Cars that did not start

Davy Jones dominates

A small but strong 22 car field would make it to the green at Mid Ohio in 1991. Those were the days when things were getting pretty tough for IMSA with the works teams clearly dominating the championship. It was to be a fine race, though, with Jaguar-Intrepid-Nissan and Toyota and even Spice eyeing victory. The two Intrepid Chevrolet driven by Tom Kendall and Wayne Taylor were impressive, The two Jaguar XJR16s were fast, but they had trouble with the slow and medium speed corners, so an additional front wing was to be added. The two Nissan NPT91, driven by Geoff Brabham and Chip Robinson were next. Juan Fangio II was still driving the Eagle HF90, waiting his new weapon to be unleashed. The two Porsche 962Cs were kind of outdated, but who knew? The practice sessions were all Intrepid, with Tom Kendall and Wayne Taylor clearly dominating the field. Davy Jones was just behind them, also tucked into the 1m12s range. Chip Robinson and Geoff Brabham were next, followed by Raul Boesel Jaguar. The Intrepid drivers felt concerned about the start, with Davy Jones lurching behind them. Parker Johnstone was also dominant in the Lights class, putting his Spice SE90P Acura on the pole. He was clearly one second and a half away from everyone. His best opponent was David Tennyson, who drove his Spice SE90P Ferrari. Charles Morgan was next, driving his Kudzu DG1 Buick. When the green flag was waved, the Jaguar was sandwiched between the two Intrepids. Tom Kendall was in the lead, but Davy Jones was right behind him, determined not to let him get away. In fact, it would only last for two laps. Davy Jones and Tom Kendall would wrestle for a pair of corners, and take the lead. Once in the lead, the Jaguar would not be threatened at all. Tom Kendall and Wayne Taylor were not to be endangered in any way, also stretching the gap between them and the rest of the field. In fact, things were set from the beginning, but Davy Jones had trouble with his coolsuit. It didn't prevent him from winning, however. The refueling sessions didn't provide any additional drama to the race, but Tom Kendall, who was stuck into second place, spun through the carousel. He would restart behind his teammate. Geoff Brabham would start with a careful pace, and he had to stop with a puncture, losing fourth place to Raul Boesel, in the second Jaguar XJR16. He was to be hampered by his gearbox, unable to use his third gear. Chip Robinson had a bad race, spinning twice in the second lap. Juan Fangio II finished eighth, and was just unable to fight for the win. He was just the best of the obsolete cars. Things would change within a few months. The Lights class was not to be your usual Acura domination, with Ruggero Melgrati hanging onto Parker Johnstone's tail. Both of them would run together for some laps, but Ruggero Melgrati would spin, and Parker Johnstone was left in the lead. Picking a piece of debris, he had to stop for a tire change, leaving David Tennyson in the lead, followed by Jim Pace. Parker Johnstone dropped to third place. When David Tennyson pitted for fuel, it was Jim Pace ahead, but Parker Johnstone was catching up. When he was on his heels, things were not as easy as expected for the Acura. The Kudzu was fast, nearly as fast as the Spice. Trying hard, Parker Johnstone spun, and lost eight seconds. He would again close in on him, when the two cars met with a huge set of cars. Both cars came together, suffering from suspension damage. Parker Johnstone's car emerged from the field and won by a thirty seven second margin. Jim Pace ended up second, but he was to be threatened by David Tennyson, who was determined to pass him. That did not happen, but it was a close finish, with a little more than one inch between them. The race had been exciting, but Parker Johnstone took his sixth class victory.