Rear View LM24: Davy Jones' unwilling sacrifice

Davy Jones had every intention of becoming a two-time winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

As part of Joest Racing's 1996 line-up (at left, ABOVE), the former TWR Jaguar IMSA GTP ace scored his first victory at the iconic endurance race and was scheduled to part of the same team when it went on to capture back-to-back wins the following year.

Signed to a full-season deal with Galles Racing in the Indy Racing League, Jones was one of few American drivers at the time with an active role in multiple series. After completing the IRL's championship opener at the Walt Disney World oval on Jan. 25, Jones intended to drive an hour northeast to Daytona for a 24-hour warm-up with Le Mans on the horizon in June.

Jones didn't make it. Clinging to life in Orlando after spinning and striking the wall during practice in his GForce-Oldsmobile IRL car, the 32-year-old regained consciousness after being airlifted to the hospital. The rearward impact, which came in an era where significant cockpit safety advancements had yet to be made, and head protection equipment like the HANS device was not required, left Jones in a troubling state.

Years would go by as Jones' body slowly repaired the neural damage that dampened his natural talent. Racing at Le Mans was clearly off, and through his unwilling sacrifice, Joest eventually placed Tom Kristensen in the car for 1997.

Without Jones' spin, who knows where Kristensen – the winningest driver Le Mans has ever known – would be today.

"I was meant to race Le Mans in '97," Jones said. "I was also going to run the 24 Hours of Daytona with Champion in a Porsche right after the race at Orlando. I look back and you just think to myself, not being able to do Le Mans opened up a seat and they brought Tom Kristensen in. You see that he's earned the right to be called 'Mr. Le Mans,' won nine races, and had the best career.

"For me, like all my racing, it was being in the right place at the right time. It was just unfortunate for me 'cause I was right in the prime of my career, making a full-time [job] in the IRL; I was one of their main drivers and then I had Le Mans with Joest. It was all right there just ready to bloom and I got taken out, I got injured."

You won't find a hint of bitterness in Jones' matter-of-fact assessment of what took place 20 years ago in Orlando.

"You look and you think OK, well Tom having that opportunity there, that could have my opportunity but you take what life dishes out to you," he said. "I was delighted to see him have the career that he had but I don't look at it like I opened the door for him. I don't take any credit for it. It wasn't my decision, and I really didn't know of Tom before then so I'm delighted he had that opportunity and it was just unfortunate that it took my crash to create the situation where I couldn't drive and Mr. Joest had to find my replacement."

A few years after the crash, once his hands and feet were back to taking immediate directions from his mind, Jones (pictured) was treated to a gift from his old TWR team manager Tony Dowe.

"Tony gave me that opportunity to get back in a racecar," he said. "It was in a Panoz [LMP1 roadster] at Road Atlanta and it was with David Brabham who was testing. When you're an athlete and you get injured, your mind is just yelling and telling you to get back in that car and you train and work out and you do everything you can because it's all focused on getting back.

"When Tony let me drive, I drove it well, I was about a second and a bit off David's time but I had no stamina. I could only stay in the car for five laps and then I had to park it. I realized that my physical abilities were close to what they were before my crash, but I still needed a lot more time before I could get back in a racecar as a professional."

Jones reckons it took 2003 or so until all his nerves had healed and restored 100 percent of his pre-crash capabilities. By that time, Kristensen was a five-time Le Mans winner, and while returning to take another crack at winning the 24 Hour never happened, Jones would resume his sports car career in America with outings in the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am through 2012.

He's incredibly busy today as a brand representative and featured driver with Jaguar for its various promotional events. The happiest man in Lake Tahoe, Nev., also loves nothing more than getting out among the trees or boating when the weather is just right.

Kristensen, now three years into retirement, has eight more Le Mans trophies than Jones, but it's highly doubtful he's having as much fun as his fellow Joest Racing alumni.

"And I go dirt bike riding and snow skiing, and I'm right on it," he said, flashing a bit of the old competitive fire. "That's been so cool. It just took time. The body is an amazing machine if you just treat it properly and you give it time to heal."