“You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.”

I can guarantee you that none of us took Ian Stewart for granted, but the heartbreak of an unexpected loss has a way of suddenly putting things into sharper focus.

It’s 6:00PM… the afternoon sun blazes low in the sky as we release the jacks and set down the front end of my ’73 240. We are 10 hours into a 6 hour suspension job. We are tired, but excited to see what we’ve accomplished.

“RIGHT DOOR IS OPEN…. RIGHT DOOR IS OPEN…”

“She’s making fun of me!”

An icy glare pierced me from the passenger seat of my 1986 300ZX as the car’s voice warning system chastised my girlfriend for leaving the door only partially latched. 

To be fair, I deserved it.

Ian was a skilled racer and encouraged many of us to come out to the track, develop our skills, and get to know our cars better. 

Click here to ride along with Ian at Big Willow during the 2023 Lucky Dog Enduro.