Monthly Archive for November, 2008

In getting out of the car, I was literally shaking….

The physicality of driving the Cup car has caught me off guard this season. Having done many a long stint

Guardian Angel Motorsports Test Car Decals

Guardian Angel Motorsports Test Car Decals

in the miata, I was somewhat cavalier about my ability to pull a long stint in “Toby”. My record stint was at Nelson Ledges 24hr in August 07 where I did just shy of 2.75 hrs from 1:30 a.m. to almost 3:45a.m. It was grueling as there was late night/early morning fog that was just plain terrifying to enter on the back straight. I was just thankful to get out of the car and relieve the stress.

The cup car is different. In getting out of the car at Road Atlanta after a 35 minute stint of practice starts, I was literally shaking. My arms and legs where shaking like I was shivering. Every part of the driving experience is so intense and requires so much energy, focus, concentration & precision. Given the extreme need for precision in the Rolex24 to stay out of trouble and on the track, I’m gathering that LOTS of attention needs to be paid to pre-race prep.


#68 Getting prepped in the garage

#68 Getting prepped in the garage

A new race friend, Ron Yarab and I have been chatting about driver race prep. Check out his regimen,

“…Last year, my goal was to make it to morning. This year, my goal is to make it to night. We’ll see where we’re at when the sun comes up and then try to race. “I do a ton of physical conditioning. I do a 10K every Wednesday and Sunday, then I do pilates on Tuesdays and Thursdays, then do the elliptical [trainer] the other two days and take one day for mental preparation. I do the physical conditioning so I won’t have to worry about it during the race. Since I’m not in the car all the time, I have to expend my energy mentally to make it work. I started after my dirt-track season was over, at the end of September…”

This, from what the league would consider to be a ‘gentleman’ racer vs. a pro. Seeing that I’ve never even run at 10k before, you might begin to understand my anxiety. As a true gadget guy, I’ve embraced technology for help.

Nike+ Website Training Homepage for Loose Bruce

Nike+ Website Training Homepage for Loose Bruce

There is NO WAY - I’m arriving at that race in anything less than THE BEST shape I’ve ever been in from a mental and physical perspective.

These are the easy parts as we can control them. It’s the fund raising that’s the hard part.

Would you please consider donating?

Loose Bruce
Rolex GT Car #68
www.guardianangelmotorsports.com

We need to meet a corporation or two that would find the idea of entertaining key clients at a ’superbowl’ type of outing of value. Particularly, if the cost associated was a charitable deduction vs. straight expense.

Frodo had The Ring…

….we have The Race.

Lord of The Rings Frodo & THE RING

Lord of The Rings Frodo & THE RING

For those that aren’t familiar with JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy, hobbit Frodo Baggins was able to fight off the evil influence of, The Ring to ultimately over come evil to save earth as we know it. The ring had phenomenally evil powers that would draw one in and consume them with the lure of omnipotent power. People would actually morph into crazy looking creatures like Frodo’s antithesis Gollum.

“The Race” - the Rolex 24 - has that same lure, that same draw and the same effect of morphing your bank account into a crazy looking creature.

I’m finding it’s consuming my every thought. While I run every day, I watch Andy Lally’s track video. When I drive by companies, I think about how they might benefit in becoming a sponsor. I ask myself, how many people should we have in the Spotting Corp? Which corners should they be stationed at? What can I do to physically & mentally prepare? To fund raise? Who do we know that can help us get introduced to….? And, of course, I think about the $$. Is it really responsible of me as a parent to spend this kind of money in these kind of times? Regardless, I’m committed….”It’s one race, to rule them all”.

It’s been a dramatic few weeks since the October test days. As a team, we’ve been working hard to get exposure for the charitable infrastructure we’ve built. It’s been hard work and difficult to get people’s attention in these economic times. There has been some notable milestones thus far and they look like the following:

  • Successful testing of one of the few early 2009 Porsche GT3 Cups with Andy Lally, Kevin Buckler & Spencer Pumpelly.
Car #68 for Rolex24 2009

Car #68 for Rolex24 2009

  • Feature focus at this years Boston Children’s fund raiser entitled Champions for Children. This is their largest fund raiser of the year with over 2000 attendees and last year raise $5.5mm.
  • Feature focus within Morgan Stanley’s annual appeal campaign where the firm looks to employees to donate to pediatric charity for 2008. This appeal goes to all 40,000 employees.
  • An offer of support by Joey Kramer, drummer of Aerosmith to lend his celebrity to our fundraising efforts. Currently planning a rock band battle fund raiser at which he’ll be a celebrity judge.
  • Team driver Steve Zadig has an E85 powered Norma M20 chassis entered in the infamous 25hr at Thunderhill to race the first week of December. This will be his 3rd year entering and with podium finishes in past years is looking for P1 in this year’s race.
Powered by E85 ethanol

Powered by E85 ethanol

In today’s environment, will all going on in terms of job losses, wealth being destroyed, iconic American Corporations going out of business (AIG, Lehman, Washington Mutual, Wachovia, Merrill Lynch, Citi?, GM?, Ford?) we need a feel good story. We need to celebrate the human element of life and most, most, most importantly - continue give as so many need so desperately.

We’ve been super busy on those fronts in the last month and trying as hard as we can to be local community leaders. To that end we would really, sincerely, welcome your help in directing attention to this fund raising infrastructure we’ve worked so hard to build. Can you please do two things for me?

1. Pledge a donation.

2. Ask a friend to do the same.

Thank you in advance,

Bruce Ledoux
Rolex GT Car #68
www.guardianangelmotorsports.com

Big Day today for Guardian Angel Motorsports

Big score today for the team effort, which was great news as the market took another header. Week 8 of

Nonnamaker Car 43 - Rolex 24 at Daytona 2008

Nonnamaker Car 43 - Rolex 24 at Daytona 2008

market antics is getting old and incredibly wearing. In past corrections, we’d been able to play both sides of the swings (up and down) for clients netting GREAT profits and lots of loyalty, but this time is different. I’m not sure if it’s overall confidence in the market or what, but we’re only minimally able to capitalize on the swings and it’s quite frustrating.

So great news today was several fold: Continue reading ‘Big Day today for Guardian Angel Motorsports’

Video Evidence: 256 Laps Complete - 744 to go!

Well….our test chariot, “Toby” has a black box recorder in it that records pretty much everything.

Ledoux & Lally comparing notes on guitar hero

Ledoux & Lally comparing notes on guitar hero

Here is what the data shows on our efforts so far:

  1. We’ve completed 256 laps (approx. half of the real race) which equates to 911.36 miles.
  2. Our BRAND NEW motor has run 18 hours….or just about 1/3rd of its life span (60hrs).
  3. Our BRAND NEW transmission has run just over 1/2 of its life span (30hrs).
  4. We used 5 sets of tires (4 new and 1 ’scrub’).
  5. We averaged 3.4 liters of 100 octane, unleaded fuel per lap (.898 gallons)…or 3.96 mpg….eeek
  6. Our fastest speed was 171 mph
  7. Our biggest G turn was 1.71Gs
  8. Our biggest G stop was 1.38Gs
  9. Our biggest G vertical (banked turns) was .88G
In a place they spent WAY too much time for their liking

In a place they spent WAY too much time for their liking

Dan Watkins, Guardian Angel Motorsports Co-pilot - Day Time Video

Dave Quinlan, Guardian Angel Motorsports Co-pilot - Day Time Video

Bruce Ledoux, Guardian Angel Motorsports Co-pilot - Night Time Video

Andy Lally, Guardian Angel Motorsports Co-pilot - Day Time Video

“Hello, I am Jim France”

The gentleman stuck his hand out and said, “Hello, I am Jim France.”

The star factor is honestly a giggle. Dave Quinlan and I were doing a data debrief when Kevin Buckler was walking his next appointment into his office in the trailer. He stopped to introduce us to a very kind, tall, older person. The gentleman stuck his hand out and said, “Hello, I am Bill France.” We laughed about spec miata racing together. So casual, non-chalant…like it’s nothing big.

Daytona Infield Entry Tubes

It’s over….and I’m so exhausted.Despite all the excitement…I’m realizing now there was HUGE stress associated with the effort.

My cue should have been when I awoke on Monday, 10.27 at 5 a.m. in a panic that the person transporting the car down to Daytona had gotten a hair cut and shaved his beard so I couldn’t find him OR the car. There was huge anxiety……about the track, the speed, the other ‘pro’ drivers, the infamous DP (Daytona Prototype) cars….and of course, the money.
Continue reading ‘“Hello, I am Jim France”’