This, and it might seem out of place on a tech site dedicated to auto performance, is a memorial of sorts for my dearest, and lately departed daughter, Jacque Vizard. Kevin, the boss here at Performance Trends asked me a while back if I would like to do this for which I was very touched. The reality here was, and still is, asubstantial emotional challenge just put even a few words on paper about her. Also by the time you get to the end of this the reason you are reading about Jacque here should be evident.
Let me start by saying that telling how she passed in any meaningful way would involve a long explanation. Suffice to say she had a medical problem that made every day a major, and for her, a tormenting challenge bordering that of a nightmare. The only consolation for my wife Josephine and I is knowing she is at peace for eternity.
They say that the skills and attributes needed to be a winning race car driver are often inherited. Both my wife and I have those genes and seemingly Jacque inherited them in spade loads. By the time she was seven or eight it was not enough for her to go as fast as she could on her roller blades or ice skates – or her bike for that matter. Certainly by the time she was nine she had the ability to corner a full size car, on a good race line, with the tires screaming. It was evident that with minimal familiarization, she could,in an apparently fearless manner, drive anything. After a test session in one of his dragsters Doug Herbert described her driving as that of someone with ‘ice water’ in their veins. 2015 would have probably been the year for her to road race, at an amateur level, my 2002 Dodge Intrepid cup car.
Though not common Jacque is far from a rarity when it comes to girls with driving talent.However, there was more to her than just that. Nearby you can see Jacque making a pass down one of our local drag strips in a five speed 5.0 Mustang during a private test session. She was eleven at the time and the difference between her and most other 11 year old female drivers is that she built and, with the little previous experience she had, was able to dyno test her efforts. This engine made just a shade less than 340 hp and was built mostly of used parts I had in the shop.My only contribution to this 11 year olds engine build was a little verbal guidance and lifting the heavy parts into place for her.
The engine you see her with here was 100% Jacque built. On the dyno it made 525 hp. That engine was intended to power the car she was to race for a full season.
She loved Fords and for the past 2 years had actively helped with engine building, dyno testing, and parts preparation for the production of my current performance book project on Windsor/5.0 style small block Ford’s. Losing her has brought our home here in the Charlotte area to a place of darker grief that we could have ever imagined. She is sorely missed by her mom and dad and her many friends.
David Vizard
Jacque Vizard December 27th 1995 –
July 31st 2014