This Time Experience Isn’t a Big Help as Downing Finishes 13th

In the 1950s, as told by Camel Lights driver Jim Downing, Juan Manuel Fangio, a 5-time world champion from Argentina, noticed the crowd looking in one direction as he swept around a blind turn during an auto race.

As the story goes, Fangio knew immediately something was wrong. So he slowed, avoided a pileup around the corner and went on to win.

“How do you pick those things up?” asked Downing. “Well, you sure don’t do it when you’re 21.”

Auto racers, Downing said, learn something new each year. And after 25 years in the business, Downing, 46, has learned enough to spot a bad thing when he sees it. Such as the track conditions for Sunday’s GTP main event of the Camel Grand Prix of Southern California at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. They were as bad as he has ever seen.

Downing, who has won 3 consecutive Camel Lights driver championships, was denied a bid for a fourth Sunday. He finished 13th overall in the GTP race, good for a third-place Camel Lights finish. That allowed Tom Hessert, second in the Camel Lights, to win this year’s drivers championship.

The slick track, not the lost championship, was on Downing’s mind after the race. A sealant applied 3 weeks ago to prevent cracks made conditions noticeably poor. Downing even questioned his decision to race.

“It was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” he said. “It was like a race on ice.”

Or an oil slick, according to other drivers. Eight cars brushed the wall. Downing estimated that hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage was done.

But Downing didn’t blame the track for his lost title.

“Sometimes you just get beat,” he said, smiling. “The other guys earned it.”

Still, he will be thinking about it quite a bit during the next few days. Sunday was the last Camel Lights race of the season, but Downing won’t head for vacation. It’s back to work.

“We’ll go home and figure out how to win next year,” he said. “That’s what I should have done last year.”

As car owner, team manager and chief driver, Downing is never far from the plans. He spends much of his 60-hour work week with his crew, ironing out problems. His cars are known for being well prepared.

Downing is usually there during the dirty work, too. Thursday, after an autograph session in El Cajon, he stayed late to help the crew load his car on the transporter.

“Most other drivers would have headed back to the motel and gotten a good night’s sleep,” said John Baker, public relations consultant to the Camel Lights Drivers’ Assn. “Jim participates.”

Downing, a native of Georgia, is considered a conservative driver by many on the circuit. But he prefers to look at it another way.

“I’d rather say I try to race smart so I’m there at the end.”

He has finished in the top 10 in all but 16 races during his career. With 19 victories, he ranks seventh on the all-time Camel GT chart.

Over the years, Downing has noticed differences in his own driving and changes in International Motor Sports Assn. racing. Seven years ago, he said it was difficult to make a living driving the circuit. Sponsors offered only nickels and dimes, maybe a free motel room. Today, with the involvement of larger corporations, crew and driver salaries have improved.

Downing said he has become adept at reading race track conditions and anticipating events from small signals. He has also learned to control his nerves, which used to prevent him from eating before races. So what he has in physical ability from age, he makes up for with savvy.

“You get smarter as you get older,” he said. “At least in this sport.”