Slipstream - November 2017

Kruder’s Cars & Conversations
By Bill Kruder
Photos courtesy of the Author
y first meeting with one
M
of our two interviewees
was about seven years
ago -- you guessed it --
over coffee at a gathering in Frisco.
We chatted a bit over the months,
and before long he invited me
and a friend to come over and see
his garage and memorabilia. We
were stunned. Unbeknownst to us,
we were with no less than a local
legend. Well, as time went on, Tom
Martin told me I had to meet the
guy who was responsible for this
legend. More months passed until
the three of us were attending the
same car show recently; we struck
up a conversation, and Tom was
right.
So here is the next in my series
of “conversations” I would like to
share with you . . .
M.L. Speer, member since 2011,
Owner 2010 GT3
Jack Griffin, member since 1987,
Owner 1955 356 Continental
and a few more
Bill Kruder: I’m not even sure where
to begin with you two. How about we
start with “what was your first Porsche?”
M.L. Speer: Let’s see, that was
some time ago, but it was a 1970
Irish Green 914. I bought it from
Forest Lane Porsche.
Jack Griffin: That’s an easy one
as I still have it: it’s the 1970 Adriatic
Blue 914-6 that I bought in 1976.
MLS: Might I just add that there
was no comparison to our two
cars (laughing) the 1.7 914 was no
match. Heck I was lucky to be going
60 mph in it.
BK: So I know you two aren’t from
Dallas.
MLS: No, I grew up in the small
town of Crowell, west of Wichita
Falls. I think we had about 600
people and a blinking light in the
middle of town.
12 November
JG: Likewise, I grew up in a small
town in south Texas called Harlingen.
BK: How did you two finally meet?
MLS: I am a CPA, and in 1978
my partner and I wanted to build
an office building. What a small
world it is; Jack and I connected
through a mutual friend.
JG: Yes, our mutual friend had
gone to Baylor with me, and mentioned
that M.L. wanted to do an
office building development. I was
developing office buildings with
Trammell Crow at that time, and
arranged for us to meet.
BK: So it had nothing to do with
cars or racing?
MLS: That’s correct. I was doing
some SCCA racing but it was not
discussed in our meeting.
JG: Not exactly sure how that
ended, but it was another five to
six years before our paths crossed
again.
BK: What brought you two together?
MLS: Again, kind of a small
world. Steve Louden (of Louden
Motorcars) and I knew each other
through SCCA and we raced together.
Steve would have an annual
party and he would invite friends
and customers over.
JG: That’s right. Steve would service
my car and said “I’m having a
party -- come on over.”
MLS: So Jack and I started up a
conversation that night; mind you,
this was about 1983. I was about to
race the 24 Hours of Daytona. We
started talking about racing and
M.L. Speer and Jack Griffin
things, and I invited Jack to join us
at the track.
BK: Jack, had you raced before, or
wanted to?
JG: No, I had never raced! I had
never even been to a race track
before (laughing). Heck, I took
the 914 to what would be called a
DE today at a go-kart track called
Oak Hill in Henderson. I did about
three laps, no idea what I was doing,
and called it quits.
BK: How was it visiting the Daytona
track? What happened?
MLS: Well it rained like it was
never going to stop. Cars were going
everywhere! Hurley Haywood
was there in a 935, and when he
pitted he came in on three wheels
with about a quarter of his car missing.
JG: Despite the rain, I was just
excited to be there, taking it all in.
As I recall, in the next pit over was
A.J. Foyt! I mean, you look back
and think “how cool is that?”
BK: So M.L., what were you driving?
MLS: We were racing a 935. I
think it had about 800 hp and of
course weighed nothing, so it was
quick. As I recall, despite the rain,
we finished fourth overall.
JG: It was some race! After
the finish, M.L. asked me what
I thought and if I would want to
drive. It looked like a lot of fun so I
thought, why not try it?
BK: And?
MLS: I told him the next race is
in about six weeks at Sebring, and
if he wanted to drive, we had a race
car that he could drive. However,
he needed a racing license.
JG: So, I head out to a driving
school, of course! I think they had
Datsun 280Zs, with a bunch of
other guys in my class. The guys are
all talking, going around the table,
about how they got this school
experience for a gift and whatnot.
They get to me and I say, “Well, I’m