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For Immediate Release
Daytona, FL - At 6:03 a.m. Guardian Angel Motorsports was forced to withdraw from the 48th running of the Rolex24hr at Daytona. The car suffered a catastrophic gearbox failure resulting of the loss of gears; 1; 2; 3; 4; 5 & 6…yes, that’s ALL of them. The 3rd gear cog had suffered some difficult shifts earlier in the race which led to it’s split into three pieces which then navigated around the gearbox taking everything with it.
Driver Bruce Ledoux was completing his double stint which had begun at 3:53am. Ledoux was quoted as saying, “…the car was handling superbly, the crew & team had done an excellent job…” Ledoux was able to set fast lap of the day at 4:47a.m. on the 93rd lap for the tires. When asked about his feelings on the team’s defeat, he replied, “…it’s so sad……We coulda’ been a contenda’s…” The team was in 14th position at the time they withdrew.
When the team was asked what they wanted people to recall about their valiant effort to complete Laps for Love146, they’re reply was one of solidarity and unanimity, they drew Continue reading ‘….6:03 a.m. - Catastrophic Failure’
About this undertaking this year. It’s been such a battle royale. Last year’s race had us signing contracts and commitment checks in August. This year, we were doing that just 18 days before the race….a huge testament to Debra & Kevin Buckler. Talk about magicians. They gave us world class, championship quality preparation in days & hours when other teams can’t get it done in years. I love you guys 
2010 Rolex24hr GT Field
I find I’m feeling SUPER guilty about the expense vs. the family and find myself asking lots of questions, like, Is this over indulgent? Am I being selfish? Is this fair to Linda, Emily, Colin & Ryan? and most importantly, Is this worth it? I mean, who really cares?
Then yesterday, amid all of the fury of packing and getting ready, Linda hands me this note that Colin’s aid at school sent home with him.
“Mr. Ledoux & Team GAM” (btw - I’m 41, Mr. Ledoux is my dad).
I want to wish you luck on your race this weekend. I think it’s truly amazing that you get behind the wheel not to win a race but for the purpose that goes beyond getting a trophy at the end. In your blog on the web, you said that you were a ‘nobody’, (basically comparing yourself to the professional drivers out there) and I disagree. I think there are a substantial amount of people that would agree with me on this. You truly ARE a hero in the eyes of not only your own children and family members but to everyone who knows what it actually is that your driving for.
Christopher Reeve once said, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” This is exactly what you and your team stand for!
Congratulations already on everything you have accomplished and I wish you the best of luck in all of your races to come.
Good Luck this weekend, Go Get’em!!!
“Miss A*****”
PS - I hope that my small donation to FAAN will somehow make a difference
***************************************************************************************
….and then I could sleep…..for a few hours anyway…
Thank you Miss A*** for letting me know that we are in some how, some way making a difference.
Bruce Ledoux
Rolex GT #18
….using his index fingers to painfully hunt & peck out each letter….gives you the complete mental imagery that you need when you read Guardian Angel Pilot Tommy Sheehan’s tomb below. As I was casting around the house, awaiting my airport ride (at 3:38am), I sent him an email with the subject line reading: “What gear are you in?”
- Bruce Ledoux
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Tom SheehanDriving in the Rolex 24hr race was not the plan. The entire experience has been organic and grown from Continue reading ‘To see a 5′ 17″ guy huddled over his blackberry….’
Colin behind the wheel
How far do i have to go to get to you
Many the miles
Many the miles
Jamie, Colin & Emily are grade-school students with severe food allergies. If someone accidentally spills milk on Jamie or gets peanuts or sesame near Colin and
Emily during school lunch, the resulting anaphylactic
Jamie in headband, Emily facing on right
shock would be life threatening.
- More than 12 million Americans have food allergies. That’s 4% of the population.
- The incidence of food allergy is highest in young children, 1 in 17 among those under age 3.
- Anaphylactic reactions requiring hospital treatment appear to be increasing.
- Authorities in England report a threefold increase between 1994 and 2004.
- Peanut allergies doubled in children over a five-year period, 1997 to 2002.
How far do i have to go to get to you
Many the miles
Many the miles
Little girl #146 is missing. If you have a daughter, her story will sicken you. That someone would rob a girl of her childhood innocence erodes our humanity. The recent stats released by the U.S. Department of Justice paint a bleak picture for young women and girls.
- More than 1,200 incidents of human trafficking were reported in the U.S. over the 21-month period from January 2007 to September 2008.
- Over 90% of the victims, overall, are female. Hispanics are particularly hard hit, constituting 37% of all sex trafficking victims and 56% of labor trafficking victims.
- 83% of reported incidents involve sex trafficking, and one-third of the total involve sex trafficking of children. 71% of sex trafficking victims are under age 25.
- U.S. citizens account for 63% — a clear majority - of sex trafficking victims.
How far do i have to go to get to you
Many the miles
Many the miles
But send me the miles and i’ll be happy to follow you…
Many Miles - Sara Bareilles (click to listen)
2009 Rolex24hr 18th in Class Finish
Guardian Angel Motorsports’ founders Bruce Ledoux, David Quinlan & Dan Watkins triumphantly return for their sophomore effort at the 2010 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona with co-drivers Bob Doyle and Tom Sheehan. Their mission - as a team of amateurs - is not to win on the track, but to win in the paddock & in race fans’ hearts. The goal is simple: Raise over $100k for children’s charities by driving 1750 laps at four events in 2010.
It’s deeply personal.
“Thru our own experiences as fathers of children with disabilities and allergies, we want to help as many children as possible by simply giving them the luxury of a chance to win. Right now, so many don’t have the luxury of even a chance.” (Bruce Ledoux, father of Colin & Emily)
In 2009, Guardian Angel Motorsports raised over $75,000 for Children’s Hospital of Boston. This year they race for two charities: www.LOVE146.org, working toward nothing less than the abolition of child sex slavery and child exploitation, and FAAN, the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (www.foodallergy.org), raising public awareness, providing advocacy and education, and advancing research on behalf of millions affected by food allergies.
The Rolex 24 at Daytona is a chance of a lifetime for Guardian Angel Motorsports
…and a chance of a life for the kids we support.
Would you please help us to defend the defenseless?
DONATE HERE
Thank you,
Bruce, David, Dan, Bob and Tom
Guardian Angel Motorsports
Rolex GT #18
Toby Gearbox Replacement
From: Shannon
Sent: Thursday, January 14, 2010 7:44 PM
To: Bruce Ledoux
Cc: David Quinlan; Travis Hill; Bob Doyle; Tom Sheehan; Kevin Buckler; Debra Buckler
Subject: Data Report
Hello all. This is your friendly neighborhood data guy.
At several people’s request I have gone through all of the data from the weekend and found a few problems. The main thing is shifting needs to be cleaned up. There are many instances of poor shifting. These will land you in the garage with a broken gearbox or out of the race completely with a blown motor. For some of you I know we discussed specific issues, but I wanted to bring these to everyone’s attention. Below are some specifics that I have found.
Continue reading ‘Uh-0h: A note home from the Teacher AND the Principle..eeek!’
From: Tom Sheehan
Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 1:17 PM
Toby's Render for the 48th Rolex24 @ Daytona
To: ‘M****, K A.’
Subject: RE: Hugginz
K,
It was all surreal. I walked in to the Grand Am credentials office in Daytona Beach. I handed them my paperwork. I walked out in 35 min with a Grand am License, and FIA card. Being used to complicated SCCA licensing and registration processes with lots of lines, I walked back in to the credentials office seeking my next task to get me into the” Roar Before The 24“. The registration worker pulled down her glasses and peered over at me with a pleasant but puzzled expression. Her next words floored me. “Honey, you are all set, done, you don’t have to register for or stand in this or any other line again until this time next year. ” I shook her hand and knew I had reached into an entirely different world than the one I knew.
I drove to the track, in through the tunnel, parked the rental rig, and walked into the Garage area with Montoya and one of his buddies. I found the TRG garage. Got a trailer assignment and started to drop off my Continue reading ‘Hugginz….(don’t ask)’
Last week was movie night in the Ledoux household and Linda wanted to watch the movie Julie & Julia. I mean heck, sometimes, as a guy - you have to take a hit for the team…. For those of you that haven’t seen it, it’s fun story about a Brooklyn, NY woman that is drifting in life until she decides to cook every recipe in Julia Child’s book over the course of 1 year…..and blog about it.
What was fascinating to me about the movie was how much momentum and notoriety her efforts gain from the blog. The blog led to interviews with the New York Times, dinners with famous writers, chefs and even some communication via third party to Julia Childs herself. Segue to reality.
GodStone Ranch with the 'Angels
Yesterday morning we were sitting at breakfast when GodStone Ranch racer John McCutchen came over to introduce himself. (He’s running a Pratt & Miller Corvette this year…a formidibly competitive car). He said that he had watched our efforts as a team last year and was inspired by us to mount his own effort for Texas Heart Institute.
The introduction caught me completely off guard as I was fairly certain only a handful of people had dialed into what we had undertaken last year. In fact, as we’ve battled so hard this year to muster an entry, I was beginning to believe that the number of people was smaller than I had expected. It’s been beyond trying and everyone around me has been wondering why I can’t put this down…..and then something like this happens.
I find I’m taken by the humanity of the participants in this event. It’s like little else I’ve been involved in so far. Certainly at the other events, people are friendly, many very genuine but here, for some reason, the vibe is so so different. Particularly this year.
Cold, Rainy & CLOSED paddock
Apparently we are feeling the effects of global warming as the loss of the polar ice cap. I have a friend that tells me they are the ‘batteries’ to our global weather and help keep things evenly balanced. Probably not a great topic considering our undertaking.
So moving right along, as we sit in the trailer…waiting for the weather to change, we contemplate the ways we can use the time to prepare for our undertaking in just 21 days.
We did 90 minutes of video replay discussions with multi-champion Andy Lally. This was a great learning experience and I took a great deal from the discussion. Next we suited up and heading across the arctic howl from the trailer to the garage to practice our driver
Ledoux Driver Change
change proceedure. This was great as we all got to learn the nuances and idiosyncracies of buckling into the car fast. This is an important part of our race as it is a place where we can better control our outcome and have a BIG impact on our overall laps completed. We lose roughly 1/2 lap on our way in and then another 1/2 lap on our way back out of a pit stop. 2 minutes in the pit would cost another lap meaning the car loses 2 laps per pit. If we’re inefficient in the pit and have to return, it may take 10-12hours to drive back a 2 lap (4 minute) deficit.
Currently, I sit in the trailer trying to get some feeling back in my feet and listening to the Flying Lizard guys talk thru their testing session with Patrick Long, Seth Neiman & Jorg Bergmeister…..I think I’ll stroll down the stairs to hang for a few moment with 2001 Winston Cup Champion Bobby Labonte……..such a ho - hum day.
Driver change practice
Loose Bruce
Rolex GT #18
Guardian Angel Motorsports
Twitter : Fanpage : Donate
Ugh….
Installing Matt
60 minutes of open track and we’re sitting in the trailer.
Not so much. It’s been a fun morning with fairly easy issues to tackle. The car’s wiring harness that identifies it’s drivers was acting up and the officials couldn’t determine who was in the car. So they parked us for 40 minutes while we chased wires with their special tools. In the end $250 solved with issue with a shiney new blue wiring harness.
Now we wait for the mist to stop so that we can drive on either rain tires or slick tires. It’s what we call a ‘tweener - not here, not there.
Frustrating. Our excitement for the day was in getting help from the Grand Am tech officials to mount my former partner Matt Greer’s license plate on the car in his memory. Matt has passed away at the tender
David Quinlan - Roar Before the 24 1.8.10
age of 35 back in April of 2008. He left his business partners Jon & I, his brother Rob, parents Bob & Barbara. The worst was leaving his wife ‘Tasha & 3 year old son James. One of Matt’s many interests was NASCAR. He was an enormous Dale Earnhardt fan and took 3 days off when Dale passed away. He was such a fan that he had a vanity plate made for his ‘59 fuelie Corvette which reads (as you can see) RCR 3. RCR - stands for Richard Childress Racing, the #3 is for Dale Earnhardt’s infamous car #3.
His family has created a foundation in his memory. The Matthew L. Greer Children’s Foundation has been created to unilaterally help fund charities that exclusively benefit children.
Would you consider giving to them?
We that got to spend time with Matt know that to have his plate flying the high banks of Daytona has him smiling today. If we could just get him to help us with the rain…..
“…Matt? It’s Gump, Are you up there? Buddy - I need some sunshine, can you hook me up???”
Loose Bruce
Rolex GT #18
Guardian Angel Motorsports
Twitter : Donate
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