THROUGH THE NOTEBOOK DARKLY

 

DOUBLING UP

The Watkins Glen International post-Sahlen’s Six-Hour media-room news conference was positively bubbly, darn-near giddy when was the subject of tires arose.

Usually dreaded by some and feared by others, the rote question inevitably comes when a tire manufacturer’s PR flak arises to ask those present a question whose answer is specifically intended to generate positive comments no matter how poorly a race car’s tires may have performed.

In defense of tire manufacturers, much of a tire’s (or shock absorbers or widget’s) performance, good or bad, is found the manner in which the tire is used: an engineer can establish right or wrong numbers; a mechanic can set the wrong numbers; one driver may be particularly adept with a setting, while his cohort may hate it. Like the drag-racing, brake-stomping wannabe street racer who complains his purported 70,000-mile tire got only 10k (or that his gas mileage isn’t anywhere close to CAFE standards), one doesn’t know what a driver will say until it is heard. Of course, the odds of something positive coming out are vastly improved when faced is a winning race car driver. (At above left: Gratuitous Patrick Dempsey picture. But, really, he is a handsome chap.)

Much like a revolver’s spinning cylinder in a game of Rooskie Roulette, when the tire company’s PR flak puts the subject on the table by pulling the question’s trigger, one doesn’t quite know what the report may bring.

Usually disposed of giddiness whether from too much carbon monoxide, the lingering aftereffects of massive testosterone dosages or having actually consumed champagne between sprays, winners have been known to become whiners when the subject of tires is broached and the simple task of getting positive tire comments rarely goes beyond monotones that, when actually heard and not read (rhymes with "red"), sound something akin to a dental patient’s moan.

At The Glen, the question quickly turned into an orgy of, "I wanna answer first!" the comments, coming fast and furious (oops, now a bad phrase, huh?) as everyone on the podium wanted to answer at the same time, were effusive in praise of Continental Tires having often lasted two stints, having grip and so on - none of it being trash talk or monotone praise.

For Sheri Herrmann, The Glen ‘twas a good day. Then again, just about every race day is a good day this year for Herrmann.

BIG HEARTS BEWARE

Crusty and proud of it is Brad Francis, a motorsports hall-of-famer who has been overseeing Jack Roush Junior's racing efforts since the chip off of "senior's" block got deeply involved in the sport.

After the heavily penalized (not points; just an ability to gain those points) Roush Performance No. 61 Ford Mustang Boss 302R (below, left) fell well short of taking the checkered flag in the CTSCC race at The Glen a week after scoring a second place at Road America, Francis noted that this sport can have its ups and, especially, downs.

"Don't be in racing if you don't have a big heart," Francis said when nearly all around him were wailing the blues.

SEE THE FUTURE

Speaking of Roush Performance . . .

Billy Johnson is a name some may have heard by now and, likely, even more haven't.

Such condition really shouldn't last long, especially since Will Turner started using Johnson services at this year's Rolex 24.

Things kind of went awry at the Rolex 24 when Johnson's car, shared with Bill Auberlen and Paul Dalla Lana (who as an "amateur" ain't that bad) died hardly after sundown Saturday.

A rarity for a BMW (unless it's a BMW-March GTP) or, more so, a Turner-prepared BMW, the threesome came back at Watkins Glen in the second leg of the inaugural North American Endurance Championship, at the end of which (Indy, in fact) some serious money will divvied between the top finishers.

Scoring a third place in GT,

Before that, however, Johnson's been teamed in a Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS Ford Mustang Boss 302R with Jack Roush Jr. since middle-2009.

If you need any proof of this Cal-Tech degreed youngster's abilities, just take some time to watch the No. 61 Roush Performance Mustang sometime, usually during the second shift of the CTSCC race.

There are some in this business who have a pretty good track record of identifying talent and, to a person, they like what they see in Johnson.

CHALLENGING PEW

Now that Enzo Potolicchio, who with Ryan Dalziel,co-drives the No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Ford-Riley, has overtaken John Pew in the race for the season-long Jim Trueman Award for the best "amateur" race car driver.  Pew, who along with Oswaldo Negri Jr., drives Michael Shank Racing’s No. 60 LiveOn.com Ford-Riley and is the awards defending recipient, even if he doesn't wish to be. (Below right, L-R, Negri, Pew, Shank)

Pew's an odd soul who doesn't want, doesn't like to be compared on an amateur level as much as a professional level.

“I could go elsewhere and drive something that has some level of competitive compensation or, put another way, that gives amateur drivers an advantage a pro doesn’t have (such as tires having more grip) but I’m not interested in competing on a ‘special’ level. To me, a win is hollow if I get different equipment than the others get. I want to be able to compare myself, to test myself directly against a Scott Pruett or an Alex Gurney,” Pew said.

Yet, for the preceding two seasons Pew kept winning those doggone Trueman Awards -- a nagging reminder that he made his financial mark other than in a race car's driving seat.

As of the Watkins Glen checkered flag, though, Potolicchio is 72 points ahead in the 2012 contest.

Readers might recall the Pew v. Potolicchio Mid-Ohio door-to-door action that, on the race's first lap, put Pew and Negri in a huge hole from which they wouldn't, really couldn't escape.

Over on the Bob Akin side of the awards spectrum, Emil Assentato is leading second-place Wayne Nonnamaker by a hefty 227 points.

Driving the No. 69 FXDD Mazda RX-8 to the 2010 championship, Assentato has been there before, along with co-driver Jeff Segal, who joined Assentato this year in switching from SpeedSource's all-but-2011 team championship dead Mazda RX-8 to an AIM Autosport-prepared and fielded Ferrari 458 Italia (at lower left) of the same number and sponsorship.

In their successful 2010 GT points championship season Assentato and Segal would lead the championship early then yield mid-season and, in the season's last race, could only watch as fate took command of other contestants’ steering wheel in that season's final race at Tooele; winning the championship by five points over SpeedSource's Sylvain Tremblay.

CHARLES ATLAS CANDIDATE

This writer a once-heavy consumer of comic books (yes, it’s supposed one could say such is the reason this writer is warped), one of the most frequently seen advertisements of decades ago was that of former world-champion bodybuilder Charles Atlas suggesting insisting he'd make a man of anyone who wasn't.

No, it had nothing to do with Renée Richards (ask your great-grandfather) but it did have everything to do with the now iconic "99-pound weakling."

You know, the skinny dude at the beach who was bullied (yes, true, 'tis not a new thing) by a, well, bully who, in his zeal to win the affection of the skinny dude's accompanying "hot babe," kicked sand in the aforementioned skinny dude's face.

It was all just hoo-hah, of course, excepting those possessed of too much testosterone and too little matching muscle mass.

Which brings us back to race car drivers (um, just kidding lads, heh, heh).

Mark Wilkins (left), who made a rare Rolex Series appearance as third-man-out with Scott Mayer and Colin Braun in Starworks Motorsport's No. 7 Ford-Riley DP2 (at right, below), was assigned various other duties besides driving.

In an imaginative way to gain time from a presumably slower Gen-2 DP (owner Peter Baron's mind is, well, really, really unique), when not sweeping the pit (heh, heh, just kidding again, Mark) Mr. Wilkins was assigned the task of quickly extracting one driver so as to make room for the incoming fresh driver.

In the case of the No. 7, Mr. Mayer was the outgoing driver; Mr. Braun the ingoing.

So, here's Mr. Wilkins, all 145 or 150 pounds of him (and such probably is giving him a stone or two) (ask Jeremy Clarkson) trying to yank a fellow who easily had 50 or 60 more pounds on his frame than did Mr. Wilkins.

We're talking, well, a serious thrash as "David" thrice mightily pulled "Goliath" (it's all relative, gents, no offense intended).

Wilkins is due an "A for effort," though.

GT GONE?

In theory, a sanctioning body can have a class full of available spots for manufacturers and teams but if no one shows up to race then, in practice, the class doesn't really exist.

The above is a bottom-line opinion for a few GT teams and at least two manufacturer representatives who are chafing under the results they claim are thus far exhibited in the Class of 2012.

A close 2011 championship fight that went down to the wire and a final four-point spread over the top-3 spots containing three different car builders this year has yielded a "blow-out" and "those two teams (champs Brumos and runners-up Autohaus) are nowhere close today to where they were then" insisted one team owner.

"One team can screw up and not do the same (a following year) like they did (in contending for a championship) but to have both do it (tank) at the same time (the following year) just isn't something that happens."

In 2011, Brumos Racing's Andrew Davis and Leh Keen got off to a rough start in their No. 59 Porsche but started clicking with a third place at Lime Rock and a win the following week at The Glen.

Autohaus' Camaro did similarly, scoring a first at Virginia International Raceway, followed by consecutive second-places at Lime Rock and The Glen.

In all, though, team and driving championship winners Brumos finished on the podium all of three times in 2011, with Autohaus claiming but one additional podium in 12 races.

Third-place 2011 team championship winner SpeedSource snared four podiums, total. Currently holding fourth place in the 2012 team championship standings, it already has three podiums through eight races with five to go.

"All we want is equal footing," one source said while refusing to be publicly identified, insisting retribution would likely follow otherwise.

"Let the teams fight it out," the manufacturer representative continued. "If a driver or a pit crew member screws up, so be it! But just leave the fight to the individual teams. That's all we want."

Still, one can't help but wonder if those complaining would be inclined of such if they be on top?

For complaining most often is reserved for those who always would if only could.

Later,

DC

Images by Brian Cleary, who retains copyrights. See more, buy some of his work at http://www.bcpix.com/.