[DeTomaso] Keith Verges

[cengles at cox.net]

Dear Mike and Scott,


                  I remember Keith well.  Decades ago, we rented out the 
Hallett road course for a private day of boy racing.  Keith showed up in 
a civilian vehicle followed by a large two axle truck pulling a trailer. 
His two helpers proceeded to pull out the ex Indy racer with the small 
block Chevy engine built by a dirt track racing engine guy.   I watch in 
amazement and fascination as they performed all of the tasks required to 
make the race car ready to start!  During this time Keith discussed all 
the trials and tribulations of converting from a full on Indy engine to 
a methanol SBC and subsequent painful learning lessons at earlier track 
events.  Finally after about an hour, the racecar was ready.

                 We had  a handful of cars.  Keith went out and blasted 
around the track for about fifteen or twenty minutes and came back in.

                  When he got out of the car, I asked him how it went.

                  Keith replied, " Great.  We completed the whole 
session without breaking down and it didn't catch fire once!"

                 That is one of my all time favorite quotes and my long 
time benchmark for any track event!!


                  It is hard to believe that he is gone.



                                     Warmest regards,  Chuck Engles




On Thu, Sep 15, 2016 at 9:47 PM, Mike Drew via DeTomaso wrote:

> In a message dated 9/15/16 8 02 12, detomaso at server.detomasolist.com 
> writes:
>
>
> For those who were not aware, Keith Verges passed away early this 
> week. He was truly a wonderful person who will be missed.
>>>> I am deeply shocked and saddened to hear this, and very surprised.
>
>> I bought his Pantera from him several years ago, which he drove on 
>> the One
> Lap to second place. The car was featured in an issue of POCA 
> Profiles. He loved the DeTomaso marque.
>
>>>> Even after he sold his car, quite some time ago, he continued to be
> passionate about Panteras.   He had a small but exquisite car 
> collection including a Ferrari F-40, but he was always 'one of us' at 
> heart.   I believe he was a lurker on this forum right until the end, 
> either that or he viewed the archives.   But once or twice a year he 
> would reach out to me privately about one thing or another he had seen 
> there, just an extraordinarily friendly guy.
>
> He had a bright yellow late-model Corvette when I last visited him, 
> probably going on 15 years ago now.   It was equipped with a Vortech 
> supercharger, and had about eleventy billion horsepower, but was 
> otherwise completely stock in appearance.   It was frighteningly fast. 
> His license plate was DEWALT, and when I asked him what it meant, he 
> said, “It's my bright yellow power tool!”   Clearly he was a guy with 
> a great sense of humor.
>
> He was very enamored of his Vipers, and I believe he had several of 
> them and was probably well-known in Viper circles.
>
>
>> Keith was a great driver, had a keen engineering mind and was a cool 
>> cat
> all around.   He co-owned APEX Driving Academy with former Pantera 
> owner John Holmes. Keith tirelessly helped others and gave of himself.
>>>> I was at a track day at Texas World Speedway (the track we used for 
>>>> the
> POCA Fun Rally in Houston) many years ago, and Keith had his 
> first-generation Spec Miata racer there.   He kindly offered me a 
> ride.   I had no idea what I was in for.
>
> To put it mildly, he was an EXTRAORDINARY driver, and I'm not quite 
> sure how he was able to zip up his trousers, if you get my drift.   I 
> remember one particular lap where he was hounding a late-model Porsche 
> 911.   We came onto the front straight and the Porsche naturally 
> pulled well and far away from us.   I looked ahead and as the car 
> neared the end of the banked portion, the brake lights came on as he 
> started slowing for the turn, the car then made the bumpy transition 
> to the flat portion of the track and turned in.
>
> Keith arrived at the same spot and didn't lift--in fact he UPSHIFTED 
> there, pounded through the bump at full throttle practically all the 
> way to the apex of the corner, then pounded the brakes and flung the 
> car towards the apex.   We railed around, and by the next corner, he 
> was right back on the Porsche's bumper.   He had made up about 20 
> carlengths in no time flat, and the Porsche wasn't hanging about, as I 
> could see it slithering and sliding at the limits of adhesion in front 
> of us.   The Porsche driver courteously slowed and waved Keith by, and 
> we just blitzed ahead.   Within three corners the Porsche was 
> literally no longer in sight behind us.
>
> Keith's passion for speed took many forms.   One of the very first 
> 'country club' tracks was the Motorsports Ranch on the outskirts of 
> Texas.   Keith was an early investor and part-owner of the facility, 
> and when they built luxury garages/condos there, he got one for 
> himself.   He had a variety of track cars, including a rather 
> improbable 1990s Indycar powered by a small-block Chevy V-8, which 
> required a crew to run as it had no onboard starter.
>
>> I don't have many facts other than it was probably a heart attack or
> stroke. He was in his mid 50's and in very good health.
>>>> That's a great understatment.   He was in super-duper health, the 
>>>> type
> of guy who competed in triathlons and marathons if I'm not mistaken. 
> He needed to keep fit to keep his edge behind the wheel and he took it 
> very seriously.   That's why his death is so shocking to me.
>
> He was a lawyer, a partner in the firm of Figari & Davenport (I have 
> no idea why I remember that particular detail).   I confess I didn't 
> know him nearly as well as I would have liked, and thus I don't know 
> what kind of law he practiced, and whether or not it was overly 
> stressful.
>
>> Anyone who knew him would agree that the world is a poorer place 
>> without
> Keith Verges.
>
>>>> Old-timers in Texas, and on this forum, will remember him fondly. 
>>>> For
> the rest of you, suffice it to say that your life would have been 
> greatly enriched by getting to know him….
>
> Mike
>
>
>      ------------------------------
>
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