Duke Williams in HMM

[Chris Ward]

Congrats to Duke on the article in Hemmings Muscle Machines. Cool write up about his days racing the Cosworth Vega. Sounds like it was a lot of fun.

[Duke W.]

Re: Duke Williams in HMM

The Ferrari dilettantes often snickered at the sight of my Cosworth Vega in the morning at Ferrari/Pantera club events at Riverside, but the snickering usually stopped after the first session. The Cobra Club guys always had respect for the car - the difference between real car guys and posers!

Lynn Park would look at the car and look at me and say: "Do your own tech inspection..." Often at COCOA events at Willow I was the last guy on the track as the clock approached 5 PM when I finally got the checked flag to end the day. I probably would have kept hot-lapping until I ran out of fuel if it wasn't for that flag! Tire grip was always better late in the afternoon as the sun got lower and the track cooled down.

I recall one guy who came up to me at a Riverside Ferrari/Pantera club event and somewhat in amazement said: "You're out there all day going 'round and 'round while everyone else is in the paddock working on their cars". I just smiled and said that I come out to DRIVE and make sure my car is properly prepared to run all day with nothing but oil checks between sessions and some added fuel late in the day. I was usually the only car in my run group with open exhaust, so everyone knew when I was on course.

One of my best memories is blowing off a '85 Testarossa on the short chute between Turn 6 and 7. I caught him in the Esses, then followed him through Turn 6. He then rocketed away, but hit the brakes WAAAAAY early, so I blew past him at WOT with my exhaust bellowing right into his ear before I hit my normal braking point using the "Fittipaldi line" into Turn 7. I must have scarred the sh.. out of him - barely saw him in my mirror after than. I so-named this inside approach to Turn 7 after Emmo as he used it quite effectively in IROC Camaros in the mid-seventies.

I actually had a passenger with me in that sesssion, but no video recorder. In a subsequent event I had a video recorder and captured eating a 308 at the same location.

The CV is a very underrated car, but very responsive to minor engine and chassis tuning - and it was lots of fun embarrassing name brand sports cars.

My harriest experience occurred at Willow in the mid-eigshties. I entered Turn 8 as usual - flat out in fifth at about a 105 MPH when the steering wheel went limp in my hands halfway through - like hitting black ice in the winter. The car slid off-line but I managed to hold it until the grip returned. A Shelby GT 350 slid off course in front of me, and I think a couple behind me went off before they red flagged the session. It turned out that a Cobra had blown an oil line and pumped 12 quarts of oil onto the racing line on the fastest turn on the course. It took several hours to clean up the mess. They had to go to town to get more oil dry!

Of note, and somewhat sad, is that over 15+ years and scores of events I rarely saw a Corvette - a couple of C3s, just one C2, and never a C1. The C2 was at a Porsche Owner's Club event on the Streets of Willow Springs short track, and yes, the CV and I were faster.

Duke

[Bud K.]

Re: Duke Williams in HMM

A good read. Thanks

Bud.

[Norris W.]

Re: Duke Williams in HMM

Great article Duke.

Your tale of giant killers made me hafta' tell this tale:

I've got a buddy here that's a Ferrari nut and we usta' do the FCNA track events with his cars. Among his stable of several were an F40 and a 355 with slicks and suspension upgrade. The F40 was his first step up from an old 308 Quatro, which was basically a dog, not only in going, but in stopping, and I was genuinely afraid he was going to hurt himself or break a half million dollar car with lack of experience, so I called Road Atlanta and scheduled a 3 day driving school, which they were willing to do as a closed school as long as we brought 6 people. It had to be done in their cars, but they agreed to let us bring our own stuff and work with the instructors in them on the 3rd day only.

Long story short, my friend prefers the ease of driving and smoothness of the little 355 and on Sunday (as well as at most of the FCNA track events) he was shoe'n it and I was driving the F40, which is a point and shoot car that's physically tiring to drive hard, to say the least. Anyhow, we're gettin' near the end of the day & weekend and in the cars by ourselves and a couple of the instructors have their own cars out playing too. I come around the start finish line in the F40 and somebody on the flag stand is playing with the flags. He's holding up the holding up traffic flag on me. I thought he was just doggin' me for bein' in the fastest car, but I looked in the mirror and there was My instructor on my tail in his spec racer (which has a sealed 65 horsepower Renault engine. I couldn't figure out where he came from, but pulled to the inside of the short straight thinkin' I'd shove him all the way around the track one lap, then pass him back on the back straight. Man was I wrong............. gone........ by turn 6 or 7 he was out of sight and I never saw him again. Just goes to show, it's all about who's hands the car's in.