I've been doing track days and HPDE for about 5-6 years now and finally got the chance to move up to competitive racing. Last Friday was comp school with the Mid-Ohio school (which was very well run and just good fun, by the way), but something happened along the way. I was in the third on track session of the day and my clutch in my Spec E30 exploded. I mean there was nothing left but rivets and fibers! By the time the comp school was over (about 5:00) I started calling shops to see if someone could get me in on a Saturday for a clutch. No luck. I did talk to Tom Hatem of Tom Hatem Automotive in Columbus and he said he would be willing to help me out, except he had a root canal that day and was not in any shape to do auto work. I thought I was having the worst luck in the world. He then suggested to find the Motorkars crew who is always around NASA events and see if they had any suggestions.
We searched around the garages and came across Matt from Motorkars. We told him our problem and he understood our dilemna. I thought maybe he can get us in at his shop in Columbus and get the clutch fixed on Saturday and maybe be ready to come out racing on Sunday. No, he did way better than that. He offered to move his racecar out of his rented garage, let us move our broken E30 in there and fix it. He offered all of his tools, any support, and then proceeded to make calls to find us a clutch!! A few minutes later he said he had found a clutch from his friend Kevin and then offered to drive to Columbus to pick it up! Are you kidding me?! I have always heard that people at the track are usually willing to lend a hand if possible, but this guy (whom we had just met) was bending over backwards to get me back on track (literally)!
Long story short (or is it already long at this point?) we got the tranny pulled, Matt showed up with the clutch, everything was put back together and she fired right up and moved out of the garage under her own power around 2 am. I was back in it! My weekend wasn't ruined and I took second place in the Saturday race.
So I am forever grateful to Matt, Kevin and all the Motorkars guys who helped me get my car fixed and back in the races. Hope to see you all soon at the next race!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sweeney
We searched around the garages and came across Matt from Motorkars. We told him our problem and he understood our dilemna. I thought maybe he can get us in at his shop in Columbus and get the clutch fixed on Saturday and maybe be ready to come out racing on Sunday. No, he did way better than that. He offered to move his racecar out of his rented garage, let us move our broken E30 in there and fix it. He offered all of his tools, any support, and then proceeded to make calls to find us a clutch!! A few minutes later he said he had found a clutch from his friend Kevin and then offered to drive to Columbus to pick it up! Are you kidding me?! I have always heard that people at the track are usually willing to lend a hand if possible, but this guy (whom we had just met) was bending over backwards to get me back on track (literally)!
Long story short (or is it already long at this point?) we got the tranny pulled, Matt showed up with the clutch, everything was put back together and she fired right up and moved out of the garage under her own power around 2 am. I was back in it! My weekend wasn't ruined and I took second place in the Saturday race.
So I am forever grateful to Matt, Kevin and all the Motorkars guys who helped me get my car fixed and back in the races. Hope to see you all soon at the next race!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sweeney
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