ROBERT PATRICK - MOMENTUM IN ADVERSITY
Robert Patrick has encountered more than his share of obstacles in drag racing but in the days leading up to the IHRA Torco Sooner Nationals, the IHRA Pro Stock racer suffered a loss that had him questioning more than drag racing.
Patrick lost a friend, and a close one.
Cary Coleman’s death left Patrick reeling from a setback that no test session could overcome or that money couldn’t buy relief from.
Patrick learned a lot from Coleman over the years about fitness and proper maintenance of his body, but the most invaluable lesson – how to be a friend – was what left a lasting impression.
Robert Patrick has encountered more than his share of obstacles in drag
racing but in the days leading up to the IHRA Torco Sooner Nationals,
the IHRA Pro Stock racer suffered a loss that had him questioning more
than drag racing.
Patrick lost a friend, and a close one.
Cary
Coleman’s death left Patrick reeling from a setback that no test
session could overcome or that money couldn’t buy relief from.
Patrick
learned a lot from Coleman over the years about fitness and proper
maintenance of his body, but the most invaluable lesson – how to be a
friend – was what left a lasting impression.
“It’s been a tough
few weeks,” Patrick, of Fredericksburg, Virginia, said. “Doing as well
as we’ve done lately eases the burden some, but it is still tough.
Being tough motivates us. You have to smile when you don’t feel like
it.”
Losing a friend that close to death is uncharted territory
for Patrick. That is territory the 15-time national event winner hopes
he doesn’t encounter any time soon.
Just eighteen points out of
first place in the IHRA Torco’s CompetitionPlus Pro Stock point lead;
Patrick is readying that second-half surge. A surge he hopes takes him
to his first career world championship.
“We are coming into our
own at the right time,” said Patrick. “I guess if there is a point and
time that you can get on a hot streak, it would be best to do it in the
second half. But, if I had my way I’d just as soon to perform
consistently all season long.”
Patrick readily admits
consistency has always been his albatross. He’s been a dominant figure
for the last few seasons, but there has always been a streak of
misfortunate that nailed him to the wall when it came down to the final
points tallying time.
In Tulsa, after qualifying solidly on the
pole during Friday’s qualifying, Patrick mortally wounded his primary
engine during the first session the next day. Fate dealt Patrick a
favorable nod when rain delayed final eliminations. That provided
Patrick’s engine builder Bob Ingles the opportunity to not only fix the
damage but to up the ante for the competition.
Patrick’s
revamped engine acquired some extra horsepower, but for some reason it
did not jibe with the conditions that Tulsa Raceway Park offered.
Patrick
lost the first round of eliminations; not exactly the kind of reward he
had in mind for gaining engine power. That prompted a team meeting.
“We
all got together with Bob Ingles and we just laid it on the line,”
Patrick said. “Bob is breaking his back to give us a great motor and we
are too good of a team to be this inconsistent. We just made a pact to
return to the basics and go from there.
“That’s what we did. We went back to what got us in the winner’s circle in San Antonio and decided to work from there.”
Patrick
qualified an impressive #2 in Edmonton, and methodically worked his way
through the field defeating low qualifier Pete Berner in the final
round. He was the quickest throughout eliminations and established
track record on Sunday.
Beating Berner in the final round erased the depression of the first round loss in Tulsa.
“We
didn’t feel that we could beat Pete on the back-half, but we were
confident that we could get out on him in the front-half,” Patrick
said. “We felt that if I could drive halfway decent and we could make
the right calls, that we had a chance of making it to the finals.
That’s what we did.”
Patrick’s recent victory during the IHRA
Rocky Mountain Nationals ensured that he’s won at least once every IHRA
Knoll Gas Nitro Jam event in Canada. As fate has it, he's headed to
Canada again this weekend for the IHRA Canadian Nationals in Grand
Bend, Ontario.
The Edmonton victory was extra special to Patrick. He’d trade the fourteen others for this one because he won it for a friend.
“I won it for Cary,” Patrick said. “He carried me to the winner’s circle and that’s the greatest ride a friend can have.”
Or, one can give. Rest in peace Cary.