IndyDuq
04-29-05, 02:44 AM
Hi all.
I’ve never spent any time on forums but John always talked about how much he enjoyed Off Camber and all of the participants. I thought that I would share my story with you folks. I met John & Sue many years ago at an after work bar. We instantly discovered a mutual passion for open wheel racing. The next thing I knew John had talked me into meeting his gang at Milwaukee. Needless to say I had a blast and it became an annual event! We continued to meet at Milwaukee and sometimes Road America or Mid-Ohio and if nothing else, occasionally at my house for races.
The coolest thing about John was that he was a guy who knew racing… not just someone who was able to recite book facts and records. I remember that after watching in amazement as J.P. Montoya blew through turn four at Milwaukee lap after lap with opposite lock in his rookie year (you can’t drive like that at Milwaukee!), John could tell you in detail how Jimmy Clark (or Jimmy Bryant for that matter) “pitched” his car into the corners there. John lived and breathed racing. I remember him telling me that when he was a young man, that during practice at Indy, all of his friends were partying in the infield and he was the “nerd” in the stands with the stopwatch.
John was a good man and a good friend and I will miss him greatly. I was looking forward to seeing him at the speedway next month. Damn... life sure isn’t fair. 54 is just way too young to leave us all behind.
May God bless and keep John. I hope and imagine that he is somewhere now happily bench racing with Clark, Bettenhausen, Vuckovich, Fangio and many others.
While we’ve all lost a good friend, please spare a thought for Sue, Nick, and (mom) Fairy, they are suffering the loss of husband, father, and son.
John Duquenne
I’ve never spent any time on forums but John always talked about how much he enjoyed Off Camber and all of the participants. I thought that I would share my story with you folks. I met John & Sue many years ago at an after work bar. We instantly discovered a mutual passion for open wheel racing. The next thing I knew John had talked me into meeting his gang at Milwaukee. Needless to say I had a blast and it became an annual event! We continued to meet at Milwaukee and sometimes Road America or Mid-Ohio and if nothing else, occasionally at my house for races.
The coolest thing about John was that he was a guy who knew racing… not just someone who was able to recite book facts and records. I remember that after watching in amazement as J.P. Montoya blew through turn four at Milwaukee lap after lap with opposite lock in his rookie year (you can’t drive like that at Milwaukee!), John could tell you in detail how Jimmy Clark (or Jimmy Bryant for that matter) “pitched” his car into the corners there. John lived and breathed racing. I remember him telling me that when he was a young man, that during practice at Indy, all of his friends were partying in the infield and he was the “nerd” in the stands with the stopwatch.
John was a good man and a good friend and I will miss him greatly. I was looking forward to seeing him at the speedway next month. Damn... life sure isn’t fair. 54 is just way too young to leave us all behind.
May God bless and keep John. I hope and imagine that he is somewhere now happily bench racing with Clark, Bettenhausen, Vuckovich, Fangio and many others.
While we’ve all lost a good friend, please spare a thought for Sue, Nick, and (mom) Fairy, they are suffering the loss of husband, father, and son.
John Duquenne