Well - we’re back for the official Rolex24hr practice today thru Monday.
Car #63
It’s CRAZY here…My morning started with me standing in line for the driver’s meeting sandwiched between Danica Patrick and Patrick Dempsey.
Everything is so non-chalant….awakening racing dudes & dudettes shuffling in for the morning lecture on keeping the brain plugged in or else.
As you may recall from your high school english class, “Taming of the Shrew” was Shakespear’s 1594 comedy about a particular difficult woman that….you know what? The Wikipedia description is so good, I’ve got to quit trying to paraphrase and just quote it, “…The main plot depicts the courting of Petruchio, a gentleman of Verona, and Katherina, the headstrong, obdurate, and eponymous shrew…”
LOL! How great is that! I don’t even know what obdurate means! More over, all I remember from my english class was the really pretty girl that sat over to my left by the window. Thank goodness for Wiki.
Anyway - at this point, I present my Antagonist.
Certainly innocent enough. Just a celebrity figure trying to enjoy her meal while dorks like me at snapping pictures. Unable to resist the urge, I went over to introduce myself. After all - she had been sitting alone for the better part of the day in the food tent with just her blackberry. Perhaps she’d be up for speaking with a fellow racer at America’s ONLY professional 24hr endurance race?
My pitch was that I too have a daughter and when we watch racing together, I make it a point to direct Emily’s attention to Danica as a role model. Proof that you can do anything you want to as a woman. You just have to apply yourself. I thought it was sensitive and powerful.
“Kate” did not.
While congenial, warmth was not the overwhelming feeling of the exchange. Clearly, I was presenting an interruption to the blackberry efforts. I did learn however that she’d be driving the #2 Gnassi car…that’s a pretty tall order…impressive in it’s own right.
As such, and JUST LIKE PETRUCHIO, we’ve decided our single team focus of the weekend is to get her to agree to take a team shot with our car to support the effort……stay tuned.
Loose Bruce
Rolex GT Car #63
47th Annual Rolex 24hr at Daytona entrant
www.guardianangelmotorsports.com
Bruce - on the Danica picture opportunity. She looks to me like any other high powered professional, only she does it backwards in high heels so to speak. Harder for us to get treated with professionalism, especially when she is so darn gorgeous. Tell her your family appreciates her generosity. Ask her for the pic, she is a person, too. It will be a great shot. You guys are doing a powerful thing. Good luck
Bruce, as always, I truly enjoyed your writing…
I am also mesmerized by your courage of approaching DANICA and actually having a conversation. That reflects the years of practice that every men gets. My brain and courage would simply melt in her presence and I would be just starring despite the fact that my Mother taught me not to…
As for Shakespear…. I have no idea what you are talking about :-). I think that I missed that particular class when a teacher was covering the subject or was it a handsome boy on my right?????? Anyway; thank you for education.
Good luck and keep going…………
Ludmilla