Ron@24Hrs of Daytona

Success is in how you measure it !

2009-02-11T17:40:00.000-08:00

Race Summary

This years Rolex 24 hrs was truly a unique experience. We combined the thrill and endurance of sports car racing along with raising funds for a great cause and great people, The Children’s Tumor Foundation. It was a unique experience to have all the kids around the car and have them sign the car. The CTF raised close to 200k in their fundraising surrounding the race. Our crew from Youngstown raised close to 5k, which was great!

Well, Lets get to the race!

This 24 as mentioned was special. We started with have an autograph session with the CTF kids and there families. Then it was off to the drivers meeting in Victory Lane. Usually it is Scott Pruett whining about something. This year it was Jaun Pablo Montoya. He was basically complaining about the GT traffic , and why he couldn’t flash his lights at us all night. It was an interesting exchange. Then we had the autograph session and got to meet more CTF people as well as a ton of race fans. Richard was great with the kids, I guess since he still is one. I could tell Dan was getting a little nervous. Gomez was Gomez !! and great with the kids as well.

Then it was back to the garage and a meeting with the spotters then one of the most famous walks in motorsports.

Walking to the car to the grid at Daytona. What a thrill. Since we qualified fifth we were at the front of the grid. The bad news is they gridded us right in front of the marching band. Frank, our crew chief, was almost mortally wounded by an errant trombone slide. After deafness set in on all the crew and drivers it was time to start the race.
Wolf Henzler (A.K.A.- the Man) was to start the race and I would be second. I went back to grab my gear and headed toward the pits for the green flag. The green flag flew and Wolf was off. Before I knew it his stint was up and Frank gave me the head nod to get Ready. I was eerily calm. I have been down this road and not gotten in the car! Got my equipment on and waited at the pit wall for the #1 Porsche driver in the world to turn over his mount to me. In a flash he was out I was buckled in and off. With the reassuring voice of Frank telling we had cold tires and not to hit the pit wall at the exit of the pits. (ala Jeff Gordon & Patrick Dempsey) As I exited the Pits the DP leaders were going through turn three, Baptism by fire, wouldn’t have it any other way. They made there way around as I slid on cold tires. My first thought as I hit the Banking out of turn 6 was “ do not wreck this car !!” I needed to bring this thing back at all cost for my teammates and for the CTF kids. I got in my groove and was running 57’s and 58’s. Trying to stay away from anything. A few laps into my stint I look over and see Jim Pace, who has taught me everything I know about driving Porsche’s zip by. It was a very comforting feeling. Speaking of comforting, we had a group of great spotters working with us, Mikel Miller and Peter Artzinger. They saved each of us multiple times through out the race. Next thing I knew I heard Frank in My ear “Pit this lap, Pit this Lap” And in the same Flash I was out of the car And Dan was in. Goal #1 out of the way… Drive the Car. Talked with Daryle, my brother about the stint and tried to got back and get some rest, yea..right.

Went back to the motorhome, seemed like I petted the dog(Daytona), grabbed some food and it was 9pm. I headed down for my second stint. When I got down there Richard was still in the car doing a double. We were in still in the top 15 and holding our own. By the time I got back in the car it was 10:30 or later, Same drill except it is night. To Quote Pace “ car doesn’t know any different”. Except as a driver, you have no reference points anymore. I was running well in the 55’s and 56’s. My stint was winding down and Frank asks me if I could do a double. I radio back, "I’m here to Drive, Lets Go". He brings me in for my first “live pit stop”. I’m heading down pit lane , Hit the marks perfect, Car goes up on the jacks, The sound of air guns fills the air, Tires off, Tires on Gas in, “GO, GO,GO “, I do a supercool burnout out of the pitlane. Frank comes on the radio and asks “Who is Driving that Car, and what did they do with Ron !? I get a few more laps under my belt. It is now around 12am and I’m gettin’ it. Then Near disaster strikes when I’m passing the Autometrics machine in turn three when he turns down onto the front end of the car. I hear JP in my brain, " don't pass in the braking zones". I have the sickening feeling as I hear the bump, He spins, I keep it pointed in the right direction. Car is driving fine, but I bring it in for a safety inspection, all is good. I keep cranking. Toward the end of the stint I start to pick up a vibration. I bring it in, Dan Gets in and all is well. I try again to go back and get some rest, No way. Next thing I know is it is 3am and I turn on the scanner to see what’s going on and I hear no voices on our channel. Not a good thing!!. I hustle down to the garage and see that our garage door up, Again, not a good thing. Apparently, Richard flat spotted a tire, into the Bus Stop And the tire blew. We were running in 8th spot when that happened, We lost an Hour in the garage, we were back to 18th when we got back on track. We still had a shot at a top ten. I got back in the car at around 4:30 and ran for about 45 min and picked up a huge vibration. The car became undriveable as I exited the bus stop, I radioed Frank and told him I was coming in. He was not happy, but it turned out to be the right call. 4 studs( the bolts that hold the tires on) sheared. I only had One lug nut holding the left rear wheel on!. That Could have been ugly for car and driver! I drove it back to the garage, they had me back on track in 20 min. Frank and the crew did an unbelievable job all night. They refueled me and I was off basically for another double.
The car was running well for the problems we had, and As I drove into daylight, We had accomplished goal #2… See Daylight in a race car at Daytona. Talk about an amazing thing. Being in that race car from pitch black into sunrise. It was surreal, the Sun Climbing up the grandstand over the superstrech WOW. It is a life altering event as you wiz around at 175mph. Shortly after the sun comes up, I get the call to come in. Our car is looking battered, but we are still running!. Dan gets in and he is off. As I get out of the car, I notice the beautiful clear sky and then suddenly I realize, I am Drained, Physically, Mentally and Emotionally.

I can barely get my helmet off. Being on the edge for 4 or 5 hrs in the middle of the night was probably the toughest thing I have ever done. This is a 24 hr sprint race. There is no cruising around ! The MRN is there to interview me as I get out of my helmet. I can barely put a sentence together for them. I was so proud of our team and our crew for keeping us going through the night!
I had to sit down. The thing that was amazing is I was in great physical shape, running two 10k’s a week and hours of aerobics on the other days, but it was the mental focus that was exhausting. I eventually made it back to the motorhome and actually did sleep from 8a- 9:30. A whole hour and a half since 6am the day before. I had one maybe 2 more stints to go. I Started to get my second wind as I headed to the pits. All was going about as well as could be expected. We were solidly in the top 20 working on a top 15. I jump back in, Now I want to pound it. We have an open track and 5hrs to go, I start winding out the laps, actually faster than my first stint the day before and in a damaged race car. Do some nice side by side racing, unfortunately not for position, but it was fun none the less. There is debris everywhere on the track. I radioed to Frank and the boys that it looked like a Porsche junk yard. There were parts and pieces of cars everywhere. You literally had t drive around stuff on the track. That would get us shortly. I finished up my stint feeling pretty good, with fair lap times. Dan got in and A few minutes into his stint, the clutch went, Frank thought it was probably do to hitting something on track. Dan did a great job finishing his stint with no clutch. When Dan got out there was 2 ½ hrs to go.
Richard got in the car. Dan and I went to Frank with an executive decision. We wanted to keep Richard in the car the rest of the way. He was the most experienced seat of the pants racer and we need to finish what we started. As he did all week he came through, and came through BIG! Not only did we loose the clutch, he lost 5th gear. His lap times started to slow and we were at risk of being black flagged, and he stepped it up. Checkers !! Goal #3… We finished, thanks to el Pollo Loco.

Who also had the best quote when he got out of the car “ I would like to thank the German guy who made 4th gear in my race car cause it is all we had left”. To tell you how close we were not to finishing, the car didn’t make it back to the garage. It made the turn then quit! Goal #4.. a good time was had by all, team, crew, CTF and most importantly…Wife !
We still have some unresolved issues for next year. This year we were 1 tire and 4 studs away from a possible top 5 finish. I honestly believe with no mechanicals, smart driving and some help from the CTF Angels we can be on the Podium next year. Yes, I’m serious!!

Frank looking over his baby after the race. GREAT JOB TO THE CREW OF THE #85!!!!!!!

IT MADE IT !! SO DID WE
Ron

We Made it !

2009-01-27T05:46:00.000-08:00

The CTF Crew !!

The CTF #85 finished in 16th position in the GT class and 27th overall. We were literally 1 tire and 4 stud bolts away from at least a top five finish. We have an awesome team all the way around ! Frank and the crew did an awesome job and gave us a great ride. The CTF kids gave us inspiration to finish and persevere through this gruelling event. My Co- drivers are studs, talk about getting it done the last three hours. El Pollo Loco(aka Richard) was the man. Driving the last 2.5 hrs with no clutch and no 5th gear. What an effort by everyone involved. Over the next few days I will post a race summary on my experience, but today " I'm going to Disneyworld !!"

So.... what are we going to do next year. I feel a podium coming on !!

Year 2, Take 2, Keep those Fingers Crossed

2009-01-24T06:31:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess we are ready to go !
Finished up with the afternoon practices yesterday. Richard was cranking. He got down near 1:52 Flat in the am session. In the afternoon, the car started to feel light in the front end and picked up a little left front vibration. My goal was to stay away from everyone one the track, and just shift some gears. Unfortunately, you can't do that on a race track. I was tippy toeing around in the high 55 low 56’s. Then the Ferrari wants to race I lift to left him by, he doesn’t go in the bus stop. I have more speed down in to turn one. I lift again he takes me on the outside then throws it off the track into turn one and turns back right in front of me as I turn in. Luckily, knowing these guys are idiots I was ready and went off to avoid. Car was placed in the garage safely. The Ferrari wrecked my 63 car last year and our wreck our sister car 64 last year and took them out of contention. So we’ll suit up tomorrow and run with what we got !
Before the afternoon session we had an autograph session with the kids, they were having a great time crawling all over the car. Jill and Bob Beck did a great job putting it together. All of the CTF people have been awesome to be around. Looking forward to today’s session.
We then had a CTF dinner in the Evening, It again was a well planned great event. It was moving for the team to get autographed plaques from the kids, and talk with some of the parents. I think the non-medical members of the team got a lesson on how tough it is to deal with a chronic disease process and what we as physicians have to do every day when we see patients.
Tomorrow(today) will be busy. The goal is to stay rested before the race !

AND GET IN A CAR! Hopefully in the top ten, then I can start my march to the back ! My goal is to be on the lead lap when I get out of the car.

May the race gods be with us !! and EJ too

Ron

Wolf Henzler is the MAN !!!

2009-01-23T05:14:00.000-08:00

Frank and I dejectedly Push the 85 CTF car back from post qualifying tech

Wow!
What a Day. They talk about the highs in lows in motors sports, I feel like I’m Bipolar after today!!We arrived at the track at 7am Got everything ready for Wolf Henzler to shake down the car so we could start our rotations. Wolf had an incident when the splitter separated from the car. No contact or off road excursion. So We had to replace the splitter which took up the rest of the practice session. Wolf got back in and the car was tight into the corners and snappy loose off just as it was last month. The crew worked diligently to get the set up right with one hour before qualifying we found there was an issue with one of the vacuum lines which had to be replaced. We were now ready for qualifying, Wolf took the car out and reported a vibration on his out lap, to the point he could not drive the car, He brought the car to pit road, our hearts dropped. Grand Am said we couldn’t touch the car. Wolf went back out and with a HUGE vibration in the car he started turning laps and getting faster and faster. Any vibration in a race car is bad, he laid down a 1:51.0 we were estatic, over the radio We hear in a German Accent, “think I can go faster”, Next lap 1:50.5, Frank, our gruff but loveable crew chief tells him to park it. He wants I more lap, He turns a 1:49.885 and the time P3. We end up 5th in Spot. This guy has LARGE ones!!. That is why he is one of the best Porsche drivers in the world.

Wolf Henzler, No. 85: "I left the pits and then I had a big vibration in the car. It was too risky, so I pitted immediately. The crew couldn't find anything, so I said I would go out again and I would do only one timed lap. I did 1:50.1, then I heard on the radio that Andy Lally [in another Porsche] was doing 49.5 and I knew I could go quicker. So I decided to do another lap. Even with the vibration, it was better and the more laps I did, the quicker I went. The crew did a good job and prepared the car very well."

Our goes through tech, Frank and I are down waiting for them to release the car. When I here the official call for Frank, We are disqualified from the session our car is too low. Which means we would have to attempt to qualify for 20th spot tomorrow. We were crushed. Frank takes the car back to the garage to get ready for the night session and finds that our splitter had be damages which caused our infraction. He calls the official over to show him and they allow us to appeal the ruling. Hours go by and we hear nothing. At that point is was my turn to get in the car, I jump in around 7:30 and start winding out a few laps. Never really get a clean one, but into the low56.s Then as I come into the bus stop a Ferrari in front of me stops at the turn in I have to jump on the binders and Do a big loopy spin at about 120mph Mostly on the pavement as I’m Locked up backwards I see the comforting sight lights of 3 DP’s bearing down on me. I keep the car running and Hustle out of there with no damage other than to my shorts, and a few flat spots on the tires. Turn a few more slow laps and turn the car over to Dan who goes a great job, down in the 56’s as well.
We head back to the garage. As we are putting the car away for the night, we are told we have won Our appeal (which never happens!!) and our 5th place run counts !

Back to Happy
We’ll see what tomorrow Brings.
I hope less drama !! But I doubt it
Ron

Notes from the Roar Before the 24

2009-01-14T06:04:00.000-08:00

"Night Practice, Talk about Fun !"

Well we finished up with the "Roar before the 24" 10 days ago. The good news is we found our fourth driver, Richaed Campollo (a.k.a. el pollo loco). He is an outstanding young driver in the Formula Renault series in Europe, and a quality individual that adds that youthful enthusiasm to the team. The best was when he was calling Wolf Henzler, one of the best Porsche guys in the world "Langsam", which is slow in German. Wolf drove the #85 R4R car down in the upper 1:51 range and I believe that was in the top 5 times for the weekend. Richard speaks 7 languages and will also be our teams Babe Magnet. Our driver line up has great chemisty and a good strategy for the race. I hope it pans out. Our crew chief Frank Resenetti is one of the best, He worked with Krohn racing when they won the championship, and was Dale Ernhardts crew chief on the #3 Corvette team. He expects a lot out of us, I hope we live up to those expectations.
The bad news is that we were chasing the set up on the car all weekend long. It would push into the cornor and then become snappy loose just after apexing the cornor. It was a handful. Towards the end of the test, we started to get it dialed in, but we were still slower than we needed to be. So, we still have some set up work to be done when we get back to the track. Richard did well in his first test in a car with a roof on it. His times methodically kept dropping, and he remainded level headed in the car (which had to be hard for him !). Dan Graeff ran consistently all weekend as did Micheal Gomez. When it was all said and done an intact car was placed back into the hauler! Any time you can roll the car into the trailer after a three day test in Grand-Am you had a sucessful test.
So, we are ready to go !, We need to pickup a little more speed, but our consistency should payoff for us. All that we need to do is keep it on the track, Stay out of the pits except for fuel, tires and driver changes and we should do well. Sounds easy enough! but it ain't. It's those 54 other cars that cause the problems.

See ya in Daytona

Ron

Back to Daytona !

2008-11-22T06:55:00.000-08:00

We are in the process of putting together our lineup for the 24 hrs of Daytona this year. Currently we have Micheal Gomez, Long time Skippy racer and Rolex veteran, Daniel Graeff, Skippy Mazda racer and Gourmet Food wizard and Myself . We our currently auditioning four a fourth and have a few great candidates. This year we are racing for the Children's Tumor Foundation as our lead sponsor. It is a great cause supporting Neurofibromatosis. ( you have the internet, look it up.) or go to Racing4research.com We have some other suprises planned for the team which we will post later. We will try to put together some contests and packages for those who wish to attend. Hopefully our deal will be finished soon so we can make a formal announcement. It looks like we will be running with Farnbacher-Loles this year another top grand-am team. Farnbacher has made it easy this year to do this deal, one of the suprises that Farnbacher gave us was a pro driver for our car. Not just anybody, they gave us one of the top Porsche drivers in the world Wolf Henzler ! He will quailify the car and do the first stint or two ! So we should be up front when I hop in the car! Last to first! I hope so!!

We have been down to Daytona in Oct to test as well as Nov. The Oct test went fairly well and I was fairly fast, at 1:55.0. Last year my best time was 56.9. I wasn't even pushing. the Nov test I was slower, but there were new tires and a shitty set up on the car. We will be heading back in Jan for another test. I better be in the 53-54 range. Looking forward to raising some cash for the Tumor kids. Will Also will include some recent in car video. Luckily, Jim Pace was down for both tests and helped keep me even keel, and offer his insights into Daytona, the best was this one

Jim Pace: "It's Daytona, and one of the things that makes Daytona attractive to international drivers all around is the fact that this race is a team effort. It's not about who's braking the latest at turn one or making that classic pass that everybody remembers years later. It's about putting the right team together, everybody running steady, planning it well, executing it well. And if you do it the best, they give you a watch!"

Enjoy the Ride ! "If you ain't racin', you ain't livin' "

For you dirt track fans, " Mama, I wanna go Fast "

Fun with the Boyz at Road America

2008-10-11T08:01:00.000-07:00

Sue and I ventured back up to Road America at the end of September to get back in to a Skip Barber car after the Summer of Dirt. It was a great time. I was 4th fastest on the time sheet after practice on Friday thanks to big tows from Marc Abernathy and John Potter down the front straight. Had a bad start in the Saturday race and ended up 7th, Sunday had a good race and ended up fifth has a shot at the podium with a last gasp draft coming up the hill on Hasha Senn and John Griest, but Harsha lifted coming out of the final turn which forced me to as well and my bid ended up .1 sec short. AHH to be 30 lbs lighter ! The weekend was beautiful weather wise and it was great to renew acquaintances. The Panzer boys are all grown up ! Nice guys, Chase came away from the weekend with a Black eye that was Jag induced. The only other causualty was Hasha's forehead burn which he says is from getting to close to the exhaust header, I think it was from a Hookers cigarette. Next up the Grand Am Test in Daytona !

Here is a little video of the Skippy action

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vpquhW51C0

The Summer of Dirt Concludes

2008-09-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

"Wild Bill and Sue survey the Damage"

This was the last weekend of fun at the dirt track until next year. It was a ton of fun and learned a lot about handling and set up. Unfortunately I got wrecked out in the first lap of the feature when a car flipped and hit us. front end damage. Getting ready to start testing in the Porsche again at the end of Oct to get ready for the 24. We'll see how this year goes. Have done some testing this summer with mixed results. Next week back to the roots of my racing career, Road America, with the Skip Barber Race series. If nothing else there will be plenty of comedy. I would like to thank Dave Diebel of Diamond Steel and the Brothers Carothers for all of there hard work and encouragement this summer getting me up to speed so quickly in the dirt. Will be bigger and badder next season!

Ron

2008-08-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

More Fun From the Dirt Track

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Here are some more pics from my summer of dirt.
Have picked up a lot from racing with the good ole' boys. They don't play nice, ( picture Peter Ludwig (aka- Michaell Weston) with two Id's and no Super Ego). There is no give and take, all take. Rubbin isn't racin, Wreckin' is racin. I got second in my heat race in my 3rd race which upset a few " drivers". I didn't make it through the third lap of the Feature race. It is fun ! I thought skippy starts were a handful, 1st lap is 5 wide on the front stetch with 2 grooves in the first corner ,I thought Road America was tight !! I'm in contention for Rookie of the year at Sharon Speedway! I'm glad all that skippy training is starting to pay off for me, Hope to see you guys soon
Ron

From Daytona to Dirt

2008-05-15T21:04:00.000-07:00

From the 24 hrs of Daytona in Jan to a 3/8 mile Dirt oval in May.

I was speaking to a good friend of mine, Dave Diebel, a few weeks ago, who was helping out a young driver in late model stocks, and jokingly told him that if they had another car I would love to get in and give it a try. Dave has been in the racing game in northeast ohio for over 20 years and has driven everything. He said they may build a back up car so he can play. So I started telling him about how great Skip is, Because you could lease the rides with a crash damage deductible and it would be neat to do something like that with a late model ride. I told him I knew a whole crop of guys who would like to give it a try. ie you people!!
So Dave called last week and said he went ahead and built that back up car and wanted to know if I wanted to give it a whirl. It didn't take much arm twisting to agree. He told me to bring my race stuff and meet him Saturday at 4 pm at Sharon Speedway a 3/8 mile dirt oval north of Youngstown, Ohio owned by Dave Blaney.
I grabbed the wife and headed to the track. As far as I knew I was going to do a few laps on the dirt to get my feet wet.
BOY WAS I WRONG !!
We show up at the gate a 4pm and I look in the pit area and it is packed with rigs unloading late models, sprint cars and modifieds.
I call dave to find out where he is at and tells me to meet him down at driver registration, I fill out the waiver forms and he tells me to go over to she this lady to pick a pill for may starting position in my heat race. What !! "I thought I was coming out to get some laps, not race". You'll be fine he says. I have never even seen the inside of one of these cars or a dirt track other than on the speed channel.
And of course Dave set the ground work in the Paddock by telling everybody he was bringing in a ringer, who raced at Daytona in January and I fit the part with my shock doctor helmet and gear bag with my brand new unused TRG suit( have to use sometime, didn't get to at Daytona). So Dave goes over how to start the car and what the levers are for (3rd, 4th and reverse is all you get). Lets just say the rules of dirt trak racing are a little more informal than skippyworld, as I ask him about yellows and all the procedures. Then he tells me to get in that my heat race is coming up. No warm up, no hot laps, no qualifying, no Stevie D, no Duck, NO MR. CHICKEN!! How far hath I fallen. I fire up the engine. Doesn't sound very familiar. WOW, my whole body was vibrating.I do my part by getting lost in the paddock I eventually get in line and I'm out on the track for my heat Race.
To quote Murry Marden- " what could possibly go wrong"
I'm on my pace lap and I start to think, always bad in a race car, How good are these brakes , where do I brake, where is the turn in where do I get into the gas, how many degrees is this banking(like it matters). GREEN, GREEN,GREEN I here in my ear!
I mat it down front stretch, Oh no where do I Lift I hit the banking and try to drive it in. That doesn' t work so well, when all else fails accelerate. I jump on the gas and the car rotates and straightens out for the back stretch, what a rush. after the first couple laps I am starting to get the hang of it. Throw it in. The harder you drive it the better it feels. I finish my heat race in good enough shape to make the feature. Now, Dave has the track announcer busting on me as I climb out of the car. After the heat race I talk to some Drivers and get some useful info on how to drive the track and some nuances about the car.
Now we are ready for the feature, I thought 70 cars on the track at Daytona was a lot of cars, that is nothing compared to 30 on a 3/8 mile oval, and I'm near the back of the pack. Green flag waves, and all I see is a cloud of dust ahead of me, so what the hell, I drive in with the thing to the floor. Cars are bouncing off each other as I navigate through this mess, Hey I'm actually passing people as they hit the wall. My skippy crash damage mentality kicks in as I try to avoid any contact. That last about 2 laps and the red mist sets in and it is time to go to work. Just throwing this thing around, getting the feel of the slide, and pounding it down the straights within inches and sometimes less of the other cars . I was just starting to get a nice feel and Checkers. I ended up 18th out of 30. I'll take it, I make it back to the paddock area and climb out with the same perma-grin that you get with that first skippy race we all did. Even better-no crash damage, guess I didn't drive it hard enough
My wife come back to the pits a nervous wreck,Dave has a nice suite at the track which made Sue's transition from Daytona A little easier, she is screaming "this is crazy, and those sprint car guys are just plain stupid". But she already knew what I was feeling because her next sentence was "So, when we coming back!

Ron

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We'll Be Back, and We'll Be Pissed Off !!

2008-02-01T19:29:00.000-08:00

A picture from happier times. Before the race. As You know our engine blew up 58 min into the race. It really sucked. You are so pumped up for the event and it just falls apart around you. Porsche confiscated the engine and is taking it to there lab to find out what happen, but we'll probably never find out. We are looking at doing a few more Grand AM events this year either Mid-Ohio In June or another Daytona race in July. I'll keep the site updated of all the racing events I will also post pics of the 24 hr race as well. We are already planning to go back to the 24 next year and will be looking for sponsorship if you all have any Idea's let me know. The race is perfect for a large regional company or national company. It sounds like it will be on for 24 hrs next year. Thanks for all the support in my short lived 24 hr experince

Ron

Porsche DOA

2008-01-26T21:07:00.000-08:00

Well, its over 70 min into the race our engine expired. No over rev's or any explanation.Porsche is going to take apart the engine and try to find out what happened, but that doesn't help us now.
Didn't get to turn a lap. Guess I'm coming back next year!!

Thanks,
Ron & Sue

Practice and Qualifying for The Rolex

2008-01-24T19:27:00.000-08:00

Well today was our first day of practice and qualifying. Our Day started of well with Duncan Ende in the car running solid 1:52's. We switched Drivers to Hima Maher and unfortunately, he was caught up in an incident as a by-stander. A ferrari spun and took us out. We had Damage to the right front and and fender area. John Bedell, our stud crew chief, got our car repaired in an hour and half and we were ready to go for the aternoon session. Hima finished out his stint and Pierre Bourque got in and again we we're running solid laps. It was getting into the last hour of the session when I got strapped in coming off a caution, It was mayhem. I was in a 30 car pack and I wondered where the hell this guys learned to drive. Nobody was driving the line and everbody was very twitchy.I posted slow lap times secondary to the traffic, but is was fun watching Helio and Jimmy Johnson zip by me in there prototypes. Brought a smile to my face ! I acheived my goal of bringing the car back to the garage in one piece.
Next Duncan Climbed back into the car and the Hot Shoe qualified us in the top 25! with a time of 1:52:2. TRG made an Impressive showing in qualifying with 3 cars in the top 10. We had a team meeting and presented John with personal Photos of the playmates and before you realized it. It was time for night practice. Rain had started to fall, and the track was getting slick. The decision was made to run slicks. WOW!! I was glad I was going last. Again John made the right call and the track dried out. I climbed into the car @7:30 and started my laps. Flying into turn 1 at 170 mph I was distacted by the large ferris wheel in the infield with its multi-colored lights. It was crazy. everytime I went into 1 My eye were drawn to the lights, it was wild. Luckily, the drivers were slightly calmer for this session. Only almost wrecked twice !! Night driving is a blast, Nothing like driving faster than your headlights. Got out of the track around 9:30 pm. Long day. Sue was busy making friends with the playboy bunnies.
Tomorrow is car prep in am, Break in new parts in the afternoon,put the baby to bed for a 1:30 start on sat.

Ron

New #63 TRG video

2008-01-16T08:21:00.000-08:00

TRG has put out a new video introducing car #63 for the 24hrs of Daytona.We are getting ready for the race next week. We will start doing daily updates on Tuesday. We are planning at "start" party for the race at Steamer's Stonewall tavern, So come and enjoy the first 2 hrs. of the race on Fox HD. We will be featuring Abobe Road wines, one of my associate sponsors. The winey is owned by TRG CEO Kevin Buckler. They have great Zins and Pinots, and a heck of a Cab Franc.
Should be a great time. The Fan club is chomping at the bit to get to the track!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mODGrRSX4wY

Ron

Daytona At Daytona

2008-01-10T17:53:00.000-08:00

2008-01-10T17:44:00.000-08:00

Daytona Testing

2008-01-10T17:29:00.000-08:00

1/10/08
Just Back from testing at Daytona, Big fun. Didn't push it to much, Didn't want to ruin my new paint job. Car ran well and my times were consistent.Not as fast as I wanted,but no crash damage . My teammates are great. Peirre Bourque, The Canadian "Matt Drudge" and Renissance man, Another Canadian Hima Maher, Thrillseeker, racer and 70's buff, and TRG Hot shoe Duncan Ende. We all mesh well together and will definetly have a great time during the race. Only two weeks left. Can't wait to get back to the track. I'll post some new car pics

For those of you who didn't see the video. Here is the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s78oaT_l6z8
Also, ran into my 4th grade gym teacher who runs the fueling station at the speedway, Mr. Austin. Small world.

Ron@24Hrs of Daytona

2008-01-03T19:06:00.000-08:00

Ron at the 24 Hrs of Daytona

Getting ready for the 24 hr race at Daytona this year, we thought we would set up a blog so that our friends and fans can follow along if they can't make it down to Daytona for the show. We are expecting a large y-town crowd to make the treck down. At this point we have over 30 people scheduled to make the trip, and it should be big fun !! We will post a list of activities and meeting as the race gets closer. We will be in the 63 TRG 997 Porsche for the race. Practice is scheduled for Jan 4-6. I'll keep you posted. Happy New Year. Below is a recent press release.

Porsche Lends Support to the TRG Daytona AssaultSeven-Car Lineup and Strong TRG drivers Highlighted by Factory Driver Support
Setting out for next week’s Daytona Test Days, The Racer’s Group has one goal in mind-to continue the winning streak. Having reached the podium five of the last six years, including winning once in class and once overall, TRG is seen as one of the favorites to win the GT class in the 24 hours at Daytona for 2008.
The odds just got a little better. As if entering seven cars filled with a number of previous winners and strong drivers wasn’t enough, TRG has signed four of Porsche’s top factory drivers to the TRG roster. Romain Dumas, Emanuel Collard, Richard Westbrook and Martin Ragginger will join the team to assist in the effort at Daytona.
“TRG has had an incredible streak in the last six years, and we’re ready to include this year as the seventh,” stated an excited TRG team owner Kevin Buckler. “Porsche has been an incredible partner since we started this team, and their continued confidence in us pushes us that much harder to hold up our end of the bargain. ‘Excellence was expected’ is one of Porsche’s mottos, and we plan to deliver.”
Hopes are high for TRG’s number 66 Porsche GT3 Cup 997. The drivers will be Bryce Miller, Ted Ballou, and Andy Lally. Running the 66 for the full season, Bryce Miller will be driving in his first race with the team after an impressive 2007 rookie season in Rolex GT. As an IMSA Cup champion, Bryce is also widely recognized as one of the best Porsche drivers around. California native Ted Ballou will join the group for his second Daytona run. After a winning season in the Koni Challenge series, Ballou wants to capitalize on his growing experience with a strong team. Andy Lally, TRG’s long time multi-series champion, adds an exclamation point to the group.
“I am extremely excited to be driving with TRG at this historic event,” stated the young Miller. “The team is focused on a championship in 2008, and I have to thank Porsche and the entire TRG squad for really stepping up to help make this a realistic possibility. Daytona is the toughest race of the year, so having a terrific car and talented teammates will only help.
Looking to defend last year’s podium, JLowe Racing’s number 64 TRG entry is another standout. The regular pairing of Jim Lowe and Daytona 24 Hour winner Jim Pace will share the 64 car. This will be their fourth year together. Lowe is a Neurosurgeon by weekday and professional race-driver by weekend. He has shown a steady rise in performance over the last two years, highlighted strongly by last year’s podium at Daytona.
“Jim Lowe and all of the guys on the 64 have been an incredible group to work with over the past two years,” stated Kevin Buckler who is excited to be running another year with the group. “The 64 car has quickly become one of Rolex GT’s stronger competitors, and it’s been a real treat to have a group of their caliber under our umbrella. Jim and Jim are tough competitors and have become good friends and that makes it even more satisfying to help them achieve their goals.”
“We’ve got a tremendous line up for this year, and we definitely want to be on the podium again, perhaps even higher!” exclaimed Lowe. “Last year’s result was a major highlight for me, and I’d love to go home with a watch this year.”
Joining Lowe and Pace will be Tim Sugden, RJ Valentine, and Johannes Van Overbeek. Daytona veteran Valentine and teammate Andy Lally won more Rolex GT races than any other driver in 2007, and will be running in at least eight races for 2008. Van Overbeek is the recipient of the 2007 Porsche International Driver’s Cup, after being one of only two drivers who managed to take Porsche to victory in the American Le Mans GT2 category. Porsche selects one independent driver a year for the honor, with an alumni list that includes Bob Wollek, Marc Lieb, and Kevin Buckler after his wins at Daytona and Le Mans in 2002. JLowe Racing’s fifth driver Tim Sugden won this prestigious trophy in 2005, adding to his impressive list of accomplishments.
TRG’s 67 car is yet another entrant with high expectations for this years 24 at Daytona. As a car with four hot young talents, patience and consistency will be the key to their race. Driving in his first Daytona 24 Hour race, season long driver Tim George, Jr. puts it best. “I feel we have one of the top driver line-ups for the race, and I have to thank TRG for helping me get this together. I look forward to making my 2008 debut with TRG among such great co-drivers. I understand that we must all stay clean and consistent. As in everything I do, I will give this race my best effort.”
Running in his second Rolex GT race for TRG, New York native Tim George, Jr. will be joined by an all-star line-up. Tim had an impressive rookie season in last year’s Koni Challenge, and looks to continue his success. Driving alongside Tim for the whole season will be the 2006 Daytona 24 Hour winner Spencer Pumpelly. Spencer will be looking to add another watch to his collection, or perhaps give it to his recently engaged fiancé?! In addition, 2001 US F2000 Champion Bryan Sellers will join the 67 car lineup. Bryan will be running select races in 2008 for TRG with RJ Valentine.
When it comes to legends, look no further than the line-up in TRG’s number 62 entry. Featuring five drivers from different backgrounds, the team is highlighted by one of sportscar racing’s most colorful characters, Jack Baldwin.
“I’ve been friends with Kevin for a very long time, and it’s great to run together this year,” stated the Trans-Am legend Baldwin. “We’ve got some really hungry guys in this car, and I want to see everyone get the best out of this experience.”
Driving alongside Baldwin will be Claudio Burtin, Scott Tucker, and Ed Zabinski. Burtin has a wealth of experience in various sportscar and Trans-Am machines, and is a longtime friend of Baldwin. Kansas native Scott Tucker joins the team for his second run in Daytona. In spite of running his first professional car race in 2006, Tucker has already elevated himself to a proven winner in 2007’s Ferrari Challenge series. In his 23 years of racing, Zabinski has driven open-wheel cars, sportscars and Prototypes. “This is a great car with a terrific group of drivers. Keep an eye on these guys” commented Buckler. The 62 car will be sponsored by Foametix, the leader in spray-on foam insulation.
In the 63 car, youth and experience is the name of the game for this foursome. Starting with 22-year old Duncan Ende, speed and patience will be the key to his race. As one of the up and coming stars in last year’s Koni Challenge series, and one of TRG’s newest professional drivers, Ende will be making his Daytona 24 debut. Joining Ende will be Ron Yarab, Pierre Bourque, and Hima Maher. Bourque brings a wealth of experience in different forms of motorsports, from driving Porsches to NASCAR. Yarab is making his first Daytona start after testing successfully with the team in 2007. Maher is living his dream with the opportunity to race in the 24, and welcomes his new sponsor Wiegele Helicopter.
“Running at Daytona with the history, prestige, and number of drivers that are coming is unbelievable,” stated the young Duncan Ende. “This is undoubtedly the biggest race of my life, and I look forward to making the best of it.”
Also in the “legends” category, completing TRG’s seven-car attack will be the 65 of Russ Oasis, Tom Atherton, Jim Stout, Jason Daskalos and veteran Tommy Archer. For years the group has been recognized as a staple for the Dodge Viper brand, competing and winning in the Trans-Am and the Speed World Challenge series. Having driven at Daytona for years with Dodge, the opportunity to run with TRG and Porsche will provide a new challenge.
“The 65 car is our sleeper car,” stated Buckler. “These guys are all accomplished racers, they’re smart, and they are all good friends. These are critical ingredients for a successful race at Daytona. Tommy Archer is one of the most recognized and respected drivers in sportscar racing. He’s run his own team for years and managed to garner a lot of success. It’s a real honor that they came to us for this year’s race, and I know they bet on the right horse.”
The addition of the four Factory Porsche Drivers will really put a cap on this incredible TRG lineup.
Romain Dumas is coming off a stellar year in 2007. Running full-time for Roger Penske’s American Le Mans Series effort in the Porsche RS Spyder, the Frenchman accumulated eight wins to earn him the LMP2 championship. Emmanuel Collard is considered one of the most versatile drivers in the paddock. Having driven everything from Formula One cars to Daytona Prototypes he will be looking for his 2nd win at Daytona
Also from the Porsche squad will be 2006 Porsche Supercup Champion Richard Westbrook, the latest in Porsche’s arsenal of factory drivers. Completing the line-up will be Porsche’s newest German hot-shoe Martin Ragginger.
The addition of these drivers by Porsche to the TRG squad is a major honor for Buckler. “We have a long history of working hand in hand with Porsche and the Factory Drivers here at Daytona and with quite some success. We understand and respect that this is a major vote of confidence by Porsche in our team’s abilities to once again deliver the goods and we are ready. I am honored to be a part of this tradition and to have Romain, Emmanuel, Richard and Martin as part of my squad. These guys are the best of the best and they are truly welcome addition to this years Daytona effort.
With the next test only days away and the race only a few weeks away, Daytona brings a combination of challenge and promise. Seven cars are a major task, requiring over 100 crewmembers, a caravan of haulers, and endless amounts of food and drinks. Not to mention many flights, hotels and extremely detailed planning for the whole army. However, for TRG this is all part of the tradition.
“It is sort of a logistical nightmare but these guys are used to it by now and everything tends to flow smoothly,” joked Buckler. “We’re able to run so many cars because we employ incredibly talented people to run the program. Our experienced and efficient operation allows us to accomplish things that smaller teams can’t.. As our support from Porsche demonstrates, TRG has always prided itself on putting the best group of guys in place to do what they do best. This is the only way we could continue to pull this off year after year. Our driver line-up is one of the strongest ever for 2008. There’s not a weak shoe in the whole group, and not a single driver who can’t maintain a solid pace. It’s going to be tough, but it would be nice to see the top step of the podium again. We are confident and we are ready.”
TRG is a manufacturer and distributor of high performance automotive parts. TRG is also an engine and chassis building and tuning facility. There is a full service racecar preparation shop and facility to house the professional race teams. The company also provides electrical and mechanical engineering services, driver development and arrive and drive programs. TRG is based in Petaluma California, near its home track of Infineon Raceway.
More information and a complete press kit can be found at www.theracersgroup.com. Please contact press@theracersgroup.com or 707-935-3999 for additional information.
The Racer's Group 1995 S. McDowell Blvd. Petaluma, CA 94954
707-935-3999 www.theracersgroup.com
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