Interview with
Jan Gerber
by Patt Buell
Published October 1, 2003
I interviewed Jan Gerber while he was watching the Formula One race on Sunday, September 28, 2003. This is one enthusiastic racer! We talked about the race going on, and also about how Jan got involved in the SCCA.
Jan found the SCCA in Ankeny, Iowa in 1985. He attended Des Moines Region's "Solo-Rally-Solo" weekend, driving down from Mason City, Iowa to run the Saturday night rally. Later that year he moved to Omaha and ran NRSCCA's "Mac's Midnight Madness" (trophied), and started running Solo IIs. I guess he was hooked.
He joined NRSCCA in March, 1986. This is how he met Candy, who is now his wife, but that's another story.
Jan knew there was more to the SCCA than autocrossing an rallies, so in the middle of a snow storm, he left for Topeka in March of 1989. He attended the Motor Sports Academy there, along with NRSCCA members Mark Ross, Dave Zitzlsperger and Mark Walker. The Academy was a two day school to introduce people to all aspects of SCCA race working (Timing & Scoring, Flagging & Communication, Grid, Paddock, Hospitality, Course Marshall, etc...) and to gather new workers to help at Heartland Park Topeka which was still being built. "We did a course walk that Sunday while they were still pushing dirt and laying the asphalt for HPT."
The next event and first race he attended was at Hutchinson, Kansas on April Fool's Day. And of course, it rained. It always rains at Hutch. It always rains in Kansas. Mark Walker and Mark Ross attended as F&C workers, and Jan, as always going to T&S. It was dry and warm and he had friends from MiDiv rallies as Chief of Timing there (Bruce and Charlene Bettinger).
Jan's next race as a worker was the inaugural race at Heartland Park (in the rain - it's Kansas). He and Candy worked Timing & Scoring. They continued to work Timing & Scoring and became Nationally licensed. Scott Smed and Joyce Deike joined Candy and Jan at the inaugural race at Heartland Park and this group comprised the only workers heading to races at that time.
Jan and Candy started staying with Steve Fenske's crew from Midwest Sport Racing at both HPT and Hutchinson. They came back saying "We had a lot of fun at these events and couldn't wait to get to the next race." By the 1990's he and Candy worked the Detroit Grand Prix and the Ruan Grand Prix (Des Moines). Very exciting to be part of that!
Jan said, "Our "vacation" in 1994 was to work the Showcase Nationals plus Trans Am at Mid-Ohio then take a few days and work our way through Indianapolis and Auburn car museums on our way to the Detroit Grand Prix for the Trans Am race. Detroit was also our first CART race and I can still remember the rush of being 10 feet away from the Start/Finish line in an open timing stand! We were some of the SCCA folks who were asked to help out the CART timing people in scoring the race on Sunday. What fun! We also worked the IMSA Prototypes and NASCAR truck races at HPT. The truck races at Heartland were where we got our first real experience on corners when not working timing. Having thirty 700 hp trucks fly by us at Turn 1 was definitely an experience!!"
In 1995 Jan and Candy signed up to work the National Runoffs at Mid-Ohio. They were assigned to work a corner. They continued working corners into 1996. "We were T&S workers who went out and filled in for F&C workers during the week when they were short staffed. The next year our application came back as F&C workers even though we had applied for T&S. (I think Ron Sharp had something to do with that)."
By now, Jan had in the back of his mind that he'd like to race. It looked like fun. He ran the first HPCCC at Heartland Park and then an Alfa Club event at Hallet. He looked more closely at the race cars. He also told me, "I may have looked... but I didn't have the $$ or a place to keep a race car."
In 1999, at Mid-Ohio, Jan saw that John Saucier had his Neon SSC car for sale, but decided it was more than he wanted to spend. "We thought a Neon would be a smart choice since we were autocrossing one and were "kind of" familiar with them. Plus you can find parts for them at the local Dodge dealer!"
In 2000, he and Candy were back at Mid-Ohio and John's car was still for sale, with a better price. As he watched John during the race, he prayed that John would not hurt the car. He and Candy had already decided to buy it. "We watched as John bicycled it off the inside curb at Turn 11 right in front of us!!"
Candy, with the help of Dan Costello, went to Oklahoma and picked up the car. The Neon was now theirs for $3500. Jan said, "The first event ever for us in the SSC Neon was at a DMVR autocross in November 2000 in Ankeny, Iowa of all places. This was where the Solo was held on the day of my first SCCA event way back in 1985!"
In 2001, they autocrossed the Neon to get use to the car's handling. They both did well, and in the Spring of 2002, Jan went to Gateway to run the double Driver's School and Regional race, winning his first race that weekend. He went on to run more races and received his Regional license and in 2002. Jan won NRSCCA's Regional Driver of the Year Award along with Bill Pemberton. For 2003, he became a Nationally licensed driver and earned an invitation to the National Run Offs at Mid-Ohio.
Jan had worked most of the corners at Mid-Ohio but had never been around the course, so when he had the opportunity to walk the course, he did. The track is 2.25 miles long with elevation changes, which makes it a fun course for someone used to driving flatland courses like MidAmerica Motorplex (MAM).
Did he enjoy the track? Here's Jan's story:
"We got to the track Sunday morning and I took my first lap ever of Mid-Ohio that evening (on foot). I have worked most of the corners at Mid-O but had never been on it as a driver before. I tried to view it as a big autocross course. You really don't get an appreciation of all the elevation changes from TV or even from a corner station ... this was definitely different than MidAmerica Motorplex! Monday was raining for practice and the spray from 30+ cars made it difficult to learn anything in the 20 minutes of track time we got. I made 6 laps and was 15 seconds behind the leaders."
"Tuesday was my first time in the car where I could actually see where I was going. The speed of the track and the blind corners do take some getting used to. After 9 laps of first day qualifying I was 32nd and 5 seconds behind the leaders. Wednesday was even better and I was able to start linking the turns together more consistently and get a little more comfortable with the track. I dropped 2 seconds and moved to just over 3 seconds off the leaders putting me 26th. Thursday was final qualifying and I dropped another second off my best but so did most everyone else and I remained at 26th but now only 2.5 seconds off the pole. I had driven a total of 33 laps on the track."
"Friday we were dealing with the remnants of hurricane Isabel and it had been raining since Thursday midnight. My race was the second race of the day at 10:55. I was not going to go out for the warmup as only bad things can happen in the rain, but I had to bed some brakes (I had found a cracked rotor) and I should find where the puddles were going to be. The rain was letting up while we were out for our 10 minutes of warm up time, and it finally stopped just before race #1 at 10:00."
"We still had our wet tires on and had to make a tire choice for the race. Fortunately, we were paddocked around with a number of other SSC drivers, including John Fernandez (factory Mopar driver). When I saw him switch his Hoosier Dirt Stockers for Hoosier Slicks we made the call to go with our dry tires. We had 15 minutes to get to grid. Our tire swap was done in 8 minutes and we made it to grid with plenty of time to spare. We found our grid spot and then watched as several drivers were changing to dry tires right on the grid."
"The start was decent and no carnage until lap 2 where the red mist started to build for the front runners. Two cars off at 7; 3 off at 11; a spin at the carousel. I had faster cars behind me that were already dented ... this race could get ugly fast! Most of the cars around me were of the same mind set as myself, "Let's get through this alive and not have to fix anything at the end.", so we had some decent racing. I never had a problem with not getting racing room and even got a thumbs up from a driver after we both dodged one of the guys coming back up through the pack who then spun in front of us at the carousel (again!)."
"After 8 laps I had moved up to 19th and was running 2nd in a spread out pack of 5 cars. I apparently got complacent and lost concentration and missed my mark coming through 10 and entered 11 too hot. I couldn't get turned and slid off driver's left into the gravel trap. I missed the car that was parked there since Lap 2 by less than 6 inches. My Runoffs was over... Oh well."
"I have to look at the bright side. The only tool I need to use to fix the car after the race is a garden hose to wash off the mud and dirt. My new tow hook worked and I am glad I put it on the car (Showroom Stock cars do not require one)."
"I left the event wanting another crack at it. This time in the dry. I want to be there to get the checkered flag. Mid-O is a blast to drive! It's fast (115 mph in a Neon) it's exciting (3 blind fast corners) and I still haven't driven my fastest lap there."
Jan added, "There are a number to stories to tell about the 2003 Runoffs. Our tow to and from was filled with woe and intrigue (lost 2 tires on the trailer at 3 am.). Watching our friends do well (or not so well) in the races. Having fun at ALL the parties!"
So, this is Jan Gerber ... 2003.
For more about Jan, visit his website: Mjolnir Motorsports!
