So, What Do Racers Do Between Seasons?

 

Race.

Kinda, sorta, anyway.

Bottom line ... they still go faster than most of us wannabes.

Terry Borcheller's carrying an almost nonstop ear-to-ear grin that emerged a few days after the Oct. 12 Rolex Sports Car Series' awards banquet at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla. (the city once claimed it was the first "Hollywood." One wonders what became of that tussle between it and the "other" Hollywood on the Left Coast).

In 2010 Borcheller will be co-driving with Jaoa Barbosa in the No. 59 Brumos Porsche Racing Riley, joining as a fulltime Brumos team member to No. 58 Brumos drivers David Donohue and Darren Law - though the two cars alternately will either look or sound significantly different from 2009.

A No. 59 Porsche-Riley, with Law sharing duties with Borcheller, tested earlier this week at VIRginia International Raceway (get your ticket now and save) where 2003 Daytona Prototype champion Borcheller said the car - with a new, "throaty" power plant - performed beyond expectations.

"I just have a really good feeling about this," Borcheller said of his fulltime pairing with Portugal's Barbosa that now goes beyond the former running only as the team's Rolex 24 At Daytona odd-man-out who earlier this year helped drive the team to a third-place podium finish but was shortly thereafter cooling his heels insofar as a top-tier driving job is concerned. 

Borcheller's at DIS this weekend with longtime friend and onetime DP car owner Forest Barber, who brought his championship-winning No. 54 Chevrolet Doran JE4 to the HSR gathering, which includes a wide variety of sportscars, new and old. Original car constructor Kevin Doran and Doran Racing members are wrenching the car, as they did a year ago when the chassis officially qualified as "historic."

(Barber likely would've shared the 2003 DP driving title with Borcheller had Barber not been unexpectedly called home from that year's Glen Sahlen's Six-Hour when one of his two daughters was injured after being tossed from her mount.)

Also at this weekend's HSR DIS Continental meet-and-greet is Elliott Forbes-Robinson, who on Halloween - as he does each Halloween, actually - celebrated yet another birthday. EFR doesn't look a day over 66.

"Hey, I'm at the age where I'm glad I managed to have another birthday," he clowned. "The best news is that last year I hit the the insurance lottery and that means I don't need to charge nearly as much to drive."

EFR is looking longingly toward the next few years or so, when he'll officially enter his seventh decade and hopes to have a chance or two to score another major race-series win - which'll only give him at least one win in each of his many decades of professional race driving.

"I haven't reached the point where I'm interested in just driving around," EFR said. "I still want to win, you know," further wondering aloud if Greg Pickett, who as a driver won a 1978 Trans-Am title (though Bob Tullius that year won Trans-Am's "top-shelf" championship), will give EFR a chance to run Pickett's Trans-Am car when commitments allow, also adding he'd like to score a competitive  Rolex 24 at Daytona DP ride so as to add another win to the three he's already collected (two overall victories in 1997 and 1999).

As he's always been, EFR easily is among the nicest of race cars drivers when shooting the breeze; an absolute give-nor-take-no-quarter driver while on track.

At the Continental, too, is Rolex 24 At Daytona 2009 winning GT driver R.J. Valentine (far left with a Rolex 24 assist, from left-to-right, Jorge Bergmeister, Patrick Long, Justin Marks, Andy Lally).

This weekend Valentine is teamed with John McMullen in the No. 71 Porsche GT3.

Beyond being the chief bill-payer of the Rolex 24 race-winning No. 67 TRG Porsche, Valentine's a Boston-based entrepreneur who has his financial fingers in a host of businesses, not the least of which in Valentine's mind is F1 Boston which has formula kart (translated "haul butt") facilities in Boston, New Jersey Motorsports Park and, soon, on New York's Long Island. (Valentine was this writer’s co-driver when the two's 2008 NJMP F1 Kart race strategy had, like, totally won - until David Donohue protested a rule that didn't exist until turning blue while holding his breath.)

Sure, Valentine's been around awhile and some like to rag on the guy despite his simply loving a sport in which he's participated since the mid-1970's (he first competed at Daytona in its 1978 24-Hour). Proud that he's a "Sportsman," Valentine's made it possible for more than a few professional drivers to pay their bills while honing skills, winning races and championships.

Valentine figures over the years he's seen close to 10,000 "kids from 5 to 19" go through his F1 Boston karting programs.

"That's what I really enjoy, helping future stars realize their dreams in a country that's historically been big on that," Valentine said. "If I can in some small way help a youngster reach for the stars and catch one, well, that's pretty important to me."

With better than 100 entries on hand - including Travis Engen's Audi R8; Rick DeMan's Riley DP; Lilo Zerion's Lola T-70 - this one on the best turnouts seen for Historic Sportscar Racing's annual DIS Continental in recent memory. They're gathering through Sunday at Daytona International Speedway.

RUMORS AND OTHER OLD MAN'S TALES

Having secured more big sponsors for 2010 than ever before, Michael Shank Racing appears to have at least two Daytona Prototypes nailed down for 2010 - maybe, just maybe, three. John Pew (right) is the one name that'll return. Who and with whom other drivers will race is presently up in the air as Shank looks to bail 'em  down - but only after he and spouse Mary Beth return from a well-earned vacation in the Ukraine.

Mark Patterson will be back at Shank's place ... for the Rolex 24 and, maybe, the Sahlen's Six-hours Of The Glen, but that's about it. (Dammit. Patterson truly is one of those rare types with whom one is privileged or, maybe, crazy to hang for at least awhile.)

Wayne Taylor Racing is working on two Dallara teams for 2010, one roller having recently, well, rolled over to that team's Indianapolis shop from Cincinnati. (Man, wouldn't that have been fun; driving a DP westbound on I-74?)

Believe it: Rick Taylor (far left) nor Jordan Taylor (near left) will be among those driving for or with the SunTrust team - the two talented rising-star Taylor offspring (who got their mother's genes) are presently discerning their 2010 options. The good news is that both aren't likely to land with anything but excellent rides.

With Patterson mostly gone from Shank, emerging as one of the series' most sought-after (and thus envied) drivers is Ozz Negri, (right) with at least three possible 2010 ride possibilities (such means he'll land on his feet). 

Si, Scott Pruett y Memo Rojas voy a aparecer en el carro No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing con Felix (y mi amigo Jose) Sabates. Es verdades. Pero, el motor es desconocido ahora. ¿Tal vez un Ford?

Brumos will have two Porsche-powered Rileys in 2010; the Cayenne-based V8 and, still hanging around (for now) the manufacturer's decades-old flat-six, which the company earlier in 2009 said was done.

Former NASCAR Sprint Cup championship crew chief and sanctioning-body director (of a lot of departments) Gary Nelson (right) is back to old tricks - running a race team. He's now Brumos Racing's general manager, learning he'd  been selected such as the 2009 season closed. Those who are aware of Nelson's, um, "innovative" background are aware the native but tricky Californian has won more than a few stockcar races, legally or otherwise. Well, I guess one shouldn't imply Nelson would do anything illegal, especially if a rule has yet to be developed as outlawing whatever he conjured. There will be, though. Bet your sweet bippy.

Stevenson Motorsports (John Stevenson at left) is looking at and probably will achieve a considerable expansion of its Rolex Series operations, perhaps running as many two new Camaros in each of the Rolex and Koni Challenge series. International stage and screen star Mike Johnson maintains control of the pit box while Georgian Andrew Davis (who for the second time in as many years scored a top-3 in GT driving points) and Scotland's Robin Liddell are likely returning to the team. Liddell would've probably also scored a third place 2009-points finish had he just stayed with eating only chicken - or something like that.

Farnbacher Loles or, possibly, Farnbacher or, possibly, Loles still is proceeding full-steam-ahead and likely to better bear a certain German car-maker's banner than has another similarly named team elsewhere - and it ain't Porsche. 2009 Rolex Series GT champs Dirk Werner and South Carolinian Leh Keen (the latter now banned from the Sportsman ranks) will return - maybe. Gee, don't shoot the bearer, this writer doesn't make the decisions.

While favoring stock cars some insist The Racer's Group is racing toward nothing but oblivion on its bread-and-butter sportscar side, as even Spencer Pumpelly reportedly appears headed for the exit. General Kevin Buckler's always got a surprise-or-two up his sleeve, though, sometimes even surprising hisownself.

GAINSCO/Bob Stallings: though not eager to make a mistake, a worried man with a worried mind; times are strange ... things have changed; someone's possibly waiting for the last train and all hell might just break loose (thank you, Bob Dylan).

Ah, but what would an off-season otherwise be?

Later,

DC