I guess since I started this page I better go first. Please send me your tributes and funny stories (he would have loved that) and I will publish them here as a memorial to a true legend and father figure in British Drag Racing. To e-mail me, click on this link
I first met Dennis back in 1987, when I started as a complete novice team member in Pro Comp (as it was then) racing. He was the straight-talking but highly respected head of the Stones drag racing team. They were racing the Hemi Hunter Pro Comp dragster. Dick Kruse had not long taken over the driving duties from Gerry Andrews, a long-time friend of Daddy Stone.
Daddy Stone founded one of the first drag racing teams in the UK, and they continued to race into the early 90s. Over the years they built and raced just about every type of four-wheeled drag racing machine there has ever been. They produced some of the great names in the sport too - Tee Rat, Hemi Hunter, The Needle (for Dave Lee Travis the Radio One DJ), Tender Trap and the Stardust F/C. They travelled alll round Europe and Scandinavia to race and appear at exhibitions and gained a reputation as real sportsmen who would race hard, but fair and help anyone. Some of the races against the like of Bjorn Ardin and Jim 'le Patron' Read and then his son Steve would go down in history as truly great racing. I was fortunate enough to see it and it was a privilege to see them working, organised and lead by Daddy Stone.
He wasn't only well known for his racing. Every track they went to his tea urn would be on the go in seconds, sometimes it would be ready before arriving, having been fired up in the van on the way. Alan Bates once told me a really hysterical tale of how he was in convoy with Dennis through the mountains heading to Italy (at least I think it was Italy) when Dennis came on the CB and asked Alan if he would like a cuppa. When Alan replied yes, Dennis proceeded to throw the components of a cup of tea, one at a time, out of the window of his van so they ended up on the windscreen of Alans' van - teabag, milk, sugar, plastic spoon and then some water.
I was lucky enough for Dennis to be my mentor for many years within the Top Alcohol/Top Methanol class and he taught me most of what I know about the sport. I admired and respected him enormously, not just for his ability as racer and class representative but also for his never-ending fund of funny stories about drag racing in England and right across Europe over many years. The ones that involved Dave Lee Travis used to bring tears to my eyes.
Dennis' battles with Roy Phelps and Bo Meftah are the stuff of legend, and he worked very well with Keith Bartlett too. Having been shot at by professionals, arguing with Roy Phelps probably seemed like a hobby, and he was never daunted by the prospect. I'm not sure how many people know that Dennis was part of the Guards tank regiment during world war 2. He went ashore in France not long after D-Day and survived to the end, which was no mean achievement. I guess he figured that if he could survive that, smoking Players full-strength untipped cigarettes wasn't going to do him any harm and he always seemed to have one on the go.
One classic example of his straight-talking ways occured in my earshot at Santa Pod. I was up the tower with him, watching a Top Alcohol qualifying session. In those days there were 3 Swiss Racers in the class; Urs Erbacher, Urs Embacher in the Hawaiian Tropic FC and Urs Vogel, who had a TMD. It was before the TMD & TMFC classes were split, so all three appeared in quick succession. Dennis was quiet for a moment, then came out with a classic line "What's the matter with these Swiss - haven't they got any other f**king names ?"
Above all, Dennis was a very clever man who could see straight to the heart of any problem and was respected by one and all for the forthright way he would explain things to people. Dennis, the world is a smaller place without you. We have lost one of a kind. My sincere condolences to Dave and family and all his friends.
Dave Alexander
I was gutted to hear Dennis Stone had passed away on Friday. What a man, what a legend. My condolences to Dave and all the family
Tony Betts
Daddy Stone was very special to me – and Mummy Stone. To this day I have never called them by their real names because for me, like many other race goers, they were our surrogate parents at the track.
I have so many fond memories of Dennis but one of the most vivid was when we all went off to a big Motor Show in Bologna, Italy invited by Goodyear. It was November and Roy Phelps had taken Maneater and Gladiator to a show in Switzerland and was to meet us there. Daddy Stone was in charge of transporting 2 F1 cars in the blue trailer, towed by the pink Chevy Van many will remember. Allan Herridge & I were travelling with Mummy & Daddy Stone.
Somewhere down through France Daddy Stone asked Allan to take over the driving and once in the back of the van got out the calor gas stove that would always travel with him and put the kettle on for a cup of tea while we motoring along! Daddy Stone couldn’t survive without his cups of tea.
Getting those cars across the France/Italy border would have been straight forward if you were able to supply the guards with a sample of your goods. Daddy Stone was astounded to see the boxes coming out of traders vans straight in to the guards office. They’d got their eye on our race T-shirts but his strong principles and experiences in the war would not let him participate in such rouge practises so they wouldn’t let us through, citing that we had the wrong carnet. They impounded the trailer in the no-mans-land between the 2 countries and we had to go back into Monaco to find an agent to help us. It cost Roy a bit of money for us to stay there a couple of nights and Daddy Stone had to walk up and down the hill between the agents office and the border countless times before they ran out of excuses not to let us through, but he wouldn’t give in and was proud that he’d made them play by the rules.
Gladiator and Maneater were booked to do burn outs and launches and when we arrived we found a square surrounded by buildings on every side, showtime was 3pm, 6pm and 9pm – fantastic show in the dark but the problem was that Allan and Roz couldn’t see the end of the square. It was Daddy Stone who offered to stand at the end waving a torch so they knew where to stop!
There were a few trials and tribulations that weekend – with Goodyear supplying the slicks but no facilities to change them, the Gladiator refusing to budge out of reverse and setting alight another show car that was parked behind it, hundreds of Goodyear ‘blimps’ crashing down from a suspended ceiling on people’s heads in the film show. ….I could go on but at each incident it was Daddy Stone who saw the funny side first, taking the heat out of the situation and making our sides split with laughter re-counting the story. He was a great storyteller and always had a story to tell, I shall miss him so much.
Lesley Wright
So saddened to hear Dennis Stone has passed away, 1975 was my first visit to SPR, he was there, overseeing the stones, saw him again last year, still looked in charge. Condolences to dave and all....
Stan from Tamworth
It was with deep regret that I learnt of the death of Dennis ‘daddy’ stone last Friday…drag racing in Europe has truly lost one of its original pioneers. He will be missed by many people.
As I will be away in Scandinavia with the next two rounds of the FIA European Drag Racing Championship, it is unlikely that I will be able to attend Dennis Stones funeral. I therefore would like to at least say a few words from my own perspective in relation to my involvement with Dennis Stone, his son David, plus the whole stones drag racing family, which of course would include Gerry Andrews.
When I first started going drag racing in the very early 70’s, the cars that had the biggest effect on me and fuelled my desire to actual get into drag racing, were Dennis Priddle’s ‘Mr Six’, nearly all the Pro Stock cars and for pure excitement Dave Stone driving ‘T’ Rat the wild fuel altered that the Stones ran, along with several other cars as the 70’s progressed. The whole family led by Dennis was drag racing icons to me.
Back in the 70’s when I was very keen to get into actually drag racing myself, I was picking up the odd drive in Pro Stock and involved in some great racing wars with Sam Connell and Mick Chealey in Street Modified, I not only looked up to the Stone family as icons, but was actually terrified to even talk to them or go into their pit, as I considered myself so far below their level. How wrong can you be, the whole family was always there to talk to any prospective racers or fans and Dennis would always love to ‘chew the fat’ as they say, but I did not realize that back then. When in the mid to late 70,s I set up Slick Trick Racing and lived just round the corner to Santa Pod’s HQ in Shortlands, Bromley, I often saw Denis down with cars at FGR (the Santa Pod workshop) and would just walk round stand outside looking at his cars and admire the whole scene….I was also scared of Roy Phelps in those days but that is another story and one which had a wonderful twist in the end……I do remember one day at some time in 1979, Roy Phelps must have told Dennis on one of his trips down to FGR, that some guy (little known me actually ) had bought in a Funny Car from the USA and was planning to run it at Santa Pod Raceway the next season. Although the car was at the Slick Tricks Racing race workshop, Dennis came round outside my house and looked in the front window to see if it might be in the back garden, imagine my delight to see the Dennis Stone looking into my house to see what drag racing car I might have…..that I considered an honor at that time, as that was the level that I held Dennis stone in.
Many years later between 1989-1995 when I set up and ran the ETFA (European Top Fuel Association) and Dennis Stone was involved in promoting and running of the Top Alcohol class, I got to know Dennis and not only liked him very much but still looked up to him as one of the legend’s of British Drag Racing, which is how I still see him today. After I had purchased Santa Pod raceway and began to run the FIA European Drag Racing Championship in 1996, both Dennis and Dave did not at the time agree with some of my planned directions for drag racing and in particular the Top Methanol class, but they both were always prepared to listen to my views and points and give credit if you were right. Drag Racing in Britain and Europe had to in my opinion change direction and move on from the sport that it was in the 1970’s and 1980’s and I hope that I have been able to play a major part in that process and development……but if it was not for Dennis and Dave Stone and many of the other 1970’s pioneers I may never have had the motivation to do that!
Dennis wherever you are up their in the big sky now, probably ‘chewing the fat’ talking about the old days of drag racing with Alan ‘Bootsie’ Herridge and many others, down here I will always be looking up to you as one of the true pioneers of British Drag Racing and when my time comes to join you all up there, I will still likely be a little scared of approaching you as ’Dennis Stone’ is one of the serious drag racers and will always remain so!
Keith Bartlett
“Daddy Stone” Memories of this man we will never forget. The stories of the early days of racing would keep us in laughter for hours in the Trailers, while waiting for the rain to stop. Your Players cigarettes we all smoked, and the miles we followed in convoy to Sweden sprayed in tea, will never be forgotten. Dennis always fought the corner for Pro Comp / Top Alcohol when it came to Promoters trying to take the upper hand. We are proud to have known this legend of Drag racing.
Our thoughts are with Dave and his family at this sad time.
Martyn, Doug, Lou, Jayne. And all of the Shell Racing Team
I remember my days with Alan O'Conner in the 70's match racing Al's Gasser with Tender Trap. Great days "Daddy" Stone Great days and thanks. All my sympathy to his family and friends.
John Everitt and Family.
As Team Readspeed we probably travelled more miles/kilometres with the Stones Racing team than anyone in Europe, it was always a pleasure. Dennis "Daddy" Stone was aptly nicknamed for his influence on both our teams, from the tales of his war experiences, his dry humour, his unflappable nature (more of this later!), his knowledge of the sport he loved and endless cups of tea! Whenever we saw the Bedford head for a layby, services or rest stop we all knew the kettle had boiled and tea was served. And not for him the vagaries of that foreign water, oh no, it was good British tap water transported for that purpose alone. He was head of probably the most feared and respected team in Europe for over five years, that car " shaped like a barrel" as one American put it", was always there, with Gerry Andrews at the wheel and Dennis and Dave bringing their tuning experience to the mix. The Swedish Tech Crew always trying to find where they had hidden the nitro as it flamed away on the startline and bigger budget teams wondering how it could perform as it did.
Stories, there were so many, from the German border guards subjected to the line "the last time I came through here was in a tank in 1945", to racing that old (Chevy) Bedford up the hill coming out of Husquvarna returning from another Mantorp meeting, the docks returning from Le Mans when we could have got on the boat but instead chose, wagon train style, to form a circle and eat, drink and tell stories of the weekend just gone and those before. The water fight at the Sjogestad motel that surrounded Jim and Dennis until one brave (stupid!) boy, on a dare from his equally brave (stupid!) brother caused both those respected men to get more than a little damp. Dennis finding out, just before the customs at Dover, that his team had felt obliged to buy copious quantities of duty free alcohol from the U.S. servicemen at Mainz Finten, Germany, (his unflappable nature was seriously tested that day!) You could just go on and on! I can tell you, The Stones were badly missed when finances dictated they could no longer race.
Jim and Daddy Stone had the respect of all those who came into contact with them. Promoters, racers or officials could trust that if Dennis or Jim put their name to something, that was the way it would be. With the combination of Dennis's straight talking and Jim's diplomacy, there were many races that Pro-comp/Top Alcohol were at that evaded other classes.
My sincerest sympathies are with Dave and all the Stone Family, my memories of Dennis will be with me always
Tim Read
Dennis Stone
It has been a privilege to have known Dennis, competed against him, worked with him, and chatted (usually late at night) for many years. We will miss his wise council, humour and resolve to further drag racing even after he no longer ran his own team.
We will miss his stories of past escapades and his cups of tea, will we ever forget the steam coming out of the back of his van as we travelled along behind him and the kettle boiled to the strains of Nellie the Elephant on the tape player being sung to his granddaughter. Dennis was one of a kind and we will remember.
Dave, Linda, David, & Anne Wilson
On my very first trip from San Diego to England by invitation from Jim Read, of course was introduced to Dennis right off. He was Jim's good friend and I got to see a lot of him that trip. I never got to see either racetrack due to rain, but I did get to experience some of the adventures talked about here, on the ferry and roadtrip to Mantorp. Each time I got to come over, Dennis and Dave would look me up right away, almost like family.
I still laugh today about Jim and Daddy standing between the water box and startline at Hockenheim on the centerline with both of them standing with their hands clasped their backs, "overseeing" the officiating the Germans were doing. As I walked up to join them, Daddy saw something he did not approve of, said something to Jim, then they both waved the official over to them, some words were exchanged, then Daddy looked over to Jim, and with his hands still behind his back calmly said to Jim, "I should have shot the bastard during the war when I had the chance". I about fell on the ground!
I missed last year, but at the '03 finals, I again had a meaningful chat with Daddy. As with my memories of Jim and he together, I hope they can get back together now.
Bob Meyer
I was saddened to hear of the passing of Dennis last on Friday.
I greatly admired Dennis' straight talking attitude which was also coupled with an ability to understand the other point of view but never losing sight of the fact that the sport had to be the winner in the end, rare qualities indeed.
On meeting Dennis one would never fail to be impressed by his enthusiasm and dedication for the sport, which were only slowed down by his advancing years.
If there is a better place, I'm sure Dennis will be reforming his formidable partnership with Jim Read, another great loss to Drag Racing.
My condolences to all the Stone family.
Lindsay Deuchar
We have lost a true gentleman. The on track contribution of the Stones team will no doubt be recalled and revered by many race fans and competitors alike. Off track Dennis Stone’s marvellous stories and anecdotes brightened many a Saturday night in hostelries close to Santa Pod, Mantorp Park and Hockenheim. These stories will not die and may well be permanently documented in print in the next year or so.
Behind the scenes, it was the enthusiasm and commitment of Dennis that helped to raise many events that might otherwise have had no impact at all into events of historical importance. Dennis truly loved Santa Pod, his second home, but he also knew that if drag racing was to grow, other tracks needed support. In the seventies the Stones team appeared at the fledging Long Marston and Crossland Moor tracks, sometimes at significant cost to themselves, and in doing so helped to provide the foundations for today’s permanent facilities at both Long Marston and Melbourne.
Treasured memories include being nervous in asking if he could bring one car to the Midland Drag Racing Association’s first show at the Chateau Impney in 1974, and being put to ease immediately he replied ‘Which one would you like?’. Money was not requested. By the end of the show, Dennis was beaming, for Mummy Stone was a lover of ‘Crossroads’ and the Chateau Impney was being filmed at the time as a part of the series. She couldn’t hide her delight in walking down the same stairs as Noel Gordon, and when Mummy Stone was happy Dennis was truly ecstatic. It provided a perfect end to a delightful event.
Shortly after there was memorable non stop 52 hour round trip to the Jochen Rindt Show in Essen. This trip required Dennis’s firm but ambassadorial skills to help pave the way through all sorts of red tape. Indeed any trip abroad that involved unseemly bureaucracy, often at the entrance to tracks, was a signal to ‘send Dennis in to sort it out’.
Some 17 years after I made my first nervous approach to Dennis, I found myself in charge of a mid season event at Avon Park that nobody wanted to promote. In a time of great turmoil for the track, and it was important to establish a quality race at the track that could assist in boosting the facility’s profile. Dennis and I both had a love of both alcohol cars which were also suffering an identity crisis at the time. We discussed the old ‘Pro Comp’ style of racing and felt that between us we might, just might, be able to put something together. The track needed eight cars and Dennis needed a financial guarantee for his association’s members.
We couldn’t offer the rate being paid by Santa Pod at the time, but Dennis’ long standing friendship with Bob & Roy Phelps had given him a sympathetic insight into the problems faced by promoters. Problems he would spend hours trying to explain to sceptical racers until his personal standing with them finally won the day. In the summer of 1991, Dennis personally persuaded no less than nine top alcohol teams to attend a race that none of them knew would succeed. On the weekend itself the weather was perfect, the people came and the racers gave it everything they had got. It was a real gem. The Pro Comp Classic had been run and its influence was to resonate for several years. Not only was the Pro Comp Classic immensely successful, but it also gave rise to several letters to Fire Up magazine pronouncing it as ‘the finest drag race in the country for many years’.
Maybe, maybe not, but it was a truly memorable event and history records that it was the very last Pro Comp race to be run in this country. Its success was underpinned by the commitment of Dennis Stone without whose charismatic skills the event simply would not have taken place.
Ron Clark
Dennis was always helpful, and always made time for us in our early years, his stories were many and varied and it was always great having a chat with him in his workshop in Dagenham, a simple search for info would result in burnt dinners all round (but well worth it) he was as genuine a man as they come and was truly respected by every one in our family and team. I am sure someone's put the kettle on for him and if not you can bet that they soon will. Our sympathies to his family.
Jim, Charlie and Dave Draper
I knew Dennis Stone pretty well as he and Dave looked after my Trans Am at their Dagenham garage in the 1970s and 1980s and then later my Corvette. Having a muscle car I'd heard of the Stones through drag racing and was delighted to find them both real gents to deal with. As well as being excellent mechanics Dennis had a hundred tales of drag racing particularly in the early days through to their tremendous success with T Rat and beyond. My memories of him will be having a mug of tea in the garage while listening to his stories about DLT, John Rodeck, Roy Phelps, and the like. I'd like to think I went from being customer to friend in a relationship which has lasted over twenty five years. I often met other drag racers like Ronnie Picardo in there and used to look forward to getting my car serviced so they could update me on the latest gossip (this before the days of Eurodragster). The Stones were as far as I could tell well liked by everybody on the scene and were absolutely top in nearly every class they ever competed in.
In later years Dennis was heavily involved in the running of the European Championships and used to tell me then of his dealings with Bernie Ecclestone and the various promoters. The last time I saw him was actually at Santa Pod at the Main Event in 2003, he looked pretty sprightly for a man of his age though he was less chatty than in the past. He was always a true gentleman with me and I am very sad to hear of his death.
Bill Martland
It was my pleasure to be involved in the British Top Alcohol Championship with Dave Wilson's team whilst Dennis was still in charge. We were always relieved to see him standing at the head of the staging lanes because that meant someone there actually knew what was going on.
I particularly enjoyed his no-nonsense attitude, colourful nicknames for the people in the sport he wasn't too keen on and the way he could settle any disputes using hot drinks and a nice sit down.
He will be sorely missed among the racing community and my thoughts go out to the rest of his family. May there be plenty of hot tea and comfy chairs in heaven...
Andy Bissett
We are sorry to hear of the passing of Daddy Stone. Our memories of his involvement in British Drag Racing would fill a book, suffice to say that his energy over race weekends was impressive, you always knew exactly what he thought on any particular subject and the respect that the racers had for him was absolute.
Where do you start with stories? A couple of memorable ones; a dozen of us returning from the "Poofy Woofy" (the "Gay Dog" pub near Long Marston) one race weekend and Stuart's wife had been persuaded to drive our Econoline crew-bus (her first time in this large, left hand drive, automatic vehicle) back down those country lanes. This nerve-wracking journey culminated in our arrival at the hotel with Daddy Stone turning to the relieved driver and saying, "If you sold tickets for that ride you could make a fortune!"
At a Pro Comp policy meeting in Sweden, at breakfast in the hotel, he took the milk jug and poured it into his cuppa. Unfortunately it contained porridge so with a twinkle in his eye he complained to the waiter that the milk had gone off while the rest of us laughed until it hurt.
And one that was doing the rounds at the time (it must have been true) was that, having a problem getting into the Hockenheim track in Germany, part of the conversation with the staff on the gate included "...the last time I came down here I was in a Churchill Tank!"
It's not an exaggeration to say that Stuart and I wouldn't have got started in Top Alcohol without the patience, knowledge and kindness of Daddy Stone and Dave. Not content with just selling us our first motor, they invited us down to their workshop and built it in front of us - telling us what to do and what not to do. The first time our motor started, the Stones were there. Daddy Stone's advice was always reliable and his sense of fun never left him.
We've lost a great drag racer and a true gentleman.
Stuart and Craig Lowes
I just thought I'd send a short note to offer my deepest condolences to the Stone family. As a young upstart in the early 80's trying to tune a succession of methanol powered vehicles, I held the Stones in the highest regard. What they didn't know wasn't worth knowing...period. I had the honour of visiting the Dagenham workshop just once, where I picked up some parts and shared a fag and a cuppa with Dennis and Dave. I sat in awe as Dennis told a couple of stories and then came down to earth when he told me to bugger off 'cause he was busy! In those days as a newcomer in the sport, if Dennis nodded or even acknowledged you in any way you thought you had arrived. He was a fountain of knowledge and an inspiration to all of us upstarts. The sport has lost a true pioneer and a gentleman.
Andy Kirk Kirk Motorsport.
I was saddened to learn of Dennis’s passing. I have many recollections of the “old” days. We first met when Pro Stock was first put together and I can remember his convincing arguments for allowing British cars into the class. (Tender Trap). And over the years we had other things in common, like moving from Pro Stock into Top Fuel, and running cars for DLT, he ran Tender Trap and I ran the Needle. Daddy Stone was a diamond guy, what you saw was what you got. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him.
Peter Crane
I was deeply saddened to here the news that Dennis had passed away. A great Drag Racing ambassador. What you saw is what you got with a sense of humour second to none Like so many others I am proud to have met and worked with him and to have been able to call him my friend He has gone but will never be forgotten.
Barry Sheavills
The Stones were always the Bosses of Drag racing, No Nonsense, No frills, get on and race hard! as a young fan in the sixties and early seventies their fabulous fuel altered and the manic Tender trap Escort always thrilled me immensely they then progressed to Pro Mod and funny cars but always bucked the trend and stayed faithful to their chevies! In the Eighties when I was lucky enough to do some announcing it was a tremendous thrill to get to know Dave, Dennis and their driver Gerry Andrews and Dick Cruse quite well and spend many evening at the bbq (in the converted double drainer sink!) and the odd long life beer! I often got visited by Dennis to tell me off for keeping young Dick out too late enjoying the odd shandy! I think it is no secret I am a BIG Ford fan and started to rib the Stones about chevies and how the engine would make great boat anchors! Next day I was presented with a Dave Stone business card with the comment written on the back " beware the boat anchors" I still have that card and it reminds me of a great man and a great Family. Our thoughts and condolences to all the Stone family
Steve & Jacky Young
For Dennis "Daddy" Stone Thanks for all the great memories and race cars over the years. Our sincere sympathy and condolences to Mummy Stone, Dave, Gerry and all the team.
Ian and Helen Taylor (Roz's friends)
Sad to hear of the passing of one of the corner stones of British drag racing. The Stones and "Daddy Dennis", have been there since my first days of discovering our sport in 1970 at Santa Pod. Dennis was driving an altered called "Opus", I think, and the Thames van still looked fairly fresh. It was only in later years I got to know Dennis personally, when he guided and cajoled me through the embryonic RAC Top Methanol Championship co-ordination. The telephone conversations were complicated, and often we would have a tea break between calls, before I got my next instructions, on drag racing folklore. It was an absolute delight to work with such a knowledgeable and dry humoured mentor. The best stories were the one-liners. After Dennis' recent health scare, John and I were passing him in race control, the obligatory Woodbine at the ready. A concerned John asked, " You still smoking Dennis?". Came the retort,"What's the matter? You f*****g want one?" You couldn't ask more of a man who could make you laugh so easily, and always have that twinkle in his eye. Our sincerest condolences to all the Stone family, on the loss of such a wonderful man. We will miss him greatly.
Graham and Carolyne Beckwith
When I started racing in the 70's Dennis Stone and the Stones Drag Racing Team were a team everyone looked up to. Having met him twice, he was a pioneer of the sport and will be sadly missed.
Barry Holland Flying Dutchman Drag Bike Team.
Hi race fans. I just heard about Dennis Stone (I'm in Canada) & want to say I'm gutted. On behalf of all the SMAX team we want to send our best wishes to all who knew him as that guy was SOLID. He recognized that when I was a rookie alky guy he encouraged me to carry on even with no cash !!!!! He was always there with friendly advice and encouragement. I hope wherever he ends up he's happy - REST WELL MY FRIEND.
Smax Smith
As a little girl I always remember Daddy Stone with his binoculars on the start line at Santa Pod. I used to think he looked so funny. Also another time when we went to Hockenheim I was only 6 and I was playing schools and I asked Daddy Stone if he wanted packed lunch or a school dinner and he told me "I will have a school dinner" so I marked him down, then 5 minutes later he shouts across the pits "Emma I have changed my mind, I am having a packed lunch" I was so embarrassed.
He will be greatly missed as I remember him as such a kind man and always had time to talk to me and remembered my name. My condolences go to all the family.
Emma Lowes (Stuart Lowes' daughter)