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.
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.
Day three – it’s a wrap.Great day today, the car worked flawlessly, the weather was cool and track was hot enough to lay down some hard core times. It wouldn’t be fair not to mention the EXTREME effort Trevor Dawe of Dawe Motorsports and Matt from The Racer’s Group made on our car. These guys work unbelievably hard and get NO credit.
In 3 days they made the following repairs.
- 3 sets of brake pads.
- Pulled the trans THREE TIMES.
- Replaced right rear axle.
- Removed and loved up the Accelerator (stuck on me at end of straight last night…170 mph into the 20 mph turn 1….eeek) - anti-climactic video:
- Re-soldered the pit speed limiter.
- Re-calibrated ECU shift software.
- Replaced clutch after mis-diagnosing differential failure.
- Reattached Bumper half with LOTS of duct/RACE tape.
- Cleaned, vacuumed and polished innumerable times.
Our times are tightly clustered around the 1.54 to 1.55 per lap range. We all hit our personal bests and were able to do so on a repeated basis. The TRG team says a race at that pace, without incident could spell top 10 in class results. Well beyond our wildest expectations. I’m especially proud of my best lap time pictured below. It feels like validation.
We’re really gel-ing as a team. We had a vision, we pursued a path we felt we could afford and took a shot. Turns out, you don’t need the newest, bestest, most expensive, super-whammy setup to run right up front. “You can start with nothing, and out of nothing and out of no way, a way will be made.” – Micheal Bernard Beckwith
Our partners The Racers Group has penned our first official press release for us which is stellar. It’s a big step forward for us even after we rec’d some by lines in the Grand Am press release from Monday.
The Grand Am people are super receptive and helpful too. Maybe it’s just the newbie in me, but I’m taken by their willingness to help and get involved. It’s very personal and relationship oriented which I HADN’T expected….heck, it’s ‘pro-racing’….big talent, big $ and big egos. My impression has been just the opposite….why we get treated with FAR, FAR less respect and courtesy as spec miata drivers in the SCCA.
Our team debrief on the ride to the airport is that the Guardian Angel Motorsports train has left the station. It feels so good after so many months of hour long conversations, meetings, and scribbled notes. I’ve been given the book entitled, “The Secret” and found a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. that seemed to fit our take on the results of our efforts this week. The quote says, “…Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.”
Done that way.
Speed Safely,
Loose Bruce
Rolex GT Car #18
http://www.guardianangelmotorsports.com
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