STILL PENNILESS

 

Fielding two Daytona Prototypes for the season, Pompano, Florida’s Peter Baron finally is fully returning to racing after he found himself among those reportedly swindled by Henri Zogaib (booking mug, below right), who was arrested in February on fraud charges but has yet to face judgment day - in this world or the next.

Seeing his race-winning SAMAX Racing team in 2008 dismantled in an effort to repay creditors, Baron’s was a difficult, emotional roller-coaster ride back to the Rolex Series – at one point even driving a tow truck so as to make ends meet.

Finally seeing a little daylight as 2009 came to a close, in the off-season Baron formed Starworks Motorsport, acquired a couple of used Riley Daytona Prototypes, beat the bushes for sponsorship (Corsa Car Care and Xtreme Indoor Karting), put Dinan BMW power in the engine bays of each, hung Nos. 7 and 8 on ‘em and found drivers as needed for each – though running only a one-car effort in the Rolex 24

In Saturday’s Porsche 250 at Birmingham’s Barber Motorsports Park, former Camping World Truck Series driver Bill Lester (below at HMS) and 2004 Nordic Formula Renault champ Kasper Andersen of Silkeborg, Denmark, team in the No. 7 Xtreme BMW-Riley, while Ryan Dalziel and Mike Forest for their second race together have taken the wheel of the No. 8 Corsa BMW-Riley.

Benefitting from a winning effort in January’s Rolex 24 At Daytona, Scotsman Dalziel stands second in the Daytona Prototype driving championship hunt after starting his season in the No. 9 Action Express Racing Cayenne V8-Riley team, co-driving with Mike Rockenfeller and AER season-long regulars Terry Borcheller and Joao Barbosa.

“Though we were going racing in 2010, things for us nonetheless were a little unsettled for us when Gary Nelson asked Ryan (right) to drive the (No.) 9 car,” Baron said. “How could I not allow Ryan a chance to for sure run the Rolex 24? I just couldn’t do it. But I’m happy to have him back in the fold, now.”

Upon rejoining the team, Dalziel and Canadian-native Forest combined to finish a strong fifth in the Mar. 6 Grand Prix of Miami, surrendering fourth place in the race’s waning moments.

“It’s a move Ryan shouldn’t have made,” Baron said of a late-race restart that allowed GAINSCO Racing’s Alex Gurney and his No. 99 Chevrolet-Riley to punch through into a fourth-place finish. “Still, the man knows how to race and he only learns from his mistakes.”

In a kind of déjà vu all over again, the pair and their No. 8 Corsa Car Care BMW-Riley (at left at HMS) posted a fifth-best 1:21.021 (102.195 mph) in practice Thursday, trailing the practice’s leader, the guys at GAINSCO, by about one second over the 17-turn, 2.3-mile Barber Motorsports Park road course.

Acquiring the two used Riley DPs from different sources, Baron said it’s “been interesting” to see how others have customized the respective cars.

“You look at one and say, ‘Well, that’s kind of interesting,’ and then you look at something someone else did on the other and say, ‘Hmm, I wonder how well that worked’ and then set about changing both to where we want them,” Baron said.

Figuring the team’s two cars now are “about 60-percent” identical, Baron said such won’t keep the team from scoring a podium, which he feels will come no later than between now and the early June Sahlen’s 6 Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen international.

But still, “Everyone figures they need to be the same,” he said.

“If we need a part for one of cars to make them competitive, I’ll sacrifice a paycheck,” he said. “In fact, I don’t think I’ve actually drawn a (racing team) paycheck in two years.”

Just like a racer.

Later,

DC