Born : February 1 1961
Deceased : November 13 2020
Biography Jim Pace
Jim Pace was born February 1, 1961 in Monticello, Mississippi. With father that loved cars, it is no surprise that Pace was born with fuel in his veins. At the age of 5, Pace met Charlie Kemp, a Mississippi born professional racer, that cruised around in Monticello. That meeting impressed Pace in such a way, that he always remembered it. This would be one of the sparks to ignite Pace’s passion. From that moment on, But from his childhood on, he always wanted to be the fastest in town, whether he was racing barefoot in somebody’s yard or riding bikes on gravel roads.
In his childhood in the rural city in the mid of Mississippi, Pace was a brilliant student. He graduated of Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology. Later he attended the University of Mississippi Medical School. However, Jim Pace could not resist to start a professional race career because of the ever present need for speed. So he stopped medicine school to become a professional racer.
Jim Pace’s professional race career.
In 1988, Jim Pace started his pro-career in the Barber Saab Pro Series. Later he moved on to sports car racing. Just 2 years later, Pace won the GTU Class at the 1990 24 Hours of Daytona, teaming up with Peter Uria, Bob Dotson and Rusty Scott in a Mazda RX-7. In 1994, Jim Pace joined forces with Michael Smith, Charles Slater and Butch Hamlet for the Alex Job Racing Team in a Fabcar built Porsche 911. Unfortunately, engine problems caused the team to abandon the race. But that first race experience in a Porsche left a strong impression with Pace.
In 1996, Jim Pace took a Riley & Scott Mk III to victory in the Daytona 24H. Pace shared the wheel with Scott Sharp and Wayne Taylor. Just a few weeks later, Pace took victory at the Sebring 12H in the same car, now with Wayne Taylor and Eric van de Poele as co-drivers. The same team participated in the 1996 Le Mans 24H, but without succes. A broken gearbox meant the end of the race.
After years of only driving at Daytona, Pace returned to regular drives in the Rolex Sports Car Series GT class in 2007. In 2008 he drove a Porsche 911 for The Racer’s Group. In 2009 Pace joined and in 2009 drove for Farnbacher Loles Racing. Jim Pace buil an impressive championship and race win record in his professional race career.
More recently, next t his race instructor activities, Pace was active in vintage and historic sports car racing. In 2015 he acquired an ownership stake in the Historic Sportscar Racing series. One way or another that meant a return to his beloved Daytona International Raceway, as HSR https://hsrrace.com/is the organization responsible for the Classic Daytona 24H.
Pace died on November 13, 2020 from COVID-19 in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 59 years old.
Pictures courtesy unknown, IMSA and Marta Lavandier.
