe, keep everyone safe”.
I anxiously waited for Ron and his family to arrive back to the staging area as it was became apparent he was not returning as quickly as the first lap around the parked cars. I decided to run to the other side of the lot in hopes he and his family were safe. Approaching the other side of the lot I found Ron finishing a figure eight with the girl passengers screaming as the camera man documented the risky moment.
As Ron finished his last maneuver I pretended all was OK and smiled as they drove away heading back into our staging area. “Finally, he is heading back, let’s be done now”. I thought. He drove around the corner and I lost sight of the car as I turned my eyes through the parked vehicles and onto the Biffle trailer. I waited to see the bird pull in, when my wife Elizabeth filled my view in the spot where Ron should be arriving. She had a look of panic in her eyes and was motioning with her hands in a fashion familiar to me. Too far away to communicate, my wife hand gestured the same way a player or coach would call ‘time-out’ by placing her finger tips of her right hand directly into the palm of her left forming a ‘T’.
“Time out?” I yelled, as she shook her head with more panic in her body language. I ran toward her as she now began to speak what her hands could not say; “Ron just hit a car!” her hands were not indicating a pause in ‘play’ but rather a collision of our beloved friend and family into the side of another vehicle, everything slowed down – it was becoming surreal. I asked Beth to repeat what she said as I could feel the blood sinking into the lower parts of my body as I began to feel cold on a warm day, it was the opposite of flush and embarrassment – it was fear.
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I anxiously waited for Ron and his family to arrive back to the staging area as it was became apparent he was not returning as quickly as the first lap around the parked cars. I decided to run to the other side of the lot in hopes he and his family were safe. Approaching the other side of the lot I found Ron finishing a figure eight with the girl passengers screaming as the camera man documented the risky moment.
As Ron finished his last maneuver I pretended all was OK and smiled as they drove away heading back into our staging area. “Finally, he is heading back, let’s be done now”. I thought. He drove around the corner and I lost sight of the car as I turned my eyes through the parked vehicles and onto the Biffle trailer. I waited to see the bird pull in, when my wife Elizabeth filled my view in the spot where Ron should be arriving. She had a look of panic in her eyes and was motioning with her hands in a fashion familiar to me. Too far away to communicate, my wife hand gestured the same way a player or coach would call ‘time-out’ by placing her finger tips of her right hand directly into the palm of her left forming a ‘T’.
“Time out?” I yelled, as she shook her head with more panic in her body language. I ran toward her as she now began to speak what her hands could not say; “Ron just hit a car!” her hands were not indicating a pause in ‘play’ but rather a collision of our beloved friend and family into the side of another vehicle, everything slowed down – it was becoming surreal. I asked Beth to repeat what she said as I could feel the blood sinking into the lower parts of my body as I began to feel cold on a warm day, it was the opposite of flush and embarrassment – it was fear.
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Photo Courtesy: Bailey Peters
My mind and heart were running at a rate much faster than my body, I was in slow motion. Every thought was a calculation to solve a problem I had not even seen yet! Turning the corner I heading toward the accident and laid my eyes on what my leadership had produced; the blending of silver and red as the nose of the Firebird was buried into a winning battle with a bright red 2009 Honda S2000.
I arrived at the scene and was relieved to see everyone was safe as Kelly and the girls had already exited the back seat. “Are you and the girls OK?” “Yes we are”, she replied. Following in pursuit was Mike Peters as I instructed him to go around to the driver’s side door so we could both asses the mode of failure. The car was not running and the recently installed safety kill switch was depressed. I asked Ron if he was alright as he replied he was. Mike Peters was concerning himself with the servo motors controlling steering and braking as I joined him at the driver’s side floor board from the passenger side of the car.
“What the heck happened!” as I vented off some emotional pressure. “Not sure, but look at this braking servo!” Mike replied. What Mike was discovering was not a failure of the braking system but rather the unconventional way we were using it. We notice that the lever attached to the braking servo motor that applies pressure to the brake pedal had found its way up and over the pedal itself lodging behind it rendering it non-functional. “How did this thing get this way!” I continued to vent. With a few attempts we final dislodged the lever and removed ourselves from the vehicle. I motioned to Jay and Robert to remove Ron as I began to rehearse in my mind the radio conversation I would need to make soon to Dan Halloran.
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I arrived at the scene and was relieved to see everyone was safe as Kelly and the girls had already exited the back seat. “Are you and the girls OK?” “Yes we are”, she replied. Following in pursuit was Mike Peters as I instructed him to go around to the driver’s side door so we could both asses the mode of failure. The car was not running and the recently installed safety kill switch was depressed. I asked Ron if he was alright as he replied he was. Mike Peters was concerning himself with the servo motors controlling steering and braking as I joined him at the driver’s side floor board from the passenger side of the car.
“What the heck happened!” as I vented off some emotional pressure. “Not sure, but look at this braking servo!” Mike replied. What Mike was discovering was not a failure of the braking system but rather the unconventional way we were using it. We notice that the lever attached to the braking servo motor that applies pressure to the brake pedal had found its way up and over the pedal itself lodging behind it rendering it non-functional. “How did this thing get this way!” I continued to vent. With a few attempts we final dislodged the lever and removed ourselves from the vehicle. I motioned to Jay and Robert to remove Ron as I began to rehearse in my mind the radio conversation I would need to make soon to Dan Halloran.
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With Ron safely out of the car I reset the Safety Kill switch and fired the Firebird back to life. Shifting the car into reverse I pulled the nose away from the petite Japanese sports car like a dog from a fight as we could fully reveal the damage to the S2000. The Firebird had damaged her front bumper and passenger side fender but there was no doubt they just don’t make them like they used to, as the Japanese import was no match for our early American steel car. Driving the Bird a short distance back to our staging area I realized just how close Ron was to making it back to the staging area at the Biffle trailer and how thankful I was for our Maaco Sponsorship. As I drove I was remembering the last words that came from the owner Glen Miller’ s mouth “ If you crash at Rose Cup we will be happy to fix you up”! A statement I never thought would come true, but how sweet those words sounded now!
I needed to sit down, to rest, to collect my thoughts but mainly my emotions. I quickly found refuge alone under the canopy near the Biffle trailer as I quietly complained to God in my thoughts. I tried to put meaning to a bad situation and dreaded my next move. I needed to radio Dan Halloran about our situation and keyed up the radio;
Ron Phillips: “Dan this is Ron Phillips – over”
Dan Halloran: “This is Dan, go ahead Ron – over”
Ron Phillips: “Dan we have a situation with Ron Heagy and the car – over”
Dan Halloran: “What’s your situation?”
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I needed to sit down, to rest, to collect my thoughts but mainly my emotions. I quickly found refuge alone under the canopy near the Biffle trailer as I quietly complained to God in my thoughts. I tried to put meaning to a bad situation and dreaded my next move. I needed to radio Dan Halloran about our situation and keyed up the radio;
Ron Phillips: “Dan this is Ron Phillips – over”
Dan Halloran: “This is Dan, go ahead Ron – over”
Ron Phillips: “Dan we have a situation with Ron Heagy and the car – over”
Dan Halloran: “What’s your situation?”
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Ron Phillips: “We had a collision with a parked car in the parking lot; all is safe at this time.”
Dan Halloran: “Is the owner aware?”
Ron Phillips: “No, the owner is un-aware and not sure how to find them”
Dan Halloran: “What is the make of car?”
Ron Phillips: “Honda”
Dan Halloran: “What is the Model?”
Ron Phillips: “S2000”
Dan Halloran: “What Color?”
Ron Phillips: “Red”
The radio went silent as I waited for his next question. Final my radio began to speak to me once more;
Dan Halloran: “Ron”
Ron Phillips: “Yes Dan”
Dan Halloran: “That is my friends’ vehicle and he is sitting right next to me.”
Dan Halloran: “Ron if all is safe, I will be over as soon as I can with the owner”
My radio went silent and I went silent as I felt my heart begin to sink.
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