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MJAmok
02-07-2005, 12:37 AM
Dateline Daytona. February 3rd.

It’s cold. It’s foggy. It’s wet.

7:30 am. I arrive at the track. My team isn’t here yet. Apparently they arrived at 7:30 pm last night. Despite the fact that they should have been allowed in until 8 pm they weren’t. I go to the Grand Am office to check on our garage assignment. The official says, “Oh, we f&*#ed up. We only assigned you two stalls. You need four. Our bad. We’ll fix it.”

8 am. The team’s haulers arrive and park. We still have no garage space. Apparently, 3 of the 4 cars will need work before they are race ready.

8:20 We receive our garage locations.

8:30 Rookie drivers meeting. The most interesting part of this is sitting near Team 16. A team of 3 16-year-old kids running the 24. Obviously these kids are talented drivers. They are all handsome and well-groomed. They seem pretty mature. Except every once in a while, they pull a 3 Stooges routine on one another. A smack to the back of a head, unbuttoning another one’s coat, and so on. These kids are indeed kids. You might not know it watching them get interviewed by a reporter. But, seeing them away from the spotlight is fun.

9am Drivers’ meeting. As much fun as drivers’ meetings with Hammer, Casey, and Craige can be, a meeting with Auberlain, Papis, Haywood, Tracey, and other luminaries is inspiring.

9:30 Work is furiously underway on 4 cars. Have you ever been in a sausage factory? I haven’t. I assume Ludwig has. I’m told you don’t want to be there. You don’t want to see the crap that goes on behind the scenes. The same might be said about racing. We are pretty insulated from the prep for a Skippy weekend. You show up, put your helmet on, and drive. Hanging out in a Grand Am Cup garage, while 4 cars are being worked on, one of which you are about to drive at over 150 mph is a bit scary.

10:30 The 1st of 4 cars heads to tech inspection.

11:00 The 2nd of 4 cars heads to tech inspection.

11:45 The 1st practice session begins. Finally, it’s my turn to drive. Unfortunately, it’s the golf cart to the pits. No cars are track ready yet. About 1/2 way through the 1st session our first car is ready for the track. It’s the #18. Not my car, the #19. Spencer takes it out for 1 lap and returns to the pits. 3 guys are standing around hoping to drive. There is no plan. We all shrug. I’m the first one to put my helmet on, so I get in. On my 2nd lap, I loop it in the International Horseshoe. (I can hear you laughing Walter…at least I waited till the 2nd lap this time!). I call it on the radio after I get under way. “Oh yeah, those are shitty tires, be careful.” I get a total of 4 laps before the checker flies. I can only manage a 2m 15s lap. Pretty lousy. Spencer did a 2:10 on his only lap. Hey, what do you expect?

2:45 2nd practice session. 2 cars are ready. Well kind of. One quickly loses its gearing. I get a total of zero laps.

5:15 pm It’s time to qualify. 3 cars are ready. Since I plan to start the race, by regulation I have to qualify. I’m in the #19. I’ve never driven it before. It is very different from the #18 which I have driven. I’m on sticker tires. Some people tell me to give these tires 2 laps to get good. Others tell me they are fine out of the box. I decide to play it safe. Better to be conservative, right? On my fourth lap some bonehead stuffs his car into a wall. Guess what? Session over. This isn’t Skip Barber. They don’t give you your remaining 7 minutes after clearing the incident. We are done. I turned another miserable 2:15+ lap. That is only good enough for 47th of 74 on the grid. Ugh. I hope we can make it up tomorrow.

Friday Morning
Ok, can’t sleep past 6am ish…big day today. The plan was to go to Waffle House. The stomach says “I don’t think so!” It’s granola, yogurt and a banana instead. What am I most nervous about? Turn 1! 74 cars! Yikes…that could be a disaster. The only thing keeping me calm is Gerardo. When I told him my fear on Wed. night, he said, “What are you worried about? There are two cars in front of you, and two cars in back. Same as any other race.” Words of wisdom for sure.

The local papers are full of race stories today. I love a quote by one of Tony Stewart’s teammates. When asked why Tony didn’t need to arrive early for practice he said, “Tony could probably turn 5 practice laps and be ready to race!” You see?! Even Tony Stewart needs 5 laps – I only had 4! No wonder I’m slow!!

Well, I’ll skip all the details about the morning at the track. Suffice it to say, lots of standing around in the cold and lots of scurrying mechanics.

1st practice was 10:30am. I was the fourth guy in the car. Another whopping 8 minutes of seat time. Hey, it’s really adding up now!

The afternoon was more of the same. Cars on jacks, cars on the “set up table”, new brakes, new tires, no rest or lunch for the crew. This went on until 1:55. Cars are supposed to be on track and race ready at 1:55. My car was the 1st to leave the garage. A crew member took it for gas, and I ran to catch up. I suited up and got in at the pumps. Then to the track.

7/8 flying lap, then onto the grid.

It takes a while (like 15 minutes) to sort out a 74 car grid! I am slotted into position 37 (because the GS cars all start in front of the slower ST cars).

Then they sang the National Anthem… then they announced “Gentlemen Start Your Engines!” I would have felt like a rock star… but my engine was already running. I forgot to turn it off on the grid!

10 seconds later, the pace lap is underway. In just over 2 minutes, it’s Green, Green, Green! Gerardo told me the goal for the start should be to stay in place. He said if you gain any spots, you just got lucky… you’re not good. If you lose spots though, you are bad. Well, I was bad at first. Two guys got a run on me at the start/finish line (you can’t pass until you reach that, even though it’s green). But, then I got lucky. Three times in Turns1 and 2. Two more times coming out of Turn 3. Hey being lucky is fun. I’ll take lucky! I will say that it was tight quarters for the first few corners. Wow. Never been that close to so many cars going so quickly. Was happy to have fenders, although I avoided all contact.

I was surprised at how quickly the field sorted and spread out. There were a few guys I was running with, and eventually I picked most of them off. Running with different types of cars is very interesting. Unlike in Skippy, you need to strategize about who will be fast where. There were cars (or perhaps drivers) that could hustle through the hairpins faster than me. But, I was able to hold them off in the less tight turns and straights. I was all over the Mustangs in the infield, but they would pull away like crazy in the banking. I could brake about 100 feet later than them going into the bus stop and close or eliminate the gap. But, then they would disappear again on the banking.

One of my best passes was accomplished by taking advantage of this braking differential. A Mustang blew by me on the tri-oval. He started braking before the 200 marker for Turn One. I kept my foot planted deeper than I’d ever gone. Damn near the 100 marker. I was able to dive under him, then hold him off through Turns One, Two, and Three. The nice part about it was the whole team saw it. An excited “Nice pass on the Mustang Michael!” came over the radio. Yeah, that makes you feel good.

Did I have any car contact you ask? Well kind of. But it was contact of the “good” variety. I was battling another Porsche for a couple of laps. Making up ground, but not enough. Coming up to the Bus Stop, I notice my teammate, Andy Lally (He’s won the Daytona 24 hour and was the 2004 Grand Am SGS class champ), coming up behind me. By Nascar 4 my mirror is FULL of Lally. Hold crap. He’s gonna bump draft me!! Tap, Tap, Tap… like knocking on your girlfriend’s window and not wanting to wake her daddy. Next thing you know, we slide by the guy I was battling. See ya!! Thanks, Andy.

So, I figure Andy’s gonna pass me into Turn 1. Nope. The International Horseshoe? Nope. The kink! No again. Hmmm. He is on me like white on rice, but not passing. Finally, he goes by coming out of the West Horseshoe. After the race, I needed an explanation. Turns out, he thought I was another teammate, Craig Stanton!! (Stanton is last year’s Grand Am GS class champ) He saw the battle and thought he’d help out. Thinking it was Stanton, he stayed behind. Coming through the kink, he heard the call on the radio… Craig 2:06 last lap… Andy 2:08. “No way, that can’t be,” he thought…”I pushed him, I know I’m faster.” That’s when he pulled out and saw he was chasing #19, not #18. I’ll take that as a compliment.

Far too soon, my time was coming to an end. Some fuel and tire questions are asked over the radio and it is decided that I would pit 3rd.

I am in the pits after 1 hour and 20 minutes of driving. Slaps on the back. P10!! Nice drive, dude! The team is pumped. I am pumped. 10th place?! Not bad for starting 37th!! OK, so some guys crashed in front of me. I didn’t. Some guys pitted first. Oh, well. Did I mention P10? Did I mention consistent laps in the 2:10’s? And, a few 2:09’s, including a 2:09.4. Six seconds better than in qualifying and practice. Amazing what a little seat time and competition will do for you.

Unfortunately, it was downhill from there for the 19 car. Although I came in 10th, we had stopped under green, and so went back out 34th!! 45 seconds will do that!! Two laps later, my co-driver calls in … ”I can’t get 2nd gear… I’m coming in.” I’m yelling “Tell him to give it bigger blips…BIGGER BLIPS!! He tries again. “It’s not working… I’m coming in.” I’m crazed. Get him out of the car!! I had no problems!! I’ll drive!! I’ll drive!! I was (mostly) kidding. But I’d have gotten back in that car in a heartbeat.

Despite that long stop and some slow laps (not having 2nd gear on a course that requires 2nd gear for 5 of 8 infield corners will tend to slow you down) we finished 29th in class and 39th overall. Considering how little practice we had, and the mechanical problem… that isn’t half bad I’d say.

Also not bad was the rest of our team’s results. Pumpelly/Stanton… 6th overall. Lally/Gaffney… 11th overall. In fact, Lally/Gaffney should have finished 4th. That’s where they were with 2 laps to go when they had to pit for fuel. Oops, somebody blew a strategy call. The #78 car only made about 1/3 of the race before it retired due to brake problems.

So, quick morals for the story?

1. Racing at this level is awesome.
2. Racing at this level is expensive.
3. Racing at this level makes you REALLY appreciate the Skippy series. Partially in terms of seat time and expense. But most importantly, unlike at Skippy you can’t say “my car sucks, I want a new one.”
4. I think doing a few races like this will help me grow as a racer. There aren’t coaches to hold your hand in every corner. If takes some of the “color by number” aspect out of racing and makes you think for yourself. The best piece of coaching I’ve gotten so far at GAC? When do you brake? When it’s time to brake. When do you turn? When it’s time to turn. I get it. Go out and try it. Pick a reference. Move it up or back depending on how it works out. Pick a new reference. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

I’ll go further with those skills in my pocket.

Sorry this was so damn long, but hey, you didn’t HAVE to read the whole thing. But since you stayed this long… I need to say thanks to Spencer for the opportunity and the advice. Gerardo for telling me I suck and meaning it, but then telling me how to suck less. Donald MacDonald for the HANS. Mike Pickett (team owner) for the opportunity. And, most of all, the Race Prep Motor Sports crew that worked their asses off this weekend to put a smile on my face.

MJAmok
02-07-2005, 12:52 AM
Spencer's #36 car was running 2nd for most of the first 18 hours. At 6:30am, his co-driver, john Littlechild, was hit and eliminated by a DP. Fortunately, only the car and egos were injured.

Spencer's teammate, Nick Longhi, finished 2nd in class in the #37.

Craig Stanton was P3 in GT until a bad pit stop with under 2 minutes to go cost them a podium appearance. Finished P4.

Lally and company took 5th in GT.

Patterson, Wahl and friends took 14th in DP class! Who ws in 15th? A few names you might recognize.... Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle. Way to go gentlemen!

MJAmok
02-07-2005, 12:54 AM
I'm serious. We need an all Juicy squad. We rent a Porsche. We decorate it in TJR livery. We have a blast. Who's with me?

JonMiller
02-07-2005, 01:36 AM
Sounds good to me. Count me in for TJR 24 hour entry in 2006! Good to bump into you today. My friend and I left Orlando at 2AM on Saturday night to come watch the end of the race, and boy am I glad I did. After sneaking into the hot pits and getting some awesome pictures and watching some awesome racing, I was suprised to see a Team Juicy hat walk by me. Then I remembered your posts and that you were here racing this weekend! Good to bump into you, glad to hear your weekend was as much fun as it sounded.

Here's a link to my pictures from this weekend:

http://public.fotki.com/JonMiller/rolex_24_hours_of/

dalyduo
02-07-2005, 09:41 AM
Great job Michael, both driving and reporting. Too bad you're not coming to Sebring. :mad:

Speed channel did a sidebar piece on those 16-year-old drivers. Ross Bentley coached them, so those 3 Stooges routines may have actually been the mutual activation of positive mental programming! :-)

Given your re-affirmation of the cost and support benefits of Skippy racing, how big a dent in the MasterCard do you suppose a fully painted up TJR Daytona Grand Am Cup Car would be?

I'm with you in spirit but doubt I can pay the freight. Heading out now to purchase extra lottery tickets.


I'm serious. We need an all Juicy squad. We rent a Porsche. We decorate it in TJR livery. We have a blast. Who's with me?

macdod
02-07-2005, 11:13 AM
Congratulations, Michael. Can I claim to be an offical sponsor having lent you my HANS?

And congrats to Darius and Mr. Patterson in the #3. Can't wait to see what the new car looks like when it gets to Homestead.


Did I mention I change my own tires regularly on my C4S. I also do windows. Will work for water bottles, Pit Pass lanyards, autographed "klag."

Hell if it gets you on T.V. I'd even let you drive over my foot in the pits!

badgersid
02-07-2005, 11:58 AM
mike nice job you made it look easy.congrat's to all the skippy driver's. it looked like about a third of the field.sy watch out i think mike has his eye the championship.

Nest
02-08-2005, 08:42 PM
Awesome Mike nice job! And hi to Spence from his worst student, tell him I don't hold a grudge.

Charlie25
02-08-2005, 11:42 PM
:bowdown: Wow you guys rock! :)

Congrats on a great drive!

Put me down for a TJR ride in 2006!:D