[DAVID GAGNARD]

On a side note at the track this weekend.........saw a semi-retired 70 year old veterinarian that practiced about 5 miles from my home town,he was racing his Porsche 928,did very well,in fact he kicked butt,but here's the "kicker".............this guy started out racing Sprites in the early 60's,then in 1965 he bought a Mustang GT-350 and road raced it for 2 seasons,then sold it and bought a 427 Cobra (I know the CSX #,but out of respect for the present owner I'll keep it to myself),raced it for 3 seasons,he was the soutwest champ 2 out of the 3 years he raced the car,third year he had too many mechanical failures............the last race he ran was at Riverside and after blowing the engine he sold the car right there.......had not been in a race car since 1970,now he lives 30 minutes from the track and has a couple of Porsches and 3 old Mercedes.........he got the "bug" again and went to a one day driving school at the track and the instructor told me within 5 laps he was trying to get him to slow down,then "Doc" told him of his past racing exploits and the instructor "turned him loose".......

He finished 1st in class and 9th overall (20 cars),at the awards after the races,the head honcho told everyone that this guy that just kicked their butts was 70 years old,he then got a standing ovation,but,they still DO NOT know about his early years,he's very modest and will not talk about unless you ask,they once he gets going he tells some great stories.............

I was right behind him going into the first turn on the first lap of the feature race,he was passing two cars,when the middle car did not see him and crowded him up against the wall,he backed off a little and missed the first turn completely,cut across the grass,grass and dirt flying everywhere,car made 2 big bounces,he grabbed a gear,kept it straight as an arrow,re-entered the track and did not lose much ground,afterwords when he and I were laughing about his "off-road excursion",he told me it only took him another lap to catch those 2 bozos and pass them!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was a pleasure to watch this guy run and run as well as he did for a stock car,he drove it from his house to the track and raced the hell out of it and drove it home and outran a lot of race cars that are not road legal,he said next time he comes back to the track the car will have better suspension and will be a lot lighter...........

He also told me his highest ever recorded trap speed in the Cobra was 172 mph on a track in Texas..............Hope I'm in half as good fo shape at 70 as he is................

David