Re: Wanted: any & all pics and video of #21 on track for it's 1 lap
I was one of the team members who "abandoned" John and since the story seems to be a quite a bit one sided, allow me to explain why we decided to leave.
It was very clear to us that John was not as concerned about safety as he was about the theme of the car. Every time I suggested the car needed something for safety reasons I was told that it was fine and that he knew the rules. Of course that's not what Tech told us when we showed up and we're not talking about minor issues here. They were actually upset that we brought this car in the shape it was in! The final straw for me was when I went to remove the rear wheel after the second or third tech inspection I found that the lug nuts were still only hand tightened (check list?). John said "If you're so concerned about safety why did you come to Lemons?". I still hope that this was a joke but when I told him I didn't find it funny I was ignored. It was clear that we did not see eye to eye on the most important part of racing.
I give credit to John for sticking it out with the car and never quitting. I'm not at all surprised. But it was clear Saturday afternoon that the car would never be safe to drive and that is all the reason we needed to call it. I know the spirit of Lemons and I met some great people this weekend but I was not willing to sacrifice my safety and the safety of other drivers for any reason.