Sports Car - November 2011

Pacesetter

On the track, in politics
and in life,

Jim Krider

is

totally unstoppable

Jim Krider is one of those “old school” SCCA members who has done almost everything the Club has to offer. During his four decades worth of activities with the Club he has worked corners, crewed for teams, earned a competition license, raced around cones, run rallies and even became a crew chief. Some of this he did while standing on his own two feet and some of this he did while confined to a wheelchair. In either case, Jim Krider was one word: unstoppable.

His determination at the racetrack has also proven to be very formidable in politics. Jim Krider is the Vice-Mayor of the City of Napa and has held political office since 1994. No matter what Jim sets his mind to, whether it is winning an election or winning a race, he always comes out on top.

Jim joined the San Francisco Region of the SCCA in 1971 and began autocrossing and competing in gimmick RoadRallies around Northern California. Living in Novato, Calif., just around the corner from the newly constructed Sears Point Raceway (now Infineon Raceway), he volunteered as a corner worker. In 1972, he had to tell his new wife – right in the middle of their honeymoon – that he needed to fly back to San Francisco so he could finish earning his competition license at an SCCA Driver’s School. She supported him 100 percent and gave him a pass. After all, she knew what she was getting into when she met him at a high school prom in San Francisco (that first night he took her out to show her his best impression of Steve McQueen from the film Bullitt when he jumped his 1966 Mustang over the steep hills in San Francisco).

Jim’s first road racing car was a D Sedan 1965 Sunbeam Imp that he ran at Cotati and Vacaville (tracks which no longer exist). The Sunbeam, nicknamed “The Pimp,” apparently not the best example of racing machinery, so to find more speed Jim moved on to karting.

In 1982, in Turn 11 at Sears Point Raceway, Jim lost control of his kart and collided with a barrier, breaking the T- 12 vertebrae of his spine, causing paralysis of his body below his hips. He would never walk again.

For most people this injury would not only debilitate their legs, it would debilitate their entire lives. Not Jim Krider; he was unstoppable. By 1986 he was driving a red Chevrolet IROC-Z Camaro, dodging cones in F Stock. Jim drove his car by using hand controls. His right hand would steer, while his left hand would roll the throttle (similar to a motorcycle) and push forward to depress the brakes.

“I got back into racing when my
sons, Rob and Randy, showed an
interest in motorsports.” says Jim. “If
they wanted to go racing, I was going
to show them how to do it, and how to
do it safely.” Jim enjoyed being back
behind the wheel and duking it out
against his sons on the Solo course.
“We killed a lot of cones, destroyed a
lot of tires and had an absolute blast!”
Years later, Jim’s son, Rob,
continued in his father’s F Stock
footsteps (and passion for Steve
McQueen) by winning numerous
West Coast National Tours in an F
Stock 2001 Ford Bullitt Mustang.
Every race Rob has run, his dad has
worked as his driving coach.
Working with his sons on car setup
and driving instruction became Jim’s
new place in racing.

“I found that my boys were faster
than me, so it was time for me to make
a difference behind the scenes.”
Recognizing that work needed to be
done behind the scenes was something
Jim noticed in racing, but also within
his hometown’s politics. In 1994, Jim
was appointed as a Planning
Commissioner for the City of Napa and
administrated the direction the city
went in regard to both its citizens and
the millions of tourists that flood the
wine country on a yearly basis. He was
elected as a City Councilman for Napa
in 2006 and sits on the Transportation
Board, the Flood Control Board and