- April 18, 2024
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When Jack Cook Sr. first saw a motorcycle race in 1950, he was simply a spectator. Standing in the infield at the Jacksonville Speedway, Cook saw the rider for Jim Aldus Daytona Harley Davidson put one what looked like a very poor performance.
"The dealer came over and said 'Jack, you wanna ride that bike?'" Cook laughed. "So I slipped on boots with a pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt and borrowed a helmet. I finished third in my heat and went on to finish fourth in the feature, no practice or anything. I had never been on a racing bike in my life."
What followed was a thrilling four-year career of motorcycle beach racing, where Cook eventually got into a crash that broke his collarbone. With a strong influence from his current girlfriend and future wife, Helen Cook, he ended that phase of this career.
Stock car racing caught Cook's eye soon after the accident, and in 1955 he traded his street car in for a modified Ford Coupe. He raced for George Johnson for four years at the Ocala Speedway until he married Johnson's daughter, Helen Cook, and was convinced to stop racing for awhile.
"I met her at a motorcycle race in Tampa," he said. "And she was infatuated with the motorcycle racers, but then when we got married, she didn't like it anymore. The only reason I could race cars was because her father owned the car. So I could drive daddy's car, but for a long time I couldn't drive anyone else's car."
One of his final races was held at the New Smyrna Speedway in 1980, when his son, Jack Cook II, asked him to fill in. He drove the car for two summers helping his son win two consecutive track championships, sharing the seat with his son.
"When I was 20 years old, there was nothing but motorcycle racing," he said. "Motorcycle racing was first. Then I got married, and then it was family, job and racing was third."
After a few more wins, his racing career ended, but he stills like to tell stories about his time on the track. Cook will receive an achievement award at Main Street Station for the 4th-annual Back to the Roots.
"I was never great, I was pretty good," Cook said. "I was having fun. I wasn't racing for a living, just racing for enjoyment."
