I'm so very sad to post this, but yesterday, Oct. 7, 2006, Jose Gonzales passed away in an automobile accident. To those of you who have gone to a Delta Region SCCA Solo II race within the past 10 years, you may have met Jose and come to know how incredible of a guy he was.

More information and other stories about Jose can be found here: http://www.autoxforum.com/forums/ind...showtopic=2174

I thought of Jose as a mentor, but more importantly, I thought of him as I friend. I've known Jose for more than half my life, and to see him go was the most horrifying thing I have ever witnessed. Even as a little kid at the autocrosses, Jose always joked around with me and gave me such useful information.

He was an incredible guy, and I will miss him so much.

To those of you who knew/met Jose, please feel free to post your favorite memories of Jose in both this thread and the thread posted above.

Rest in peace, Jose. I will never forget you.

 

is he the guy that ownes jose rotary?

 

No. Jose Gonzales was a dentist down here in the New Orleans area. Jose's Rotary is up in Haughton/Shreveport.

 

sorry for the loss man....i read up on him is a great man and a horrible loss to the racing community, and his loved ones........im sorry you have to go though all of what you did on that day

 

Shawn, sorry to hear this. I have run into a few people just in the past week that knew Jose and hadn't heard about this accident yet. Needless to say they were shocked ! I read the write-up. It says the two cars he passed were you and someone else ???

Did you actually witness this accident ?? If so.................all I can say is wow. I can't imagine what that was like.

Rotor On Guys ! Keep it Safe !!

 

Yeah, my dad and I were in his car and he passed us up. Johnny Walter was behind us.

I don't know if I will ever get that scene out of my head. It's all so confusing....

 

wow! Yes I knew him, he was awesome! very helpful, especially to newcomers... I rode in his z06 a few times.... man I can't believe this...

 

I read about this when your dad got on the nostreetracing forum. I could not believe this!!! Last time I was at the autox meet I was smokin and jokin with him. I kept telling him that since he setup the track he was cheating since I couldn't get within lke 10 seconds of his time. He laughed and then started to give me some tips for my next run. I couldn't get under a 40 sec pass that whole day. I took his advice to heart and went to drive my next pass. Sure enough I went out and ran a 38. I couldn't beleve how knowledgeable he was. He was a great driver and an even greater peoson. It is a horrible loss and very sad thing that happened.