Ince Rebounds
The whispered rumors about James Ince had reached his home in Springfield [MO], and they were festering-sore ugly. And while Ince, a former Nextel Cup crew chief who walked away from the Cup garages late last racing season, gagged at what he was hearing, he never really responded. He had more important things to do, such as going round after round in a bitter fight for his life. “It was terrifying,” Ince said this week of a medical problem that was draining the life out of him and baffling his doctors. “I view myself as an unbreakable man. This was breaking me.” Those in the NASCAR garages who really know Ince will agree that he seemed unbreakable. 

Ince landed jobs on the crews of some top-shelf teams, such as those of Robert Yates and Jack Roush. He would become the youngest crew chief in the sport in the 1990s. In 2000, he was appointed crew chief for the [#10] MBV Motorsports team, whose driver was Johnny Benson.

Underfunded and often unsponsored, the team gained a reputation for overachieving on the racetrack. Ince's name was solidly attached to that reputation. The team nearly pulled off a victory in the Daytona 500 in 2000 — even though it had no primary sponsor and even though Benson was driving a Pontiac. “James, yes, heck of a crew chief,” Benson said recently. “Heck of a crew chief.” Ince suddenly was being described as one of the bright young minds in racing in those days. He was also described as intense, rebellious and tough.

Last fall when the Nextel Cup series arrived at Kansas Speedway for the Banquet 400, Ince didn't. Personal problems were the given reason. Not long after that, Ince walked away from the MBV team. There were even less specific reasons after that. Ince moved back to Springfield and dropped out of the NASCAR scene. And the garage rumor mill [not here] cranked up. Ince was going through a messy divorce at the time, and that fueled more rumors — rumors that he had attempted suicide, that he had a drug problem, that he was in a mental institution. Ince shakes his head about the rumors these days. “The garages can be like high school” when it comes to rumors, he says.

The truth, Ince said, was that he was suffering from a rare form of diabetes. It set upon him during the 2002 season. And it went undiagnosed. “I had no energy level whatsoever,” Ince said. “It felt like I was walking around under water. To be honest, I thought I was dying.” On the bad days, he would black out. He did that twice. The second time was just before the race at Kansas Speedway. All during this time, Ince was seeing doctors but getting no relief. So he moved home to Springfield. There, he paid no attention to NASCAR and no attention to the rumors. His sole mission was to figure out what was wrong. “I knew if I didn't fix my health, there would be nothing else,” he said. In January, Ince turned to his family doctor in Springfield, who finally diagnosed the problem. The only cure, Ince said, was through diet and exercise. Ince went for it, and the situation was brought under control.

Feeling great, Ince decided he had to get back into Nextel Cup. He said his racing Jones got so bad that he couldn't watch racing and didn't want to hear about it. But while his physical problems were repaired, he found out his reputation had slipped into critical condition. “They hurt my career,” he said of his problems. “I had a whole lot of respect. I used to get many, many calls about jobs. Now, I think I've lost some of that.” Early in the summer, Ince finally got a call. It was from the folks at Ashton Lewis Jr.'s #46 Busch series team. Things were going badly on the track for Lewis, and the team owner — Ashton Lewis Sr. — knew it needed help. “We identified the fact we needed someone with experience,” Lewis Sr. said. “And we knew James was in Missouri.” Ince signed on as a consultant. He would work with the crew and call the races from the top of the pit box.

His first race was June 12 at Nashville. The team was 19th in the standings when it arrived in Tennessee, and Lewis finished ninth, his best finish of the season. The next week, he finished eighth. Ince then began working on the cars at the shop. The team continued to improve. Before the race at Chicago three races ago, Ince hung his first body for the team. Lewis finished fifth. Heading here for this weekend's race at Indianapolis Raceway Park, the team has moved to 11th in points — eight places higher in seven races. The boss credits Ince.

“James,” Lewis Sr. said, “is doing a great job for us. He's outstanding. He motivates, and he's great with the guys. We were very lucky to get James. Very fortunate.” Lewis said the only problem with Ince has been his lack of experience on tracks where the Cup teams do not run. Ince has found happiness and, best of all, his health. He has not, however, found satisfaction. The Lewis team has a crew chief but no sponsor, and that makes his future there iffy. Also, Ince wants badly to get back to Nextel Cup.  “I'm ready to go racing,” he said. “I like this, but I'm a Nextel Cup guy. I'm rested, I'm well, I'm focused, and I'm looking for a place to apply it. I've got a Nextel Cup championship in me. I know that.” Many in the garages, those who truly know Ince, think that's true.