By David Melson

Special to the Tribune

Many Lewisburg residents are likely unaware one of the Porsche world's most respected mechanics lives in their midst.

Jim Watson may be one of southern Middle Tennessee's best-kept secrets. He's won major races, sold Porsches, and met the biggest names in sports-car racing.

Today, he repairs Porsches at Watson's Porsche Service. The unassuming building on Martin Street, within sight of the Lewisburg square and his boyhood home, bears only a small "Porsche mechanic" sign in a window. Watson candidly admits most of his hometown's residents don't know what he works on.

But to Porsche enthusiasts -- and historic racing competitors -- his name is a household word.

Several years of attending races at Sebring -- and owning a series of Porsches -- led the Lewisburg native to take up racing in 1962.

"I'd been going to Sebring every year and decided I wanted to race," Watson said. "I traded a coupe for a Speedster."

The Sebring, Fla., track is one of the world's most famous road courses.

"I won a race over George Barber (of the famed Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama). My car had 60 horsepower and his had 103. I just outdrove him. I'd been driving for years and he'd been driving six months."

The wins were only beginnings.

"The following week I went to Chimney Rock, N.C., for a hill climb. I'd never seen or been to one. An instructor pointed out a driver who was the Pennsylvania hill climb champ and no one could beat him. I decided that was a mark to shoot for. So I beat him Saturday and Sunday." Watson broke the course record later that year.

That season of success ended with 10 firsts in 12 races and the Sports Car Club of America F Production class divisional championship. A broken valve spring kept him from a win at Daytona.

The young man from the hills of Middle Tennessee developed his interest in foreign sports cars early -- while living in Shelbyville in the mid-1950s.

"I've always been a car guy," Watson said.

"Several people from Shelbyville including James Pack, Alvin Palmer and I were into sports cars. We went to Sebring for the races in 1955. I liked the Porsches and found a 1954 Cabriolet a year later."

And, for Watson, a lifetime interest was born.

"There were no Porsche mechanics in this area so I worked on it myself. Mr. (Bill) Mittwede's (a Shelbyville grocer) nephew went to Germany and brought back a Porsche 356C for him."

"I worked on it, word got around, and I became a Porsche mechanic," Watson said.

He has fond memories of taking his family -- his wife and two small children -- from Tennessee to San Diego and back in 1958 in the '54 Cabriolet.

Watson co-owned a Chapel Hill department store with a family member before opening a Porsche dealership in then-booming Huntsville, Ala., in the early 1960s. Many space-industry workers were among his customers.

But racing took equal importance at that point.

Watson's racing career allowed him to rub shoulders with some of racing's greats. That 1962 season was followed by a win in the 1963 Confederate Grand Prix at Courtland, Ala., where his trophy was presented by racing great Stirling Moss. He took a Porsche 550A Spyder to the runner-up spot in Southeast Division competition the season.

After those two seasons, Watson focused his energies largely on his dealership.

But he kept one foot in racing, taking firsts at Courtland and Daytona in 1964's G. Production class in a 1300 Porsche, and winning first in class in that division at Daytona in 1965 and 1966. Watson ran vintage races from 1988 until retiring from competition at age 75 in 2003. And he went out on top, taking first in his class and third overall in his final race.

The action was just as exciting off the track.

"In 1965 I fueled Briggs Cunningham's car at Sebring," Watson said. "He asked for us specifically to fuel his car. He was a gentleman."

One career highlight was giving some early training to driver Mike Brockman, known for appearing in several movies with fellow racer and actor Paul Newman.

"He asked for a job at my Porsche dealership," Watson said. "He said, 'I'm not interested in money. The only thing I'm interested in is learning to drive."

Watson took Brockman to the Courtland track. The lesson didn't last long.

"I told him to take off and if there were any problems I'd kick him in the shin. He started out and 14 laps later it might as well have been me driving."

Watson and Brockman later raced a Porsche 911 in a three-hour race at Daytona. Brockman raced on and off from 1967 to 1985, co-driving with Newman many times and NASCAR's Kyle Petty twice, among others.

And here's the amazing part: Watson only has one eye.

"Well, I've only got one eye and everybody's afraid to pass me," Watson said.

Watson sold the Porsche dealership in 1967 due to economic changes in Huntsville and opened the repair shop in Lewisburg. He became involved in the local community, raised his children in Marshall County and was a member of the Cornersville Lions Club for years.

At 83, he still works as a driving instructor at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Ala.

And he continues to enjoy every lap of the track and each roar of a Porsche engine.

"I've met so many good people. I've really been fortunate to enjoy Porsches," Watson said. "I've devoted my life to Porsches."