_{*Quick Summary: The author adds a personal eulogy as a memorial to former boss, friend, and mentor Jim Perkins.*}

I am saddened to learn of the passing of automotive great and my former boss, Jim Perkins. Jim accomplished so many incredible things in the automotive business. He was a 1999 Inductee into the Corvette Hall of Fame. A guy who worked his way from a warehouse all the way to an internationally recognized businessman. At various times in his career he was Executive Vice President of Lexus, and General Manager of Chevrolet. He supervised the Chevrolet Racing program through some of its most victorious years. My friend Jim even drove the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 – three times! It was a great honor to work with and learn from a man of his experience. A “car guy” in the truest sense of the words, Jim was the real deal.

Jim’s direct manner on business matters was always refreshing. You might not always get the answer you wanted from him, but you always got a well thought out response, and one that was born from years of experience in the upper levels of Fortune 500 businesses. I learned a lot from Jim, and for that I will always be thankful.

A quick story. Jim was featured, along with some of his car collection, in The Rodder’s Journal, #25, that came out in Spring, 2004. I’d heard about it, but because it came out several years prior, was unable to locate a copy of my own. I told Jim, and he brought in a copy of the magazine for me to read. The cover had a slight tear in it, along with a few light scratches, but I did not mention them to Jim when he loaned it to me. Jim told me it was his ONLY copy and I should take perfect care of it, which I did. When I returned it in an interdepartmental envelope, he called me to ask why I had torn the cover. I told him I hadn’t, to which he replied, “Well, the damn cover is torn now, so you might as well keep it. It’s no good to me now. That was my ONLY copy Myrick. The last of the bunch, and you ruined it.” Of course I felt horrible, and wondered what happened to it after I’d dropped it off, as it was in the same condition I received it. Later that day, I received a new interdepartmental envelope from Jim, with the magazine, and a Post-It note on page 88. I opened it to that page (where the article about Jim began) to see he’d personalized it to me. While I was very touched he thought enough of me to give me his ONLY copy, I still felt horrible about his perception I had torn the cover. Of course, being Jim, he had to rub it in on the inscription as well. I looked it over to find no new damage, so I called Jim to both thank him for the gift, and to let him know that was the exact way I got the magazine. I hadn’t torn the cover. Jim berated me for depriving him of his ONLY copy, and for “destroying” it to boot. He really drove the point home. I apologized repeatedly, and simultaneously thanked him.

A couple of weeks later, Jim mentioned to a tour guest that he and his cars were featured in the magazine. I knew he meant for me to hear it, just to rub my face in it, then he threw me a curve. He told the guest, “I’ll bring you a copy of it, but it’s my ONLY copy, and you need to take perfect care of it.”, then he turned and looked directly at me with that one-and-only Jim Perkins half-grin on his face. And that was Jim Perkins in a nutshell. The ultimate businessman with a super sharp sense of humor. Rest In Peace Jim. The pleasure was all mine.

Included in the first article linked below are several photos inside the Hendrick Heritage Center, the building I managed under his direction. These photos are a rare public glimpse inside this closely guarded building that Jim held great pride in protecting and preserving: https://www.motortrend.com/vehicle-genres/jim-perkins-interview/

An obituary from Hagerty: https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2018/12/31/corvette-savior-jim-perkins-obituary

Added January 3, 2019: https://www.autoweek.com/racing/nascar/a1713936/former-gm-boss-racing-head-jim-perkins-dies-83/ and: