Horst Kroll Survives Nightmare Weekend In Dallas - July 7th, 1984

July 7th, 1984

Texas was not kind to our team that season on either visit. The first indication should have been on Wednesday afternoon, I received a message to go to Kroll's shop in West Hill to pick up a package that needs to come with me on a flight the next morning. That package contained 8 jars of paint. I knew at that point the car had received damage. But how much???

Arriving in Dallas Thursday morning, I was about to experience some of the most extreme air temperatures in my life. During my cab ride to the track I was informed by the driver they were days into a heat wave and there was no relief in site. Arriving at the track I was relieved to learn the cars bodywork had only received some minor damage during transportation. I joined Rolf Burger, Julie Bishop, Horst and his daughter Birgit in what was to be our crew for this very demanding weekend. It became very clear one of the biggest challenges was going to be the extreme heat that was around 100°F (38 °C) by noon. Most of the afternoon Thursday was spent repairing the damaged bodywork and preparing the car for Fridays qualifying.

 Friday went downhill for us with a stuck throttle putting Horst into the wall during the first qualifying session. Although placing the car 7th on the grid the car received heavy damage and the team was force to pull an overnight at the track returning to our hotel at 4 am for only a couple of hours sleep and a quick shower.

Saturday  morning an exhausted crew meet for breakfast and team meeting to review the list of chores left if we were going to make the starting grid. With time running out the team battled the extreme heat and fatigue. To make matters worst Horst was also dealing with a bad head cold. We managed a last minute quick, makeshift alignment and put the wheels on with only about 10 minutes to spare before being called to the starting grid. After moving up in the field early in the race disaster struck again. Pitting with a flat tire the team were unable to remove the wheel with our air gun. Goodyear Tire had recorded the highest track temperatures in their 20 years of racing (150 °F (66 °C), during Fridays Formula One qualifying, and the extreme heat had welded our wheel nut to the spindle. After retrieving a wheel wrench and extension pipe Rolf and I were able to loosen the nut with a sledge hammer. With Rolf suffering burns to his hands through his gloves the nut was forced back on over damaged threads and Kroll returned to the track and able to salvage an 8th place finish.

After a Sunday morning breakfast at the hotel, the exhausted team returned to the track to load the car and take advantage of our complimentary Formula One passes. Because of the extreme heat, the race started 3 hours early at 11 in the morning. The crowd of 90,000 were in a festive and hospitable mood. Beer coolers were already open and quickly shared with those in team uniforms, however for Kroll the weekend just keep getting worst. While trying to scale a fence to get a better vantage point, Horst fell and landed firmly on his back sending us to the hotel with one very tired, sick and sore driver. After a team dinner Sunday night everyone was ready to get out of town and back to good old TO as soon a possible.

Kroll also took a serious beating in the points, with Micheal Roe taking the win and Jim Crawford placing second. Dr Charles Monk was the top Canadian in fourth.

From, Horst Kroll: A Crew-members Story} Part Two - The 1984 Season