I never actually met Jim Pace. If you look back at the BangShift archive of stories you will see his name all over the place. We ran dozens and dozens of videos of Jim competing at places like Daytons and Spa but I never actually met the guy. Jim Pace was one hell of a racing driver. Back in 1996 he won both the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Daytona 24 and cemented himself as a fully professional level talent in sports car racing. The recent years saw the 59-year old racer concentrating on the world of vintage and historic competition, doing so with his typical flare and skill on the course.

Jim had an incredible blow-over crash not too long ago at Road America while piloting a famed Shadow Can-Am racer. Jim walked away from that and while it was a wreck, he was captured and showed on not just on the internet but across the motorsports media landscape.

Jim contracted COVID-19 about a month ago, suffered immediate and rapidly developing ill-effects from the virus and was hospitalized. Over the course of time he deteriorated and passed away in the hospital last weekend.

By all accounts, the man was a gentlemen known my so many, loved by so many, and admired by guys like us who have been able to wonder at his talent behind the wheel. I’d say more but the honest answer is that Jim was a good man, a friend to many, and someone who’s talent was truly special. Godspeed, Mr. Pace. I’ve included one of my favorite Jim Pace driving videos below.

Here’s the original story and words regarding the video below –

We’re glad our pal Craig Sutherland sent us this new video featuring corner burnin’ BangShift loved road racer Jim Pace hammering on a vintage Can-Am car at Road America during the 2013 racing season. The neat thing about this video is that Sutherland has a footwell camera in the car as well as one mounted slightly behind pace on the body. This gives the viewer to see exactly what a tap dance driving a car like this is. We could watch Jim heel/toe all day long! Of course, the music being created by the high strung small block powering the car doesn’t hurt things either.

We’ve showed you the car that Jim is driving in this video before, it is the McLaren M6B that was previously owned and campaigned by Oscar Kovelski for years during the height of the Can Am wars in the late 1960s ad early 1970s. We’ve said it a million times and we will say it again. Never being able to witness one of those races in person is a frustration we’ll never get over. They were the most bat shit crazy road racing cars ever and every event was like an international race of all stars with famous racers from all genres driving these wicked beasts. Hey, at least we get to live vicariously through Jim Pace in these videos, right?

Press play below and watch Jim rip off a hot lap of Road America, ripping through the gears, heel toeing, and battling the competition at one of the finest facilities in the USA!