Making history — and buying it back

OXFORD TWP. — For Valentine's Day, a typical husband would give his wife chocolates, flowers or even jewelry. Though Jerry Owens thought outside the ring box, gifting his wife of 23 years, Linda, a car. But this wasn't any ordinary vehicle. No, this was the car turning Linda into a trailblazer — literally and figuratively — on local race tracks. Taking the pole position In 1983, Linda (Lander) took an interest in stock cars, often attending races at speedways in Sandusky and Lorain. Linda's passion for the sport begins with her two brothers: Dennis, a sure-handed mechanic, and David, a solid driver in his own right. Her fondness for racing grows even deeper when considering it's at Sandusky Speedway where she met Jerry. The two first developed a relationship by working on cars together. After competing for a couple of years, Linda made history on June 8, 1985. "I was the first woman to win a feature event at the Sandusky Speedway," said Linda, besting more than 20 other stock car competitors and later hoisting the 3-foot-tall trophy in victory lane. Framed photographs and laminated newspaper articles, lining shelves throughout the Owens' home in Oxford Township, chronicle the historic moment. In many of those pictures, people can spot Linda standing next to the vehicle zipping by competitors: her beloved No. 71 fire-red 1968 Chevy Chevelle. While Linda raced behind the wheel of many other vehicles, this one in particular — driven by her from 1985-86 and then again in 1990-91 — represents, by far, her all-time favorite car. She raced in the Chevelle about 100 times, often taking the checkered flag, track slang for finishing first. Losing track Unfortunately for Linda, she didn't own the car — and the person who did ended up selling it in 2004. Before then, for several years, the car sat dormant in a garage. "It's sort of like, once you lose something, you wish you had it immediately back, and we have been looking for it ever since," said Linda, who works for Law Brothers Auto Body in Huron. "We traced it (and the car traveled) from Massachusetts to Colorado and Wyoming." Quite often, older race cars travel across the country, evolving into showpieces. Showpieces get marketed for various promotional purposes and sometimes auctioned off, in which they can fetch some serious dollars from deep-pocketed collectors. Showpiece cars can go for tens of thousands of dollars. Those driven by high-profile NASCAR athletes, meanwhile, further soar in value. Linda's Chevelle, due to its uniqueness and history, morphed into a highly sought-after piece. But, unfortunately for her and Jerry, even if they wanted to buy the car, they couldn't. "We eventually lost track of it," Jerry said. "We have been trying to find it and find it for many years. We almost gave up." But Linda never lost hope. As part of her daily routine, she would type in "1968 Chevy Chevelle race car" in search engines, praying, just maybe, her hallowed vehicle would pop up somewhere. And on a cool night this past October, while randomly browsing the internet, an inconceivable moment transpired. Her elusive Chevelle appeared on the screen. Going once, going twice … Linda couldn't hold back her emotions when she pinpointed her Chevelle's whereabouts. "Oh my God!" said Linda, recalling her in-the-moment reaction. "I couldn't believe it. I was totally excited." Finding the Chevelle, however, only represented part of a years-long quest to actually outright own the car. Up for auction in Florida, the pair couldn't travel south due to COVID-19 restrictions. So Jerry made other arrangements. He placed a few calls and, after a vetting process by organizers, became eligible to bid on the vehicle, through the telephone, in this exclusive process. "I knew how bad she wanted this, and I have never done anything like this before," said Jerry, who works at Humanetics in Huron as a molder. "So I began to bid over the phone." Jerry recalled his game plan heading into the auction. "I didn't know how much I was going to have to pay. Of course, the lesser, the better," Jerry said. "But I was prepared to spend whatever it took to get that car. I couldn't tell her that we lost out. That wasn't an option." After a few back-and-forth bids between another interested party, Jerry submitted a price of $25,000, enough to win the Chevelle. With taxes and a delivery fee, the final tally totaled roughly $31,000. "I would have gone higher," Jerry said. "I was so glad we got it." He continued: "I wanted to do it for her. She places so much value on personal things, and that car is so personal to her. People don't understand: She didn't just race this car. She worked on it, she maintained it, she painted the body, she assembled it. She did everything." About two weeks ago, the car, contained in and protected within an enclosed tractor-trailer, pulled up into their driveway. "I was still in shock," Linda said shortly after the Chevelle arrived, and she took rightful ownership of it. "When you have been looking for something for so long, and you finally have it, it's just a great moment." When Jerry saw Linda's facial expressions, the investment had already paid off in great dividends. "It's worth more to us than it could be to anyone else," Jerry said. The two won't race the Chevelle. Rather, they look forward to showing off the classic car in parades or simply taking out a couple of lawn chairs in their garage, sitting beside it and reminiscing. "I'm just so happy," Linda said.