Jerry Lee
09-22-2009, 12:06 PM
"Hard Luck Jones" is probably not a tag you want to carry with you through any career, but that never bothered Lynn Jones who seemed to have a strange slick of luck in a series of odd events with his Late Models at Colorado tracks over the years.
I always rooted for the underdog and I know I yelled myself hoarse more that 222 times during Lynn's career. "Jonsey" is always a gas to talk to and was again in this conversation we had just last week on the phone.
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JL: "So how did this "hard luck" story start? (laughs)"
LJ: "I was hired as a sweeper out at Englewood, I run a sweeper truck business. It was '65 and a guy wanted me to sponsor his car, so I said I'd sponsor him if he let me hot lap it. So I took it out there and it scared the hell out of me! (laughs) It was an old '55 Ford and he sold it to me for $500."
JL: "(laughs) It scared the crap out of you so you bought the car anyway?"
LJ: "Yeah, I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I towed it out to the race track and didn't bring no spare tires, no nothing. (laughs) So I took it out to hot lap and I come in and the guy says "Put your foot in it, Jonsey! You're not fast enough!", and he gives me a shot of vodka. And I don't even drink vodka! (laughs) So I go out again and come back to hear "You're still not fast enough!", and he gives me two shots of vodka! The next time I took it out I scattered the engine all over the track."
JL: "I remember when you ran over the new timing lights they had out at Englewood."
LJ: "(laughs) Yeah, someone brought that up just the other night."
JL: "Just some of the things I've read that have happened to you were that you once broke your thumb while loading the car, lost the car towing it home one night, and demolished your brand new beautifully painted Late Model in the first few laps on hot lap day in '74."
LJ: "Yeah, y'know we worked all damn winter on that car and I broke a spindle and went head-on into the wall. I put a big crack in the wall up there actually."
JL: "And then there was the nickname you had for years."
LJ: "Yeah, Hard Luck Jones."
JL: "I think it was good luck after all that you weren't seriously injured over the years."
LJ: "Yeah, I never did get hurt, but you know what? I had the best pit crew ever. No matter what I did to it, they got me back out. All those guys, they did it, they were just the best there was."
JL: "You finally won a trophy dash or two and a couple mains after that long streak of bad luck."
LJ: "Yeah, my luck changed a little when I bought that Howe chassis. This is how good my crew was, they put it together in one week and then we put the old crappy body back on it so no one knew we had it. I went out there and made the trophy dash and everyone was suspicious because if I was in the dash, something was up! (laughs) I pi$$ed off a lot of guys because now they had to go out and buy one!"
JL: "Who was fun to run with?"
LJ: "Oh, I had Don Wilson parked next to me for years. Fritz Wilson. I just loved Fritz Wilson! Ol' Jim Opperman. (laughs) Talk about the prince and the pauper! (laughs) Yeah, even though we were running in the B class, we were parkin' with the big dogs."
JL: "Do you miss racing?"
LJ: "I still dream about it! I love my race cars!"
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I always rooted for the underdog and I know I yelled myself hoarse more that 222 times during Lynn's career. "Jonsey" is always a gas to talk to and was again in this conversation we had just last week on the phone.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
JL: "So how did this "hard luck" story start? (laughs)"
LJ: "I was hired as a sweeper out at Englewood, I run a sweeper truck business. It was '65 and a guy wanted me to sponsor his car, so I said I'd sponsor him if he let me hot lap it. So I took it out there and it scared the hell out of me! (laughs) It was an old '55 Ford and he sold it to me for $500."
JL: "(laughs) It scared the crap out of you so you bought the car anyway?"
LJ: "Yeah, I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I towed it out to the race track and didn't bring no spare tires, no nothing. (laughs) So I took it out to hot lap and I come in and the guy says "Put your foot in it, Jonsey! You're not fast enough!", and he gives me a shot of vodka. And I don't even drink vodka! (laughs) So I go out again and come back to hear "You're still not fast enough!", and he gives me two shots of vodka! The next time I took it out I scattered the engine all over the track."
JL: "I remember when you ran over the new timing lights they had out at Englewood."
LJ: "(laughs) Yeah, someone brought that up just the other night."
JL: "Just some of the things I've read that have happened to you were that you once broke your thumb while loading the car, lost the car towing it home one night, and demolished your brand new beautifully painted Late Model in the first few laps on hot lap day in '74."
LJ: "Yeah, y'know we worked all damn winter on that car and I broke a spindle and went head-on into the wall. I put a big crack in the wall up there actually."
JL: "And then there was the nickname you had for years."
LJ: "Yeah, Hard Luck Jones."
JL: "I think it was good luck after all that you weren't seriously injured over the years."
LJ: "Yeah, I never did get hurt, but you know what? I had the best pit crew ever. No matter what I did to it, they got me back out. All those guys, they did it, they were just the best there was."
JL: "You finally won a trophy dash or two and a couple mains after that long streak of bad luck."
LJ: "Yeah, my luck changed a little when I bought that Howe chassis. This is how good my crew was, they put it together in one week and then we put the old crappy body back on it so no one knew we had it. I went out there and made the trophy dash and everyone was suspicious because if I was in the dash, something was up! (laughs) I pi$$ed off a lot of guys because now they had to go out and buy one!"
JL: "Who was fun to run with?"
LJ: "Oh, I had Don Wilson parked next to me for years. Fritz Wilson. I just loved Fritz Wilson! Ol' Jim Opperman. (laughs) Talk about the prince and the pauper! (laughs) Yeah, even though we were running in the B class, we were parkin' with the big dogs."
JL: "Do you miss racing?"
LJ: "I still dream about it! I love my race cars!"
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