One day in the mid-1970s, Jean Jordan returned to her Orchards home to a spread of gears, bolts and exhaust pipes.
Her 13-year-old son, Pat, had been doing some tinkering on his Hodaka dirt bike.
“He had taken the whole thing apart,” she said. “I said, oh well, time to load it into the truck and take it away.
“But he put it back together and it ran. He’s always had a knack for that.”
Pat Jordan still tinkers. But now, the toys are a lot more powerful.
Jordan is a mechanic and a key member of the pit crew for A.J. Foyt Racing.
The return of IndyCar racing to Portland this weekend after an 11-year absence is also a homecoming for Jordan, who now lives near Houston.
During Sunday’s Portland Grand Prix, he’ll handle refueling duties for the No. 14 car driven by 2013 Indy 500 champion Tony Kanaan.
In the shop, Jordan and his crew build, hone and maintain the No. 4 car, driven by up-and-comer Matt Leist.
An IndyCar team can be a high-pressure environment, where the difference between victory and disaster can come down to the turn of a steering wheel or a wrench.
But Jordan, 56, still gets a boyhood thrill when a race car roars by.
“It’s pretty gratifying to build something, then watch it go down the straightaway at 235 miles per hour,” he said.
After graduating from Evergreen High in 1980, Jordan attended mechanic school in Arizona. He returned to Vancouver, where he worked as an auto technician for a local car dealership.
But being a part of a professional racing team was always in the back of Jordan’s mind. His involvement in Northwest midget-car racing eventually led to a connection with Idaho-based IndyCar driver Davey Hamilton, who he began to work with part-time.
Jordan’s big break came in 2000, when he got an offer to join Al Unser Jr.’s team full-time as a fueler.
“I was like, uhhh sure,” Jordan said, laughing. “It was an easy decision.”
Though drivers are a face of a team, the pit crew’s job is no less important, or physically demanding.
During a stop, 11 members swarm around the race car. In less than 10 seconds, four 35-pound tires are changed and 18.5 gallons of fuel are pumped through an apparatus the weighs 75 pounds when full.
Jordan and his teammates train rigorously, building strength in the upper body and core as well as doing agility drills.
The team has a practice car, where the pit-stop routine is honed like a dance. After a race, the team reviews video footage of each pit stop, seeking any way to shave off a fraction of a second.
“Chemistry is big,” Jordan said. “It’s like any other team sport.”
But there are still times when things go wrong. Last year, Jordan broke four toes when his foot got pinched between the pit wall and the car during a race at Watkins Glen, N.Y.
Precision is also the key in the shop.
Oil-smudged binders hold hundreds of pages of technical specifications. Mechanics are just as likely to hover over the car holding a laptop computer as a screwdriver.
But the heart of Jordan’s job is still taking machines apart and putting them back together.
“It’s still a very mechanical race car,” he said. “No question there’s gobs of electronics on it. But everything still bolts on. Everything still needs to be assembled.”
Jean Jordan remembers the thrill when she and her late husband, Mike, traveled to see their son work at the Indianapolis 500.
She and many of Pat’s relatives will be in the stands Sunday, when IndyCars will once again rip around Portland International Raceway.
“It’s unbelievable,” Pat Jordan said. “I never thought I’d be able to race in my home town professionally.”
If you go
What: Portland Grand Prix, a Verizon IndyCar Series race.
Where: Portland International Raceway, 1940 N Victory Blvd. Portland.
When: Practice, qualifying and lower-tier races, Friday and Saturday. IndyCar race Sunday, 12:10 p.m.
Tickets: Three-day passes start at $60. Single-day tickets start at $20 Friday, $35 Saturday and $50 Sunday. 12 and under free. Available at track or www.portlandgp.com.
Parking: Parking passes are sold out. Fans are encouraged to take light rail to the Delta Park MAX station.
TV: NBCSN (Comcast Ch. 32)
