Local News

Turn 2 is all the rage with these two race fans

Photos

Damara Hutchins | Highlands Today
Published: March 18, 2012

Of all Sebring International Raceway's 17 turns, perhaps the least respected is Turn 2, which is barely bent enough to be considered curved at all.

Don't tell Scott Hess and Bill Kosiba that this area of the track does not deserve proper recognition, because they are part of a Sebring race fan community that takes pride in its name: the "Turn 2 Crew."

Hess left Manakato, Minn., to attend college at the University of South Florida in Tampa in the 1970s. The Schlitz brewery was near the campus and soon became a favorite hangout. This is where Hess met Silas Q. Dobbins, son of the plant manager's secretary and the person responsible for introducing him to his first 12 Hours of Sebring. He was instantly hooked.

"It was 1976," Hess recalled. "They were using the original big track. No fences or safety. I was 24 years old and man, was I good-looking!"

Hess now lives in Sarasota and makes the trip to Sebring every year for the "Noise, smell and fun." Though he's been to Daytona for NASCAR a handful of times, it's the Sebring races that warrant his loyalty.

When asked what specific cars he enjoys most, he replied, "I truly love the historic and the vintage cars." He acknowledged that the newer vehicles were great, also.

Kosiba, from Port St. John, won his first tickets to the races from a radio contest and is now experiencing his 24th consecutive year at Sebring, but this year has not come easy. He's recently recovered from two episodes of kidney stones only to struggle with the intense, throbbing pain of herniated discs. Two weeks ago, his house was robbed, and earlier last week he suffered from a virus that landed him in bed for a couple of days.

Kosiba isn't going to let some hard times keep him from the races, even if the actual races are not exactly his priority. "I can't figure out how every year we have a party and a race breaks out," he said.

He doesn't just come for the gathering, but also to cook. His motto is, "If it swims, flies, walks or crawls, I cook it." This year, he's brought wahoo and yellowfin tuna. In the past, he's cooked whole hogs, pheasant and anything in between.

"We feed everyone," Kosiba said.