IT’S QnA TIME!

 

The mailbag having again filled, let’s get to it.

Q. ACURA’s new all-around, same-sized prototype tire is really a unique idea, don’t you think?

A. Well, for sure, Michelin ALMS technical team leader Karl Koenigstein thinks highly of the concept, saying in a recent media release, “The new Acuras are the first modern prototypes to knowingly sacrifice some aerodynamic efficiencies to optimize mechanical grip” and that “Michelin races to learn and we are learning a lot this year with this new concept.”

As a result, I’ve seriously considered installing same-sized tires on all of my family members’ daily drivers – but were talking serious cutting-edge technology here and my usual mechanic probably isn’t up-to-speed on the idea as yet. I ain’t even gonna touch the “aerodynamic efficiencies” part.

Q. Speaking of Acura, what’s up with the Lowe’s Fernandez Acura-powered ARX-01B team? It’s not been making much noise recently.

A. First of all, don’t tell U.S.-based LMP purists that an engine was mated to a car chassis that wasn’t really produced by the same manufacturer as that of the engine, or nasty comments are sure to follow.  Speaking directly to the Lowe’s Fernandez team question, at least one of the two current drivers is actively looking for a ride elsewhere in 2010, so he’s making some noise.

Q. Jimmie Johnson was “on” then “off” in a Marcos Ambrose-shared Glen DP ride for the Rolex Series race on Friday Aug. 7. I’m a big Johnson fan and that Ambrose guy just absolutely light’s my Kingsford Charcoal, so I’m disappointed that the deal didn’t come off. What happened?

A. A reigning three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champ who this past Sunday became the first driver to win the Brickyard 400 in back-to-back races, Johnson in 2007 paid $3.98 million for his and Chandra Johnson’s open-plan, three-bedroom, 3,200-square-foot New York City Chelsea-neighborhood condominium for which the pair currently is asking $4.34 million. The doorman-tended building includes a private gym wherein, it is rumored, blue-hairs kept hitting on Mr. Johnson for “dates.” Contact listing agent Lisa Rose of Halstead Property for further information.

Q. Now that the Grand-Am is “a NASCAR Company,” will NASCAR’s ongoing court battle with Kentucky Speedway’s former owners, now being heard by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, have an adverse effect on the Rolex Sports Car Series?

A. Saying "People have the right to have their case heard in court," Kentucky Speedway’s former owners are continuing their fight to a “right,” not “left” to squeeze millions out of NASCAR – which essentially is claimed not to have played nicely in not handing the track - located in Sparta, Ky., about halfway between The University of Louisville Cardinals and The University of Cincinnati Bearcats - a NASCAR Sprint Cup date even when it reportedly was told prior to construction that it wasn’t likely to get one. The former owners also evidently didn’t think too highly of a lower federal-court’s decision on the suit’s merits when plaintiffs in 2008 were all but laughed out of that court. However, to answer your question directly, the only thing about which Grand-Am might worry is finding time on already crowded court dockets contending with matters which appear to be squeezing out other, less-laughable cases. However, in a new twist reported Thursday by the AP’s Dan Sewell, plaintiffs' attorney, Charles Rule - who ironically headed what some at the time said was a “do-nothing” Justice Department antitrust division under President Ronald Reagan - also claimed current  Kentucky Speedway owner, Speedway Motorsports, is a NASCAR co-conspirator in the matter. Ya just gotta believe Long Beach Grand Prix queso grande Jim Michaelian is gonna be next on that list, followed by the Purple People Eater (the subject of a darn good song done well before the Brothers Frisselle even were a gleam in Brad and Terrye’s eyes).

Q. Okay, enough with the general motorsports stuff. What did SunTrust Racing’s Wayne Taylor - whose two drivers, MaxAxe Angelelli and Brian Frisselle, now are only one point out of first place in the Rolex Series’ DP championship hunt after the penalties - say when the Rolex Series announced the post-Barber Motorsports Park penalties?

A. Just in case the reader hasn’t a clue: In summary, three Rolex Series teams – two DPs and one GT – were determined to have used improper pit-side fueling methods, systems or something along those lines during the July 19 Porsche 250 presented by Legacy Credit Union. After canceling 15-points formerly gained by each at the race’s conclusion, Grand-Am additionally assessed the DP guys $15,000 each - and evidently presumed to have spent twice as much to run their teams as the GT guy, who “only” got a $7,500 fine. By one knowledgeable person’s count there were “at least eight other teams” having escaped the same scrutiny but about which you can bet your sweet bippy the “pucker-up, butter cup” factor subsequently squeezed out a few diamonds in the rough. As a result, it’s also a safe bet the offending teams - caught or not - now will look for other means by which to get fined. I mean, surely everyone has heard of Smokey Yunick and Gary Nelson by now, no?

Oh, yeah, Wayne Taylor: “Anyone need a loan?”

Nah, just kidding, Wayne (or Ricky or Jordan, who are far more likely to read this before their father).  Actually the shrewd MaxAxe, who still has his first nickel, uh, Lira won from Max Papis in their Formula 3 days, was kind enough to offer 150 points, daily, reminding each potential borrower that a “Guido” was responsible for “collections.” (And to those who would wail and gnash teeth over perceived ethnic slight: I know MaxAxe and he’s a friend of mine. Guido says so.)

Q. The Indianapolis Star’s Curt Cavin earlier this week wrote of an IMS road course “exhibition” by NASCAR and Grand-Am. ‘Sup?

A. First, let’s get one thing straightened out right now: Grand-Am is a NASCAR Company. K? There isn’t a NASCAR “and” Grand-Am. It’s kinda like saying there’s an NFL and an AFC. Sure, the AFC hasn’t won as many Super Bowls since its teams, excepting the old NFL teams during odd, even and presidential election years began chasing the title at a time when Joe Willie also wore pantyhose. Or was that a fur coat? Both? Oh, yeh, and shaving cream. Lots and lots of shaving cream. With David Rose’s “The Stripper” as background music. Man, if ever there was an appropriately timed drum beat …

Okay, sorry. Just lost in a moment of nostalgia for a time when testosterone once raced unchecked through my veins, now replaced by Cialis. Such reminding me of Mark Patterson, in fact. The testosterone, that is. The sucker doesn’t need Cialis. it was Aug. 18, two Sprint Cup cars and three, maybe four DPs but don’t book it now, Dan-O.

Later.

DC

“THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT HENRI”

 

That’s what Marybeth Shank must’ve thought to herself when she told spouse Mike Shank to get an upfront, in-full payment when Henri Zogaib in late-2006 sought to pursue the 2007 Jim Trueman “gentleman racer” award offered by the Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16.

A few months later, Zogaib cited divorce proceedings among other distractions when he bowed out of his Mike Shank Racing No. 6 Ford-Riley ride - and John Pew stepped in to team with Ian James - but Zogaib’s check had long before cleared the bank.

Unfortunately, it since appears the money to cover that check may have come from other racers, at least in part, as Zogaib allegedly convinced investors that he could provide rates-of-return in the neighborhood of 30-and 40-percent but which authorities now believe only involved schemes that, at best, would pay existing investors with new, incoming funds from other similarly duped investors.

A familiar story of late and perhaps most famously made known by New York and Palm Beach Ponzi-schemer Bernard Madoff, at the time there’s no way Shank would or could know such nefarious activity was being undertaken.

One person who appears to have been aware of the apparent  scheme is a Zogaib business associate, Paul Bellanca, whose Ormond Beach, Fla., home, along with Zogaib’s Ponce Inlet, Fla., condominium, was searched Wednesday by Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents.

As is Daytona Beach, Ponce Inlet and Ormond Beach are located in Florida’s Volusia County, where NASCAR and the Rolex Sports Car Series are headquartered.

With charges yet to be filed, Zogaib, 36, (at left, in sunglasses congratulating Ryan Dalziel at Laguna Seca) and his business associates are nonetheless at the center of a criminal investigation launched in August 2008, hardly more than a couple of months after a Daytona Prototype victory Zogaib scored as Ryan Dalziel’s co-driver at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. Most anyone at that race or watching SPEEDtv’s race coverage couldn’t hardly help but notice Zogaib soon bailed after starting the Peter Baron owned and prepared SAMAX car in which Zogaib bought a 2008 ride.

Peter Baron was at the helm of that race-winning SAMAX car and he spoke Thursday evening of how concerns started to arise in his mind while undertaking a private, cross-country plane ride to the Laguna Seca race with Zogaib (in sunglasses below, talking with Baron).

“He already was into me for some money and every time I brought up the need for cash flow he kept saying he’d had some short term working capital tied up in a condominium project, or a bank failed to get the payment out or just all sorts of reasons.

“It was on that flight – he took the team and some friends, too – that I overheard him talking about his school days (at Seabreeze High School) in Daytona Beach. Yet, he told me he’d been schooled in a Swiss boarding school and that’s where he’d met his various worldly, money making contacts.

“When I heard him talking about the ‘good old days’ in Daytona, well, that’s when my heart  started sinking. While Henri and whoever partied on the way to Laguna, I didn’t. That was one of the longest airplane flights I’d ever been on. All I wanted to do was get to the track and win.”

And win Baron’s SAMAX No. 2 did (at left, at the top of Laguna’s famed Corkscrew), but soon after, though, Baron was doing all he could to keep his SAMAX team afloat.

“By the time we got to The Glen six-hour I was paying for just about everything with cash. The credit cards had been maxed and no funds to speak of in the bank.”

With an assist from third-driver David Empringham at the Sahlen’s Six Hours at The Glen, the all-but-limping SAMAX No. 2 BMW-Riley posted a 15th-place finish overall before heading for The EMCO Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, despite the distractions and the crush of creditors. The team, appearing at the Mid-Ohio race with an overused Dinan BMW engine, ran for 10 laps before it expired.

“You know, I just wanted to believe in the guy,” Baron said. “Maybe it was hoping that I hadn’t been hoodwinked; maybe it was believing in my fellow man and giving him the benefit of the doubt. I’d like to believe I was doing (the latter). Whatever it was, it wasn’t looking good. That’s for sure.” 

Heading to the next race less than two weeks later at Daytona International Speedway’s annual midsummer race, the Brumos Porsche 250, the gig was almost up and might’ve been if not for Zogaib needing to play the part of an hard-living, fast-driving and international jet-setting financier in front of his “home” crowd.

“We got there and nobody would sell us anything. I went to Henri and said, ‘Look, Pirelli won’t sell us any tires and there are other suppliers who won’t do business with me because they haven’t been paid,’ but Henri just said something about his divorce causing issues, that he wanted to hide all the income, assets and money he could from his soon-to-be ex-wife but that he’d scrounge some money from his friends and he did.”

After a 17th-place DP finish, Porky Pig couldn’t have said “That’s all folks” any better.

Today, on top of all but losing his SAMAX team, $45,000 owed in payrolls and a mountain of debt he continues to pay down, Baron had also “invested” more than $400,000 in Zogaib’s iron-ore Ponzi scheme.

Now relegated to driving a tow truck between his job at Orbit Racing as Daytona Prototype Team Manager, Baron is left to slowly, but surely, pay off the debts.

“Most of my creditors, between the economy and knowing what happened with (Zogaib), understand and have been working with me,” Baron said. “It’s tough, though, because my balloon’s been popped just when i thought everything was going well for me.”

“At least it happened to me when I was 40. I can recover. Imagine what it’s like for a retiree who trusted him with a life’s savings and has nothing now. Sure, I’m not terribly happy with my position, but I feel really bad for those people,” Baron said.

Later.

DC

BARBER SCHOOL

 

If you’ve not heard, seen or read, below is a verbatim copy (italics added) of the Grand-Am announcement wherein the Daytona Prototype teams of GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing and Telmex Chip Ganassi Racing w/ Felix Sabates, along with Grand Touring’s  Farnbacher Loles Racing, were cited and penalized following Grand-Am’s determination of the three having violated a rule (or two).

Grand-Am Rolex Series Teams Penalized For Rule Infractions At Barber Motorsports Park

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 23, 2009) -Three teams competing in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16, have been fined and penalized for rule infractions committed this past weekend at Barber Motorsports Park.

Penalized were two teams competing in the Daytona Prototype class, the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley and the No. 01 TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley, along with the No. 86 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3 competing in the Acxiom GT division.

The three teams were found to be using equipment in violation of Section 9-7 (refueling equipment).

The infractions were discovered following the race on July 19.

The two Daytona Prototype teams were fined $15,000, while the GT team was fined $7,500. In addition, each team and driver was assessed a 15-point penalty in their respective championship.

‘Sup, anyway?

First, it might’ve been helpful for Grand-Am to have “thrown the book at ’em” by reminding everyone of yet another Grand-Am rule or three which would have provided an explanation of the base from which the organization was proceeding, like:

General Sporting Regulations, Rule 1-6, Principal Rule of Interpretation and Application – The Grand-Am regulations are intended to insure that Events are conducted in a manner that is as fair as possible for all Competitors …” (SIC).

Fast-forward to GSP Rule 9.7, give it a read and one starts getting the gist of Grand-Am’s (and others’) gripe (hint: “BSR,” “BSR,” “BSR”) but, as usual, omitted  from the sanctioning body’s “Darn Thee!” release (as do most sanctioning bodies) is the specific “why.”

Insofar as at least two of the involved teams are concerned, the involved infraction centered around the use of an improper part (no duh; hang in there).

Excerpted from GSP 9.7 (italics and bold, added):

“The fueling rig must be used as designed and delivered from the manufacturer, with no modifications of any kind. BSR fuel rig part # BSR FR 2005GA will be the only permitted fueling rig …” and “…Each fueling hose must be fitted with a BSR Blue one inch restrictor used to connect the clear 1.5-inch ID fuel hose to the clear 2 ¼ inch ID hose on dry break fueling probe. All fuel must pass through the restrictor. Daytona Prototype fuel rigs may machine the blue restrictor to an inside dimension of 1.300 with square edges…” and “…Mandatory Supplier: BSR Products…”

(Left for a future discussion is the idea that “Daytona Prototype fuel rigs” are capable of machining anything at all, their being aggregated inanimate objects and all.)

At least one of the above teams acquired the “restrictor” from a source other than BSR and may have improperly machined it. The net result: faster fuel flow and quicker pit stops.

One can understand the import of faster refueling when given the recognition that Rolex Series racing is a “game” wherein less than one second has repeatedly meant the difference between first and second place finishes.

Reportedly, penalty discussions at the sanctioning body ranged far and wide, up to taking away all points - driver, team and manufacturer - gained by the offenders at Barber Motorsports Park’s Porsche 250.

As it is, insofar as the 2009 championship points battle is concerned, the top-three Daytona Prototypes (Telmex, Gainsco and SunTrust) are close to where they entered the race, though prior to the event SunTrust drivers Max Angelelli and Brian Frisselle were wedged between Gainsco’s Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty, on the low side, and Telmex’s Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas above.

Pursuant to the ruling’s “execution,” the Telmex and Gainsco drivers remain tied in the championship lead after Birmingham, with the SunTrust driving duo one point behind, instead of 16.

On the GT side, Farnbacher Loles Racing’s Dirk Werner (heads up, everyone: pronounced “Deerk Verner”) and Leh Keen (at right) find an almost insurmountable lead now surmountable – though certainly not assuredly so because they still have 10-points over No. 07 Drinkin’ Mate drivers Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards. A third-place Nick Ham and Sylvain Tremblay (SpeedSource No. 70 Castrol Syntec Mazda RX8) are another 11-points behind Collins and Edwards.

The telephone calls and e-mails yours truly has thus far received from some of the involved and peripheral parties vary widely in their viewpoints, some feeling especially perturbed over the levied fines, while others felt the penalties didn’t fit the crime; they wanted still more.

In the latter case, one competitor asked, “What about the rest of the year?” The presumption being that the unfair (illegal?) advantage had not been limited to the one event.

While the point is well taken, the answer – especially given our proud adherence to U.S. constitutional principals – is: “prove it.” It is precisely the same principal behind a person having a right to be tried for each supposed crime and not many separate crimes at once; one must prove that such occurred each time and cannot, really should not otherwise extrapolate.

Still, one might note the levied fines are some of the stiffest in memory, with past presumptions having played a role.

Rarely do opposing parties walk from a courthouse fully satisfied with an adjudication and such is the case, here.

Whatever howling and complaining may follow, the race for the championship still is on.

Later.

DC

BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK NOTES

 

EARLY IN THE MORNING

“When a girl reach the age 18, she begins to think she’s grown. That’s the kind of little girl, you can never find at home … Do you want to see me hug my pillow, where my baby used to lay?”  ©Eric Patrick Clapton

Penske Racing’s Verizon Wireless guys don’t exactly fit all of Slow Hand’s above descriptive lyrics, but they darn well could’ve paralleled the theme after staying awake until 3 a.m. Saturday repairing their Porsche-powered Riley Daytona Prototype – returning to the track just after daybreak.

Romain Dumas was at the wheel when the car’s left front gouged the ground as Dumas attempted to negotiate one of Barber Motorsports Park’s late-course right-hand turns Friday. Give or take, Dumas’ "off” occurred in the complex in the neighborhood of pit road’s entrance.

(One road-racing “beauty,” if you will, is the accounting of turns. Some drivers see X; others see X(-), still others see X(+). Crew chiefs, team managers, officials and still others see, or don’t see turns while at the same time looking at exactly the same track diagram.)

In one of those areas of description in which, again, almost everyone will disagree (some say the flooring gave way, others say it was ripped apart, etc.), the bottom-line result in Dumas’ one-car off was his legs being exposed to conditions which injured in his lower left leg, in the area where calf muscle transitions to Achilles tendon. In short, it hurts and, yep, it’s on his leg’s backside. Such leaves one only to think about what could’ve happened, but didn’t. Thank goodness.

Whilst the very much broken Verizon Wireless’ repairs were being undertaken, and not wishing to take any chances whatsoever, another black-and-red Riley was taken out of storage in Charlotte, N.C., put on a transporter and traveled in as straight of a line as is possible to Birmingham.

“We got the (broken) Verizon car pretty well fixed up,” Penske Racing GM John Erickson said shortly after the team returned to BMP around 6: a.m. “We’ll need only (to use) a few parts from the other car.”

MEANWHILE, OVER AT SHANK’S PLACE

Evidently Mike Shank Racing’s Bruise Crew’s (No. 06, John Pew, Michael Valiante) Daytona experience – where the team worked feverishly and successfully to repair a missing Riley underside after Pew mowed the grass in a morning practice – paid some dividends for Mark Patterson and Ozz Negri’s No. 60 Ford-Riley team after Patterson, also, decided to make like a Deere and escape Barber Motorsports Park’s paved portions.

Though the Riley’s undertray (“floorboards” to you engineer types) clearly was junked, Patterson didn’t do anything to his legs - the Shank team having long ago “reinforced” that area on the cars, as has the No. 99 GAINSCO Pontiac-Riley (which this morning talked about reinforcing the reinforcement) and others.

Still, Patterson’s rapid-rate deceleration eventually sent him to the track’s infield medical facility where particular attention was paid to his suddenly taller self, having stretched his neck and all.

Frankly, this scribe, who was along for the ride to the medical facility, didn’t think Patterson would return to racing at BMP but trained medical personnel and Patterson concluded otherwise. However, one shouldn’t be too terribly surprised to see Negri climb into the car as soon as possible after Patterson serves his minimum sentence in Sunday’s Porsche 250 which, this year, isn’t nearly as hot nor humid as past years.

BUT, WHEN IT’S HOT, THEY’RE HOT

With race-day temperatures forecast to be unseasonably cool and relative humidity readings likewise down (darn thee, global warming!), one would think most everyone in the Barber Motorsports Park vicinity would welcome the far more comfortable conditions in place for the Porsche 250 weekend.

Not so, Scott Pruett, who believes he and Memo Rojas hold a competitive advantage in their Chip Ganassi Racing w/ Felix No. 01 Telmex Lexus-Riley when the ambient temperature is 90-degrees-or-better and they’re cooking inside.

Pruett said he believes Rojas’ improved (increased, too) fitness regimen this year has made it tougher for dissimilarly prepared teams to effectively combat the two drivers, who come into Barber Motorsports Park with a one-point drivers’ championship lead over Daytona Brumos 250 winners, Max Angelelli and Brian Frisselle, whose No. 10 SunTrust Ford-Dallara managed to fend off the determined Daytona charge of third place points-holders Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney and their No. 99 Gainsco Pontiac-Riley.

Three-points, total, separate the top-six divers in the Daytona Prototype championship hunt.

GIDLEY RETURNS TO RAKING

After a one-race hiatus, Memo Gidley and Brad Jaeger returned to racing at Barber Motorsports Park in Kevin Doran’s No. 77 MacDonald’s Ford-Dallara, promptly posting a top-five best time by the time Friday’s practices concluded.

“It drove me crazy,” Gidley said of the one-race deal that was intended to showcase the talents of a South Africa Airways-sponsored Hennie Groenewald and Dion von Moltke. “I don’t want to do it again, either, so I’m really glad to be back.

One of the interesting aspects of watching Daytona Prototypes is rear wing commonality - they’re all the same in size and structurally (though not the struts) - and the accompanying ability for the fan to visually discern a team’s rear wing preferences. It’s a subject usually reserved for high-level secrecy until at least post race; if then.

No, lacking a protractor and the ability to slap one on the wing (assuming a team member would even allow a pilgrim to do such), one can’t determine a wing’s precise degree but one can see if it’s flat, like that of the No. 76 Krohn Racing Ford-Lola and No. 10 SunTrust Ford-Dallara, which respectively were seventh- and eighth-fastest in Friday’s combined-time stats, or if the wing favors the other end of the available spectrum.

Like Gidley and Jaeger’s Dallara, Friday’s fastest teams seemed to prefer higher rake angles and, presumably, produced more drag on their respective rear wings.

CRONKITE’S DAYTONA DAYS

Known for his tranquil sailboat life less so than being a newscaster legend for whom the “news anchor” term was coined, Walter Cronkite, who died Friday at 92, was the “voice” part of a CBS television network team that in 1960 produced the first-ever TV programming which originated from Daytona International Speedway – sportscars included.

Later.

DC

BRUMOS PORSCHE 250 POSTSCRIPT

 

 

All warm and fuzzy feelings aside, Brian Frisselle, MaxAxe Angelelli and the SunTrust team shouldn’t have won Saturday’s Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

A car that usually generates great downforce but was competing on what is almost the antithesis of a downforce track, the Ford-Dallara encountered more high-speed sections than turns and shouldn’t have done well.

At least, so expressed one MaxAxe after the race.

“The car (Dallara) had no downforce and I did not like it, (the setup)” MaxAxe said. “The wing was flat and I was doing all I could to keep the car on the track through the (infield) turns. If (Alex) Gurney had gotten by I do not think I would have been able to get around him.”

Frisselle qualified and started the SunTrust Dallara third on the grid, then proceeded to run a clean race, keeping the Dallara safe, sound and within striking distance of the front. MaxAxe took over the car just about the time other leading DP teams started shooting their own feet and would go on to lead a race-high 33 laps, slipping and sliding through the turns according to MaxAxe. 

The Dallara’s downforce lack or, perhaps also said, Gurney’s greater downforce settings became apparent during repeated drag races out of the West Bank and into the chicane when his No. 99 Gainsco Auto Insurance Pontiac/Chevrolet/Government Motors-Riley would pull even with or ahead of Angelelli only to see the SunTrust regain the spot.

With the two jockeys likely mashing the gas as hard as each had ever done previously, viewers would see that magical moment where unyielding surfaces and air molecules combined to constrain Gurney from further accelerating  - whereas Angelelli and Dallara at the same moment had yet met that boundary.

On his last serious run on the penultimate lap, to Gurney’s credit he reacted to the driving championship Big Picture and not what he might have achieved by knocking MaxAxe out. After all, when cars start running into other cars, both generally lose – unless one is Tony Stewart and the other Kyle Busch.

Brian Frisselle (at left, with MaxAxe to his right), seemed a little underwhelmed by the enormity of his accomplishment. As though he’d been there and done that and the Brumos Porsche 250 was just another race he’d won. 

Maybe so, but the words he spoke (taken slightly out of context) resonated: “Even though we didn’t have the fastest car out there today.”

Um, Brian, you guys won the race, you know. Just for emphasis, let’s try it in truncated form: “race,” “win.”

Racing is an effort that ultimately puts those who make the fewest errors into Victory Lane but ya gotta go fast, man, whether crewman, some guy named Simon or a driver.

The SunTrust team won. You’re part of that team. The only bad news out of the deal is that we might well see that lousy new silver paint job for years to come.

 

RUNNERSUP, KINDA, SORTA

Coming out of Mid-Ohio second in Daytona Prototype points, Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney’s GAINSCO Auto Insurance No. 99 Pontiac-Riley team looked to end the 2009 Brumos Porsche 250 just one position better than it had in 2008, when the race briefly became the Rolex Series’ closest-ever finish and one of Gurney’s biggest professional letdowns.

Though the team didn’t exactly replicate the 2008 race, it nonetheless finished in the same spot, looking at someone else’s tailpipes. Still, Fogarty and Gurney gave it a heckuva shot. If anything might get the fickle finger of fate award it likely came when Gurney relieved Fogarty of his driving duties in what appeared to be a longer-than-normal pit stop. A dropped second here and there has been known to hurt the best Rolex Series racing effort. As the drivers of the blood-red Gainsco car clearly demonstrated for the greater part of the race, they were on their game. 

In for the race’s first shift Fogarty relentlessly pestered the No. 01 Telmex Lexus-Riley’s Memo Rojas and likely contributed to Rojas’ tire eventually letting go, even after Fogarty got around him. If only Gurney could’ve gotten a SunTrust Pirelli P-Zero tire to similarly pop, then the boys in red would’ve not only won the race and closed the points gap on the championship hunt’s No. 1 duo - Pruett and Rojas (who might be saying “Aston Martin” in their future, by the way) - they might not’ve fallen back a spot, to third, in the DP driver points. As it was, they just closed the gap. Strange thing, points figuring.

 

NOTE TO WAYNE

At a point well into the evening after the Brumos Porsche 250’s conclusion a congratulatory text sent to Wayne Taylor, owner of the race-winning No. 10 SunTrust Ford-Dallara, was met with the response: “Thanks what about my kids” (sic).

(Education time: “sic” is from Latin and, translated, its meaning is “thus; so.” Used within brackets or parentheses in journalism, it conveys that preceding verbiage, usually a quote, is precisely as was communicated. Not an indictment, judgment nor intended insult, “SIC” or “sic” only makes the reader aware that the literal has been referenced, verbatim.) 

Okay, Wayne, for the record, were you asking about Max or Simon or … nah, just kidding.

Just so you’ll know, Wayne, here’s the family rundown: After starting the race seventh, Ricky (Taylor) went on to lead for 11 laps, only falling from the point after performing the Rolex Series’ mandated 45-min pit stop. Of course, on the way to that pit stop he might’ve been a little low on gas but he drove masterfully after inheriting the lead under caution on Lap-12, during which nearly everyone else pitted for tires and gas. Yet, Rick kept the lead fair and square, pulling away from pursuers while still on old tires. His Beyer Racing No. 13 Lennox /Brach Candies Pontiac-Riley, shared with Mike Forest, eventually finished 12th after a seventh-place start, one position behind the No. 12 Verizon Wireless Porsche-Riley.

Jordan (Taylor) finished 18th overall and 15th in DP, driving the Lennox/Brach’s No. 5 Crawford Chevrolet with Jared Beyer. They drove the DP03 Crawford model, which has been known to favor an especially keen ability to drive. Both Jordan and his Brumos 250 co-driver are future talents. Trust me on that one. I’ve been watching racers race since, well, Juan Manuel Fangio was at Sebring. The Crawford DP03 has a very narrow set-up window that favors professional driver-types and, after being on that edge, they’ll benefit from that knowledge. Of course, after being in a Crawford DP03 the Riley feels like a comfortable old shoe (oh, Bill’s gonna be just a little irritated with me for the “old” part).

About as close to a point-and-shoot car as was ever in the DP class, the supposed rub of the Crawford DP03 is one of being ‘unforgiving.’ Put another way: a driver in Andy Wallace’s league would do well with it; a driver who made a living elsewhere by day but changed into a driver’s firesuit on “off” days likely wouldn’t. The present Gentleman Jack Crawford is another story. Entirely.

Shelley (Taylor) melted away in the humidity.

Oh, and you expressed post-race glee (right).

 

 

NO SANDBAGGER, HE

The Penske Racing No. 12 Verizon Wireless Porsche-Riley of Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas were so slow in Saturday’s first practice that other teams were certain the Verizon Wireless car was “sandbagging” from the get-go. When they placed fifth-fastest in qualifying such was supposed to be only an inkling of what the car would do in the Brumos Porsche 250.

“I swear, I’m doing all that I can to go fast in the car,” Bernhard said just before the qualifying session. “We are not sandbagging.”

Sandbagging or no, the “team” also somehow missed the gearing, setting off the 3.99 Flat-Six’s rev limiter at about the DIS tri-oval’s Start/Finish line and partway through the “SuperStretch” grandstands coming out of the West Bank. Reportedly, there was no post-qualifying gearbox or transaxle change so it all doesn’t quite neatly “compute” considering the Verizon Wireless car started fifth. Also blamed was “the draft.”

Whatever the case, one-day race events greatly favor those teams having the deepest “book.” Penske Racing’s a new team on the Rolex Series’ block and, without a detailed notebook to tell it that the July Daytona International Speedway track is dramatically different from the January DIS track, it’s understandable the team would miss a setup on what, for them, was an altogether new track. But gearing? And so badly?

 

VENTING A BIG STINK

Saturday’s first practice session hardly started when John Pew and his No. 6 Mike Shank Racing Ford-Riley took an off at the chicane - or, perhaps, took off at the chicane. It works either way because the car was hurt when it landed.

“Just a dumb move; I stunk,” Pew said while berating himself afterward, walking alone.

It’s always a gas to see someone walking alone, cussing incompletely in incomplete sentences. Such makes for a good laugh when one really knows the guy isn’t a blithering idiot.

“WHAT THE …!” (stifled in a fist-clenched, momentary silence, with a half-step right, then one quickly to the left just before emitting) “…  YOU NINCOM…!”

“But how can you not push it to the limit?” he answered himself calmly with a shoulder shrug, his head alternately turning from one side to the other as each alter ego got in some conversational licks.

The MSR Bruise Crew (get it: “black and blue?”) had roughly three hours to completely replace the Riley’s undertray, free the car of dirt, grass and, according to Pew, “a big stink” so as to get it ready to roll for the show. They did it just in the nick of time, too, with the car getting in a darn good burnout on pit road during the false grid.

They (another team effort, to be sure) made the race, and got as high as second during a Lap-16 restart.

Just when it seemed as though a fairytale ending might unfold, Pew, while traversing Turn 6, gets nudged into a spin by J.C. France and his No. 59 Brumos Porsche.

Though that mean ol’ France was assessed a penalty, a look at video shows Pew apparently checking up as another car ahead did the same as everyone tried to turn a big left. France, probably not keen on checking, just tried to miss it all but, well, didn’t.

Still, Pew and Michael Valiante drove an otherwise untested car to a fourth-place finish, overall. Pretty good for a car that earlier was thought might not make the show and for Pew, who looked truly bemused over having won the race’s Trueman Award.

 

OUT OF IT

Early Brumos Porsche 250 retirees included the No. 58 Brumos Racing Porsche-riley of David Donohue and Darren Law which the former brought to a halt near the chicane early in the race with smoke billowing from the cockpit supposedly caused by some crossed wires – another $100k down the drain, minimum.

Falling from grace at about the same time as Donohue was Andrew Davis’ Stevenson Motorsports’ No. 57 BryanMark Pontiac GXP.R. Davis shut down the engine as soon as he saw his LS6 engine temps go stratospheric due to a blown head gasket. Probably saved $20,000 but the price may be even steeper because he and co-driver Robin Liddell have fallen a little farther behind points leaders Leh Keen and Dirk Werner, who’s No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3 won the Brumos Porsche 250.

MUST MAKE RADIO SHOW …

Tune in at 7:05 p.m. ET tonight for Chip Ganassi Racing’s Mike Hull, Roush Yates’ John Maddox and Kevin Doran Racing’s Kevin Doran – who will explain what happened to the No. 77 South African Airways Ford-Dallara at race start. Go to http://tiny.cc/wU2nR to catch the Web stream. If you miss it, select audio will be extracted and offered later at www.grand-am.com.

Later

DC

GRAND-AM/ALMS BUYOUT QnA

 

The Cold Pit mailbag quickly filled when Robin Miller last week said he’d heard Grand-Am was pursuing the purchase of ALMS.

Having skimmed the best of the questions from the rest, your faithful scribe now turns to answering ‘em So, without further ado …

 

Q. Rumors are floating around that Grand-Am is interested in buying ALMS but wouldn’t there be a lot of incompatibility between the two series?

A. No. Roger Edmondson and Scott Atherton are grown men, for gosh sakes.

 

Q. Who asked who first?

A. Shortly after God created Eve, Adam was left feeling all weird inside. Who do you think?

 

Q. Won’t the ACO be at odds with the Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16? 

A. What the heck has the American Cornhole Organization (http://tiny.cc/P7VMW) got to do with sportscar racing!?

 

Q. What would become of all the ALMS race cars?

A. Which two? Or is it “three?”

 

Q. Will Acura still be around?

A. Admittedly, domestic car sales have been down but Honda has said absolutely nothing about closing its high-end car line’s dealerships.

 

Q. What about the ALMS’ Ford GT and Aston Martin? Are they still going to be around?

A. Kevin Doran and Jim Bell recently wondered the same thing even before the “unification” talk began.

 

Q. And what of the “Green” thing?

A. I doubt NASCAR will ever surrender its belief of nor stop working toward teams making money, not losing it. I mean, really, would Richard Childress be a multi-millionaire today if Jim Hunter and Bill France hadn’t, um, “suggested” he give up driving?

 

Q. I noticed an IMSA Lites Series stakeholder meeting has been set up for Lime Rock? What are they going to discuss?

A. Gosh, you’ve got me on that one but, then again, I’ve never been really big on holding stakes. Have they got something to do with Cornholing?

 

Q. What’ll happen to the IMSA Fan Club?

A. They’ll never stop believing that ALMS holds car races or that “IMSA” is the same organization as that founded by John and Peggy Bishop. Faith is a powerful thing, you know.

 

Q. Will Patrick Dempsey be allowed to race in Grand-Am if Le Mans goes down the tubes?

A. First of all, Dempsey has been racing in Grand-Am events for the last few seasons. It was the American Le Mans Series guys who got all torqued out of shape when Dempsey and usual co-driver/friend Joe Foster dared race at Le Mans. In fact, Dempsey and Foster will be momentarily arriving in Daytona Beach to race their No. 40 El Grado Mazda RX-8 in Saturday’s Brumos 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

 

Q. What will happen to the Le Mans Series should Grand-Am buy it?

A. Shouldn’t the question be, “What will happen to the American Le Mans Series if Grand-Am doesn’t buy it?”

 

Q. No, really, so what will happen to the Le Mans Series should Grand-Am actually buy it?

The “American Le Mans Series” is herein under discussion and it pays a name-use fee to a bunch of French guys for using the “Le Mans” thingy found between “American” and “Series.” It’s kinda like someone paying Patrick Dempsey some serious bucks so that he or she could call oneself “Patrick Dempsey” – though I don’t know why a “she” would care to regularly look like she needs a shave … then again … oh, never mind. Formerly a Pontiac, the “Le Mans” name loss, however, is frequently cited as a major underlying cause of car-maker General Motors current financial woes. The Le Mans Series’ future is a question best reserved for the French Guys who actually own the name.

 

Q. I’ve heard the ALMS rules are more technologically advanced of the two.

A. So, that’s a question? First, the ALMS supposedly uses rules promulgated by the French Guys and claim to present motorcar events under those rules but have sometimes made an exception here or there, as convenience allows or dictates. One fan favorite is the Maserati MC12 that raced but didn’t race. Another was the KERS car that was but wasn’t. There are more, but space and time limitations prevent listing all of ‘em.

 

Q. So when’s the deal gonna close?

A. Probably never, now that some team owner opened his big mouth.

 

Later,

DC