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3-litre home (or intended meaning from "nurse" to end of sentence)

English translation: drive a 3-litre car very carefully to get to the finishing line

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:nurse a 3-litre home
Selected answer:drive a 3-litre car very carefully to get to the finishing line
Entered by: Gert Sass (M.A.)

15:52 Oct 24, 2012
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Automotive / Cars & Trucks / Motor Racing
English term or phrase: 3-litre home (or intended meaning from "nurse" to end of sentence)
From a racing car manufacturer's history timeline:
June 1927 - Autocar correspondent AA and [car brand] Racing Drivers Club founder, BB nurse a badly damaged 3-litre home for an epic victory in the 24-hour of Le Mans race, with an average of 61.35 mph.

What in fact does "home" refer to here, and what does the author mean by "nursing" it?
(Apart from the question of whether or not it is meant to be a pun on "nursing home", which doesn't seem to lead any further. Or have I got my wires crossed?)

More context can be found on the web.
TIA for your suggestions.
Gert Sass (M.A.)
Germany
Local time: 08:29
drive a 3-litre car very carefully to get to the finishing line
Explanation:
To "nurse" in this context means to drive carefully (the car must be in a precarious state).
"home" means to the end of the race, the finish line. And they won!
Selected response from:

Martin Riordan
Brazil
Local time: 03:29
Grading comment
This one opened my eyes instantly. Thanks again everybody.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +10drive a 3-litre car very carefully to get to the finishing line
Martin Riordan
4 +2coaxed over the finishing line
Catharine Cellier-Smart
5provided maintenance to get their ailing 3-litre (engine) car over the finish line
John Alphonse (X)
Summary of reference entries provided
ref.
Polangmar

Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +10
drive a 3-litre car very carefully to get to the finishing line


Explanation:
To "nurse" in this context means to drive carefully (the car must be in a precarious state).
"home" means to the end of the race, the finish line. And they won!

Martin Riordan
Brazil
Local time: 03:29
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 20
Grading comment
This one opened my eyes instantly. Thanks again everybody.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Colin Rowe: Gingerly, tentatively, nervously!
6 mins
  -> Thanks, Colin!
agree  Polangmar
13 mins
  -> Thanks, Polangmar!
agree  Steffen Walter
20 mins
  -> Thanks, Steffen!
agree  Jack Doughty
29 mins
  -> Thanks, Jack!
agree  Alison Sparks (X)
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Alison!
agree  David Moore (X)
2 hrs
  -> Thanks, David!
agree  PoveyTrans (X)
3 hrs
  -> Thanks, Simon!
agree  Yvonne Gallagher: get ACROSS the finish line
3 hrs
  -> Thanks, gallagy2! Yes, that's probably necessary...
agree  kmtext
15 hrs
  -> Thanks, kmtext!
agree  airmailrpl: nurse a badly damaged 3-litre home
17 hrs
  -> Thanks, airmail!
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4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
coaxed over the finishing line


Explanation:
home = over the finishing line

nurse (here) = make sure the 3-litre got 'home'; took all the necessary precautions.

IMO it should be nurseD and not nurse.

Catharine Cellier-Smart
Reunion
Local time: 10:29
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Colin Rowe: Agree, but historic present tense, given the context of a timeline. "Nursed" would sound odd here.
4 mins
  -> thank you
agree  airmailrpl: nurse a badly damaged 3-litre home
17 hrs
  ->  thank you
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
provided maintenance to get their ailing 3-litre (engine) car over the finish line


Explanation:
The car had problems in required care and maintenance to allow it to finish the race.

John Alphonse (X)
United States
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  airmailrpl: no maintenance just drove it slowly 61.35 mph
17 hrs
agree  Colin Rowe: To be fair, it looks as though they actually did carry out repairs: "... while their car was badly damaged, they frantically made on-the-spot repairs and wound up winning the race.": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudley_Benjafield
21 hrs
  -> Yes, Colin, thank you much!
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Reference comments


15 mins
Reference: ref.

Reference information:
1927 Bentley 3 Litre Super Sport "Old No.7" driven by Sammy Davis and Dr. Dudley Benjafield over a distance of 2369.807 km or 137 laps.
http://www.supercars.net/PitLane?viewThread=y&gID=2&fID=0&tI...

Polangmar
Poland
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in PolishPolish
PRO pts in category: 16
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