Jerry Simison Boat Racing Legend

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I had thought there was a thread for Jerry Simison, but I have not been able to find one other than a couple regarding his last days. Today he will be laid to rest. He was loved by those who knew him. For those who didn't this thread will be about who he was.

[Gene East]

Thanks for starting this thread Wayne. Hopefully others will join in honoring one of the greatest drivers in the history of our sport.

I've been communicating with Paul (Jerry's brother) and Todd, (Jerry's son) all week. I can assure everyone, the Simison family knows how much the racing family loved and respected Jerry.

The family has asked me to thank you for your prayers and kindness.

Condolences may be sent to:

Todd Simison
1682 Hwy 10 East
Detroit Lakes, MN 56501

Memorial tributes honoring Jerry may be made on line to:

Michael J. Fox Foundation (Minnesota Chapter)

Let's help find a cure for Parkinsons!

[Master Oil Racing Team]

No doubt about it Gene. Thanks very much for keeping us updated. Ralph Donald doesn't post often, but when he does it is to the point. The longest post I can remember is the one he did about Jerry on the funeral thread. Hopefully someone can move that over here. Ralph told about some times he had with Jerry and his family.

Here are some more pictures.

ADD: You have to think backwards when posting these days, because if you go in order.....everything is backwards, except somehow the magazine article was in order.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

More pictures of Jerry.

ADD: I accidentally posted one from the previous post, but it's easier to leave it in than try to remove it. I did learn, though, how to move pictures into the correct order before posting. Most of these color ones were taken at Winona. The 1975 Grain Belt Pro Nationals, and the Eastern Divisionals at Gadsden, Alabama in 1975.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

More on Jerry. This is from the Roger Penske offshore racing days. I believe they only did it for one year. Penske may have thought it would be easy, just getting a driver like Jerry and putting a lot of money into it, but if you are serious, you have to be ready for a long term commitment. Penske had too many irons in the fire at that time, and did not continue on. Maybe Ralph Donald can add some of what he wrote on the other thread of Jerry.

[Donald]

Jerry took me for a ride in that boat on Lake X without a helmet and what I remember most is that the wind made the skin on my cheeks ripple like wind on water.
In the last picture of Jerry I see F 22 where we pitted next to each other. I believe that was the last NOA championship in 1974 at Rainbow City, Al. A great place for a race!

[Gene East]

One picture shows Jerry using a conventional torque wrench to tighten spark plugs. Does any one still have one of the pre-set breakover AC spark plug torque wrenches.

BTW: Todd says there was a great turnout at the funeral yesterday. Did anyone on BRF attend?

[Master Oil Racing Team]

The picture you are referring to Ralph was at Alex in 1972 or 1973. At the far left of the opposite bank you can see the mowed grass at the airport. I've got plenty more pictures. Like more stories.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Unfortunately I never spent time with Jerry other than in the pits and at races. We were good friends, but when the evening came and everyone was dressed to hit the town after shedding wet tennies, socks, jeans and T shirts, and got cleaned up, we never hooked up with Jerry and his friends. We talked a lot in the pits. Baldy and Jerry's Dad Dr. Paul Simison were great friends. They became acquainted I think down at Baldy's place during the second half of the 1968 NOA World Championships. In those days I just hung out with my pit crew and didn't mingle. I can remember my Dad though being with Jerry's Dad and they were both talking and laughing a lot.

[Donald]

Not much of a story, Wayne, but the hat Walt has on was bought on the way to a race. He was riding with me to a race, maybe Alex, and realized he had forgotten a hat, so we stopped at a store for him to buy one.
Bill Hosler ended up with it and attached it to a door on my van along with a picture of him asleep in a chair. Bill still has it.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

All your stories are good Ralph. Especially when you tie it in with a picture like that.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

More pictures of Jerry. Something I never noticed until I scanned one of the shots. Most of these have never been printed or scanned before, so I had to laugh when I read what was painted on the floor of the cockpit in one of the pictures. The white paint stood out. Look closer and see what's in black that doesn't stand out. The picture left of that is Jerry and Hoppy looking at the flag while the Star Spangled Banner was being played. I took the picture, then turned to face the flag also.

The pictures were taken at the Grain Belt Pro Nationals at Winona in 1975. The first picture in this series was I believe published in Powerboat in an article I did about the race. I didn't race most of 1975 due to a bad wreck on memorial day, so I wasn't stuck in our pits for the racing. I took a lot of pit pictures all over the country that year. Jerry was one of my favorite subjects.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

more Jerry. Who can name the people looking at the strange engine, and what's the engine? Employees of the motor builder are not eligible.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Nobody wants to name names? Well, here are some more of Jerry.

These should have been in order according to the numbers that I had, but swap the first and second pics, and that is the correct order.

[John Schubert T*A*R*T]

Left to right, Walt, C service guy friend of Brinkmanship who won many C service nationals, Joe Rome, Dick O'Dea & Jerry. Motor looks leek air cooled cylinders from a motor cycle, opposed firing maybe a Nicholson creation. The 250 opposed Yamato wasn't air cooled. I don't think.

[Mike Schmidt]

Sure smells like a Honda. I really think that this is the very first motorcycle cylinder based 250 motor built in the US. 1/2 a Konig crank, Konig Rotary Valve and carb, Walt heads and crankcase and Honda Elsinore 125 cylinders with the cooling fins machined off and a water jacket welded on.

Michael D-1

[Steve Litzell]

I was not allowed to comment per Wayne's rule, but, That was one of the Honda motors that was made in the early to mid 70's. That motor was the A motor with a rotary valve. Bill Hosler also made a M motor for Cindy that was a rotary motor as well. Then they came with Reeds. These were Walt's motors, I was working for Walt at the time so that is why I was not allowed to respond. I have the last motor Walt made, A two cylinder 125 Yamaha that is as Walt left it before he died. Rules changed and now only 1 cylinder. jerry was one of my early Hero's, I told him that at Ralph's Old Farts party. I guess we both had mutual respect for one another. Pictures above are of two of my Hero's in sport, Jerry and Bruce. I canot leave out Ralph or Dub either, Steve

[Master Oil Racing Team]

All you guys are correct. It is a Honda 250. John, you got all the names correct. The one next to Walt that you didn't call by name is Henry Wagner from California.

Steve, I had forgotten that you worked for Walt too. I put that rule in to poke Charley Bradley's eyes to see if I could get a rise out of him.

We tried that motor in DePue, but it would not plane on it's own. We hitched a tow from a pickup boat to get broke over, and I released the rope. We tried that just to see if the motor put out enough to continue working on it. It didn't and we sent the motor back with Walt. Don't know whatever happened to it after that.

[Steve Litzell]

Motor was at Walt's and discovered that as it ran, it would jump time. On one of Deiters visits he said that the belt would not stay because of the two cylinders hitting at same time. he had tried that. He said same about the "Bitch motor" that Bruce made as well and was completely surprised that the belt stayed in time. We did not show Deiter the secret to this. Fun times at Walt's that's for sure. I remember that when I unpacked a motor from Johnny Dortch to let him see it right away. Seems Johnny alway's paid Walt cash, and Johnny put C notes in the exhaust ports for Walt. Between that and all the other stuff going on and motors coming for all over it was a great time for a 20 year old to get introduced to a " Mans World" and the stuff they did to on another, Maybe that is some of the reason I am who I am and of course a serious dose of Ralph and Hosler helped! Steve Od and Add: The Honda stuff was started but mostly done after Charlie left. I worked at Walt's from about 72 till he died, Charlie was before that time I believe.;)

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Great info Steve. I need to call Clayton Elmer to refresh my memory, as he was manager of Emmords at that time, but I can recall the motor Mike mentioned, the Elsinore 250, being bandied around the shop at the time. It was new from Honda, hot...blowing everything else away. I get a little bit confused at this point because I think Honda also had a 350cc motor that one of the riders at Emmords was winning everything on a flat track. I didn't get into the motorcycle part of Baldy's business, but I met one of the riders. I do remember the Elsinore Hondas though and I always thought them to be motorcross rather than flat tracks. I have to ask Clayton about this though, but I always thought the reason we had Walt work up the Honda 250 was to promote Baldy's boat and motorcycle shop.

I might be wrong, but I always thought that Baldy had me ship the powerhead to Walt to see what he could make of it. I have to ask Clayton if he remembers whether it came from our shop or not. Charley was there at the time.

I was always a little bit skeptical about how an air cooled, gasoline fueled motor that had to be a little bit loose could be more powerful than a water cooled engine fueled by methanol. We had the sliding pipes by then, but the Honda bikes had lots of gears. I may have been too predudiced when I tested that motor at DePue, but I think I made the right decision. Baldy spent a lot of money trying new things. Some worked out great, but some experiments cost us dearly. Not in money, but in time spent and lost races. I would not change anything Baldy ever did though, (except for one thing) because we learned not only from good decisions, but also bad ones. And in the end, Baldy figured right.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I kind of forgot where I was when I was posting this stuff. I got carried away by what Steve had said and forgot about the Jerry Simison thread. Please no one follow this thought about the motorcycle motors. Let's continue on with Jerry Simison. It was very interesting what Steve said, so maybe we can move the conversation somewhere else. My fault, but I want to continue on with stuff about Jerry Simison.

[F-12]

Not much of a story, Wayne, but the hat Walt has on was bought on the way to a race. He was riding with me to a race, maybe Alex, and realized he had forgotten a hat, so we stopped at a store for him to buy one.
Bill Hosler ended up with it and attached it to a door on my van along with a picture of him asleep in a chair. Bill still has it.

No, he doesn't, Ralph.......the picture is hanging up in my shop and the hat is right below it.............

[F-12]

more Jerry. Who can name the people looking at the strange engine, and what's the engine? Employees of the motor builder are not eligible.

Walt, Joe, Dick, and Jerry...............working on your boat. I think I was involved with putting that engine together, (or as involved as Walt would let me). I remember when Baldy sent the pieces parts to Walt's shop............he told me "Whatever you do........don't look in this box"...............guess what.............he marked to bottom of the box and the stool it was sitting on............BUSTED!

[Ron Hill]

I had thought there was a thread for Jerry Simison, but I have not been able to find one other than a couple regarding his last days. Today he will be laid to rest. He was loved by those who knew him. For those who didn't this thread will be about who he was.

Wayne do you have the top picture here and is it color? Did I see this as a poster, or did I imagine that. I love that picture, only a few runabout drivers ever knew the feeling that Jerry had in this picture.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Ron, all of the pictures except the ones from magazine spreads posted so far are mine. Most of them have never been seen by anyone until Gene East gave me Jerry's son Todd's email. I sent them to him prior to the funeral. Then I started this thread to post them for others to see. It's black and white. Most of mine are. When I was shooting for Motorsport, and then doing freelance stuff for Powerboat and later a contributing editor, it was mostly black & white. A little while later Powerboat and Powerboat & Waterskiing did a lot of color, but I was done by then.

You like that pic....it's yours! I had a series I had planned to send you anyway, and just by luck today was the day I got my good photo printer working again....bought lots of photo paper and an extra pak of ink, besides the one I bought two months ago. Working on photos for Ralph DeSilva. That picture you like will also go to Ralph so I'll make two while I'm at it.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Got your photo printed Ron. Have to wait in line for the others though because Ralph DeSilva told Joe Rome to tell me he couldn't wait another twenty years for the photos I promised.