It seems so easy and uneventful … even whimsical … but that’s the last thing that it is. Actually, the 24 hours of piloting the car on race day is easy in comparison to the 4 months of stress, anguish and financial calisthenics that precede it. Driver searches are based as much on financial where-with-all as they are on skill or intensity. Critical part availability is an investment in faith as much as anything.
No matter how you look at it, the math is just brutal.
Our 2009 effort at Daytona had math that looked like this:
Catastrophic Wreck Insurance: $25,000
22 sets of tires: $46,000
600 gallons of fuel: $3,600
Entry Fee: $8,500
New motor: $25,000
Trans R&R: $25,000
Trackside Support: $125,000
Brakes: $4,200
Livery: $5,400 Uniforms: $5,140
Subtotal: $277,980
Race Damage: $56,000
Total: $333,980 spent to raise $75,000 for charity.
Obviously the math only starts working when the funds raised get into the millions…per event. Yet the potential, when considering the international draw and multi million person fan base keeps eating at me. It feels like raising a few million dollars should be EASY.
Wow…big day. First day ‘at speed’ in #18 since our frustrating incident at Watkins Glen on June 1st where we
Guardian Angel Motorsports #18 Entry
met the barrier for some pin striping and general rebuild of the ride hand side of the car. The great news is that Toby (car #18) is back together again in doing just fine.
Day 1 of the Pirelli 2010 Tire Test had the team feeling their way around the track. The day’s momentum built as we started with a wet track that only heightened sensitivity to the car’s traction and going fast in a limited traction situation (read - freaking out behind the wheel). I’ve never driven 170 mph in the rain and have to say, it’s a very unique feeling when the drops hit the windshield like bullets and you’re wondering if you’re going to be able to work off that momentum in Continue reading ‘Sophomore Year - Rolex24hr at Daytona’
May 7, 2009- Guardian Angel Motorsports team practice brings high drama as the hunt for lap time underscores the need for precision and accuracy. Driver Bruce Ledoux was working to find time in the infamous ‘Esses’ of the track as the data showed a flat footed approach on the accelerator was both appropriate and would represent almost an entire second of gain in lap time. Driver Bruce Ledoux put a high value on this potential time gain ahead of the team’s pending efforts with the PCA Club Race - The Clash at The Glen in just 3 weeks time. Continue reading ‘Watkins Glen Drama’
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
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.
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. Continue reading ‘“Hello, I am Jim France”’
The morning started out cool (49 degrees) and sunny. Lots of power on a day like today. Teammate Dan Watkins was first at bat and SHOT out of the box with a TWO second improvement in lap times. Dan is putting his foot down…literally. Continue reading ‘This Racing Stuff is Bi-Polar’
It’s been such an emotional experience today….wow…I’m not even sure what to say. We are at Daytona, we were running with the DPs and we’re pretty fast!
All I can think about is entering the bus stop chicane at 160 mph, feeling the harness pressure my chest and the seat bolster chaffe where my lats should be. As a driver, you feel so in the groove, so in control, there is little that compares. To borrow a phrase from Car & Driver, “…the car has more stick than a life insurance salesman…”
I’ve broken the cardinal driver’s rule, however, by falling in love with our car. Maybe it’s the livery, maybe it’s the look or feel, but it’s definitely the sound. The throttle is so responsive making the motor revv both up and down so quickly, you could almost talk with the it. Every time I get in, I think of Peter Frampton’s famous 1971 song, “Do you feel like we do.” That’s probably the $64,000 question isn’t it? Continue reading ‘I’ve been tossing in bed since 3:18 a.m.’
We Leave for Daytona Practice Session 1 Today
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