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Before the final race, Russ Randall lies in a pool of oil as he works on repairing a blown oil filter on his father's car.
Bob Randall gets help with his safety gear from grandson Connor and son Russ Randall before the race starts.
Bob Randall bows his head during a prayer at the drivers meeting. He says racing lets him share his Christian faith.
Phil Wheeler, shown helping Bob Randall work on the front end, was one of several relatives at the season's final race.
After some frantic repair work, Bob Randall and his crew managed to patch the car back together in time for the last race of the season.
Russ and Bob Randall embrace after Bob's last race. |
BY CATHY DYSON
When Bob Randall was 64, he started spending his Social Security checks on the race car he'd always dreamed of driving.
While other people mourned as their retirement savings went down the drain in recent months, the Stafford County man joked that he was having the time of his life losing his.
"It's wonderful," Randall said about racing at South Boston Motor Speedway, about 90 minutes southwest of Richmond. "This is a place I can go fast without getting a ticket. And the fun meter--it's all the way over and then it bends around the corner."
Now 66, Randall socked almost $20,000 into his ride: a souped-up 1971 Chevy Vega with the number 33.
He spent every spare moment under the hood and did every bit of work himself or with the help of his two sons. He painted and sanded, rebuilt the engine and replaced the suspension system and kept immaculate calculations on temperature, tires and speed.
And that was when he wasn't working full time as the energy manager for Stafford County schools. He was on the go so much he lost 40 pounds.
"I have to be able to crawl into the window," Randall said, explaining his need to slim down. "It takes a minute and a half getting in and three-tenths of a second getting out."
'RACE FUEL IN HIS BLOOD'
Fast cars and family outings to NASCAR events have always been a part of the Hartwood man's life. He has paid to do laps at Richmond International Raceway when he wasn't watching races. For Christmas a few years ago, his wife, Nancy, sent him to race-car driving school in North Carolina.
Decades before Randall got behind the wheel of a vintage model, his father raced modified cars in upstate New York.
"He has race fuel in his blood," his wife said.
A few years ago, Randall decided to stop watching others race and do it himself. He was inspired by "The Bucket List," a movie about two old guys who list, then pursue, the things they want to do before they die.
"I've been blessed with good health all my life," Randall said, "and I wanted to do this while I was still able."
Randall made a promise before he started driving around an oval track at almost 90 mph. He told his wife he'd chase his dream for two years only. Then, if he didn't find a sponsor to cover tires that are $600 a set or high-octane fuel that's $8.50 a gallon, he and Nancy would focus on visiting all 50 states and spending time with their five grandchildren.
'GO, GRANDPA, GO!'
Randall's two years of racing ended on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend with a bang.
It was his fifth race of the season, and Randall had moved up through the ranks of the Southern Vintage Modified Racing Association. He had a shot at winning the championship.
In July and August, he'd beaten the other modified models--sedans, coupes and hatchbacks with engines of up to 800 horsepower and tires more than a foot wide.
He got choked up trying to describe what it was like to take the Vega for a victory lap as his family shouted, "Go, Grandpa, go!"
At first he said it was the fourth-happiest moment in his life, after his marriage and the birth of his two boys. Then he changed it to fifth, putting the moment he became a Christian in his top four.
As other racers patted Randall on the back after a victory, he handed out autographed photos of his car. The images include a cross and two Bible verses, along with a prayer on the back.
"It's an opportunity to share the word at a place where the word is never heard," he said.
'WE NEVER GIVE UP'
But just getting to the final race proved to be a test of faith. The night before the race, he discovered an oil leak in the engine and arranged to get another. He picked up his son, Russ, in Richmond, then drove to Lynchburg, and the two started putting in the replacement engine at 2 a.m.
They finished eight hours later, in time to drive to South Boston.
During Randall's practice laps, he didn't realize that oil was starting to spray from the engine onto his tires, making them slick.
Coming out of the second turn, trying to push the smaller engine as much as he could, he crashed into the wall.
The wreck wiped out almost everything on the right side. The suspension, radius rods, sway bar and all the mounts were damaged, the radiator was bent and all the sheet metal was torn off.
Randall, who has always been the "eternal optimist," was pretty down when the wrecker brought the car back to the pit, Russ Randall said.
Russ Randall, who's 40, lives in Richmond and has been to every race with his dad, wasn't about to let the season end without a fight.
"I felt like if we did that, we wouldn't be holding to the creed that we live by," Russ Randall said. "We never give up."
ALREADY VICTORIOUS
What happened as the group got the car back in order amazed Bob Randall. He was surrounded by family--a brother and cousins who'd come from out of state for his last race--and they rolled up their sleeves to help. So did fellow racers.
One man reached into the mess created after the car's oil filter blew and made sure things were on tight. Another took off his belt and tried to loop the filter in place. Others offered spare parts.
"We don't cut anybody any slack on the racetrack, but we do cut 'em some slack off it," said Bill Lacks, president of the racing club. "Everybody tries to help the other person."
Lacks, 67, has been racing for 13 years and is the only driver older than Randall. He said Randall is 100 percent better than he was last year, but that bad luck plagued him on the last race.
"I don't think I could have gone through what he did Friday night and Saturday morning, but he hung in there and run the race," Lacks said. "He's just a great guy, putting his all into it."
Randall said the same about those around him. He was especially proud that his son reminded him to practice the perseverance he'd always preached to Russ and his brother, Chris.
Randall finished the race without power steering. The wheels wobbled something awful, but he still hit 80 mph and placed third overall in the club rankings.
"The leader board was not really going to tell the story of victory for us that day," Russ Randall said. "We'd already been victorious, with the provisions that God had made for us and the heart everybody showed to get us out there."
Bob Randall has put the Vega back in his garage. He's got to cut firewood for the winter and visit newborn twin grandchildren in Florida.
After that, he'll start repairing the car so he can sell it or race again if he finds a sponsor.
"Whatever God wants me to do, He will show me the path," he said.
Cathy Dyson: 540/374-5425
Email: cdyson@freelancestar.com
