Features

A Special Day Remembering A Special Friend

By Roger Garbow

Good friends, a good car, and a good track. Spencer Cox would have considered that the recipe for a perfect day. In Spencer’s case, the day would end with laughs and conversation over good wine and a hearty steak.

On Tuesday, October 27th, just 11 months after his passing, over 100 of Spencer’s friends and family gathered at Monticello Motor Club to remember him. It was a day of track driving, good food, and shared memories at a track that was practically a second home for the man who built Speedsport Tuning into one of the nation’s most respected and successful Porsche performance shops.

With a nearly year-long cancer battle, Spencer’s medical bills were significant. A GoFundMe to assist his family was created by Spencer’s good friend Todd Pajonas in the weeks leading up to his passing. Ari Straus had an idea to hold a fundraising event and offered up MMC to host it. When discussing who should organize it, Spencer said, “Let’s throw Todd under that bus!” The plans were set in motion. Originally scheduled for April, the event sold out quickly but had to be rescheduled due to the pandemic.

Speedsport Cup Cars by Roger Garbow

Spencer loved racing in the rain and often said, “if you can’t drive in the rain, I didn’t coach you.” While the weather forecast was looking iffy leading up to Tuesday, and in spite of Spencer’s lobbying with the rain gods, the day was precipitation free. Speedsport Tuning owner Bryan Lagas shut down the business for the day so the entire staff could attend. With dozens of their clients participating, the Speedsport Tuning competition department, led by Bryan Shute, was busy from dawn to dusk. Personally, I’ve never seen that many GT3 Cup cars on MMC’s pit road for a track day.

Monticello Motor Club Gallery by Bryan Lagas

During lunch, in MMC’s beautiful collector car gallery, there was a silent auction featuring donated items from companies and individuals that were close to Spencer and Speedsport. Porsche Motorsport created a one-of-a-kind sculpture/planter out of a 991 GT3R differential housing in their Carson, California workshop. Todd Pajonas outbid everyone for that gorgeous piece. Master detailer Larry Kosilla put together a complete AMMO detailing kit and John Gaydos of SOUL Performance donated a $1000 gift certificate, beautifully etched into stainless steel.

Additional donated items included three Racers360 coaching sessions donated by Dion Von Moltke and a framed Seneca Lodge illustration and Porsche Design travel bag by Speedsport client and CVR member Alex Lendvai.

As a track junkie myself, I was glad to have one more day on MMC’s 3.6 miles of asphalt before winter hits and I was happy to take some of Spencer’s family members, including his father-in-law for some hot laps. Walking through the paddock between sessions, I kept stopping to chat with friends I hadn’t seen for a while. And it quickly dawned on me. I knew most of these people because of my friendship with Spencer.

Spencer Cox Photo by Chris Szczypala

At his core, Spencer was one of the best friends any of us could ever ask for. I miss him every day, and he taught me so much. Like all his friends, I am grateful for the time we had with him and cherish the memories.

Comments are closed.