116 replies to this topic

[Cap Henry]

It's very sad to lose Jay, he was a great friend and one hell of a competitor. On track he was fierce and cutthroat, off track he was your best friend, he had a great sense of humor and made any race fun. We shared the same passion for dirt racing, and he actually came to a memorable race at Bridgeport to see me race the big car. Jay helped me many times in many different ways and I could never thank him enough.

Rest in peace, my friend. I'm sure you're already hammer down practicing for the next race.

[Matt Bruce]

Gone way too soon. My family and I will miss Jay very much. One of the best for sure.

 

Jay is the guy who pushed me to be better as a slot racer. He gave no quarter and he asked for none. Never one to mince words, Jay told you how it is, straight up, and expected the same back. He was always good to my son, and both Sharon and I loved him for that.

 

It tore me up to see him in pain and I'm thankful he is now at peace. The world lost a special man. He was a little rough around the edges, but he had a big heart. That was Jay. Thank you for being you. Thanks for all your help, your support, and friendship all these years. We miss you. Godspeed, my friend.

[Tom Thumb Hobbies]

At the first R4 Jay attended he walks in the door, stops, looks around, and says "Here is a raceway that I haven't been thrown out of yet." Well... about ten minutes later that almost changed.

 

A few years later he was living in my parking lot in the famous motor home for several days while racing in our Retro Endure that summer. He said he was my "guard dog" for the week. That was Jay.

 

Like Matt said he was rough around the edges but had a big heart. I don't think we have had a more fierce competitor at any R4 than Jay. But that's only a minor reason he will be missed.

 

He was a great friend to many. RIP.

[Howie Ursaner]

I first met Jay at the Sano 2. That was my first race back in Retro.

 

Jay was the star of the show, blowing my mind with his driving in the coupe race. After that we became very good friends. While most saw him as intense or arrogant he had a soft side that was gentle, kind, and caring and he had a deep love for his friends . He loved slot cars more than anything in the world and I loved him.

 

On the track Jay would contribute to a lot of action and we will never forget him. With his sharp mind an incredible sense of humor he could really piss you off but we would always laugh it off.

 

Miss you, Jay.

[Pappy]

I never thought of Jay as being arrogant or even cocky. He came across to me as extremely intense and competitive which tends to rub some people the wrong way. But he was always extremely nice to me.

 

RIP, Jay.

[MSwiss]

At the first R4 Jay attended he walks in the door, stops, looks around, and says "Here is a raceway that I haven't been thrown out of yet." Well... about ten minutes later that almost changed.

 

Maybe that's why Jay and I didn't see eye to eye.

He was disappointed he could never get me mad enough to throw him out of Chicagoland.

If Wes ever comes back to the Sano, maybe I'll throw him out, in honor of Jay. LOL.

[slotcarone]

About three years ago at a Retro East race at Port Jeff I wrecked both my F1s in practice. I fixed one and got it on the track just before tech closed but it was not very good. Jay comes over and hands me a car and says, "Run this one". I practiced with it two laps and it was awesome. Only guy I didn't/couldn't beat that day was Jay himself - he won and I got second. A class act for sure!!

 

RIP, Jay.

[Noose]

Although we had our differences of opinion on things over the years, Jay was one hell of a competitor and did think outside the box when it came to racing. He will be missed. He was one of the few that I would lend a car to and would go on to beat me with it and win a race.
 
It's a damn shame that anyone has to go early in life. RIP, Jay, and give them hell in the tech line.
 

[tonyp]

The first time I met Jay was at our first Retro race at Keystone Raceway. After driving two hours and rushing to get the race going and getting in some practice, Jay started being Jay. I was already pissd and went up to him and said, "Jay, you don't want to **** with me". By the end of the day we were best of friends. 

 

Jay filled me in on a lot of the information I missed for the previous 20 years and really helped me run faster. Won a bunch of races with my stuff. I'll miss you...

[Ben Taxel]

Wow, just so sad, was just thinking about him wondering if he would be at the Scale Nats...
 
We had a lot of laughs and some intense races. He was always willing to help for nothing more than a thank you.
 
Rest in peace, my friend.

[Pete L.]

Rest in peace, Jay.

[The Number of]

I never met Jay until after his first round with cancer, and I never was on his bad side as I was never fast enough to be the same round as he was. His reputation preceded him and he was vocal and forceful in his racing.

I had dinner with him one night in Chi and all we talked about was life and living. He had mellowed out some by this point in his life, so I will remember the good times I had with him.

Godspeed, my friend.

[Bryan Warmack]

A couple of years ago I called Jay at SpeedZone after he had come out West to one of the Checkpoint races. I think he qualified third in Can-Am but broke a guide on the VERY first lap and was out. We discussed his bad luck, I listened to his heated opinions on everything from what the Checkpoint organizers were doing wrong to what the IRRA^® was doing wrong... and just about everything in between and also a lot of other issues that had nothing to do with slot cars.
 
Later in the conversation, I told him I was very sorry to hear about the little SpeedZone mascot dog who had died recently and Jay just broke down.
 
Rest in Peace, Jay.

[usadar]

Later in the conversation, I told him I was very sorry to hear about the little SpeedZone mascot dog who had died recently and Jay just broke down].

 
I remember her name was Cali, whom I met at my first Fall Brawl at SpeedZone in 2012.

Jay really loved her, taking a very good care of her, showing his warm heart.
 
RIP, Jay.
 
Haruki

[Tex]

That's a side of Jay that few outside of NJ have probably seen. Thanks for sharing that. It really speaks of the man's heart.

[Cheater]

This memorial piece, "Saying Goodbye to a Friend", was emailed to the SpeedZone list this morning by Mike Iles.

 

[Howie Ursaner]

Seattle USRA Nationals.