Brumos
Porsche 250 at Daytona
June
30, 2005
The Brumos Porsche 250 has traditionally been called the Paul
Revere. The event is run in conjunction with NASCAR, so practice
time is short and the race is run at night, as the name suggests.
An incredible 31 GT cars entered the one-day event, only 2 less than the
Rolex 24. Jay Brown and
Mac McGehee piloted the 94 car for this race. The 14 car of Cory
Friedman and Leh Keen was fresh off a class victory at Watkins Glen, but
the follow-up was the most disappointing 4th place finish imaginable.
Daytona is a track that is very familiar to Autometrics, but a
re-paved infield and threatening weather left a few question
marks. The weather held out for practice, and we predicted the
effects of the new infield pretty effectively. With almost no time
in between the two practice sessions, it was critical we show up with
cars that were fast. We were pleased with the out-of-the-box
performance of the cars, as the 14 car was 6th on the timesheet after
the first session. In the second practice, 14 slipped slightly to
8th and the 94 car ran strong in the top 20.
Friedman qualified the 14 car this race and would start 5th in the
GT category. Jay Brown started the 94 car 17th. Between
qualifying and the race, there was significant rain, but the radar
showed that the race was likely going to be mostly dry. The race
started on a very damp track, but there was no rain or puddles.
Cory broke out hard, moving up to 3rd on the first lap. As the
track dried, he dropped back into his starting position and was running
a strong pace. Shortly after the start of the race, Brown radioed
in that there was a red light on in the car. It is not uncommon to
get a warning for low water level, which in itself is no threat, so we
told Jay to keep running and update us on the water temperature. Cory
moved up to 4th after about 15 minutes when he passed the #88 car and
that's where he stayed for the first half-hour of the race. This
race is limited to 250 miles, which can be very quick at Daytona, so we
adopted a slightly different pit strategy for this race. The pit
strategy was thrown out for the 94 car when the water temp got
dangerously high after about 40 minutes and we brought Jay in to find a
damaged radiator on the left front. He was making a pass early in
the race and made contact with another car that caused a slow leak.
We went about changing the part, but by the time the radiator was
changed and the cooling system bled, we had entered the final stop
fuel window, so Mac got in to finish the race.
The first yellow of the race did not come until the clock
showed 45
minutes. Cory was in 4th position still, having passed the #36 car
and lost a position to the blindingly fast #61 car. We came in for
fuel after getting a wave-by, and Cory was 4th when the track went
green again. This green was short, but it gave us enough time
to move into the top 3. We did not stop this time, as it was just
outside of our final stop window.
The second yellow lasted only a few laps, but the green
that followed it was
even shorter, as 2 GT cars collided in the infield on the second green
flag lap. This brought out another short yellow, but it put us in range
to finish on a full tank of fuel. Nearly the entire GT field made
their final fuel stop during this caution, and we also made our driver
changes. Cory's excellent stint in combination
with our pit strategy sent Leh out 1st in the GT class.
The temperature had dropped about 10 degrees since the start of the
race, and the light rain we had sporadically was gone and the track was
dry. Conditions were very good, and Leh was burning off great
times. With about 15 laps to go, Leh had a comfortable 8 second
lead over the #61 car. Two laps later, the 21 BMW overtook the 61
Porsche, but in their battle, Keen opened up the gap to 14
seconds. The battle for second was fierce, as the #73 car assumed
second place a few laps later. Still, none of the other cars were
running faster than Leh, and we were in prime position to repeat our performance
from the Glen.
A full tank of fuel is good for 32 green flag laps, and the race was
scheduled to end 30 laps after we sent Leh out with a full load. Consequently, we were very
surprised when Leh told us the car was cutting
out after only 24 laps. With 5 laps remaining, we were forced to
come in and add a splash to finish the race, relinquishing the top spot
to the #16 BMW. Leh was understandably frustrated by the
situation, as we all were, and made contact with the guardrail coming out of
pit lane. The damage didn't have an impact on the result, as he
re-joined the race and finished in 4th position. Mac McGehee took
the checkered flag in his first professional race. The 94 car
finished 22nd in class, which is respectable considering the radiator
repair.
A fuel delivery problem robbed us of back-to-back wins, a feat not
yet accomplished this season. This handed the top spot to the #16
BMW and allowed one of the drivers to slip ahead of Cory and Leh in
points. Still, we were fortunate to hang on to 4th place, as many
teams had more significant problems than we had. This allowed us
to improve our points standings. Exactly halfway through the 2005
season, Friedman and Keen are 4th in Driver Points, and Car 14 is tied
for 2nd in Team Points, only 13 points away from the leading #80
Porsche.
The second half of the
season kicks off at Barber after a much appreciated month off. We
led most of last year's race at Barber and took home a podium trophy, so
we are very optimistic for another strong finish. We've received a
great deal of congratulations and encouragement in the last month and
would like to thank everyone for their continued support.
Brumos
Porsche 250 at Daytona:
A
Rookie's Perspective by Mac McGehee
This year’s Grand Am
race before the NASCAR Pepsi 400 was the Brumos Porsche 250. This used
to be called the Paul Revere 250 but sponsorship privileges changed that
for this year. It was also going to be referred to as my first start in
a Professional road racing series. My goal has been to participate in a
24 Hours of Daytona race and this two hour race would give me an
opportunity to feel what it’s like racing a night with the Daytona
Prototype (DP) cars at Daytona.
I drove down from
Jacksonville
on the Wednesday afternoon before the race to get my credentials from
the Grand Am office. It was a neat feeling holding the license that says
you are a “driver” in the Grand American Road Racing association.
All those years in the Porsche Club Racing circuit pays off. No sooner
had I arrived than the bottom fell out of the sky. Rain! I hate the
combination of rain and race cars.
On entering the
infield, it was very clear that this was a NASCAR weekend. The Grand Am
crews were only allowed entry at
2:00pm
and the flurry of activity was incredible. All the teams were trying to
set up shop before the rains hit and still attempt to get cars into the
inspection area. We were put in a relatively small paddock area with no
garage access and that was it. Bush and Nextel Cup were Kings for this
weekend.
I had dinner with Cory
Friedman that night to go over some advice prior to the next day’s
experience. Some of his comments were very helpful. Comparing the Rolex
Porsche GT3 Cup car and my PCA GT3 Cup car, he said that the wing area
on the back was bigger on the Rolex car as well as the front splitter.
You also had adjustable shocks and a rear sway bar adjustment lever in
the cockpit that could be changed as the race progressed. All told,
these differences gave a lot more down force than my car. However, the
trade off was that we are running on Hoosier tires. These don’t give
the grip my Dunlop tires do and this would make you think your brakes
weren’t as good. The Hoosier tires though have a tendency to last
longer so it was a moderate compromise. Since the infield was repaved
Cory didn’t have any experience on how the tires and cars would handle
so we will all be getting used to this newness until it has a chance to
“season” with a few races.
He told me about things
to look out for when racing with DP cars. First off, you will be able to
recognize a DP car as it approaches from the rear because they run with
white headlights and the GT cars run with yellow ones. DP car’s brakes
are very good, a lot better than the GT cars so you will see them dive
under you later than you’d expect so be careful and don’t try to
match them. DP cars have bad visibility too so when they pass you, there
is the chance a driver may clip you thinking he’s passed you but
hasn’t really completed it yet. The slower DP cars may be the ones
more apt to hit you because they generally are the drivers who aren’t
that good. Finally, when a DP car passes you, be careful because they
travel / race in packs. The bottom line was to watch your mirrors but
don’t be fixated on them. Race your race, drive your line and don’t
do anything abrupt. It is the overtaking car’s responsibility to clear
the slower car but it is the slower car’s responsibility to be
consistent with his direction of travel. What was Cory’s best advice?
“Just don’t try to hit anyone.”
At dinner, Cory and I
began discussing with McGrath Keen the differences between a PCA Club
Race and a Grand Am race. McGrath put it this way: “At the drivers
meeting for a PCA Club Race, the steward will say “Just remember guys,
we are all here to just have fun.” They won’t be saying that at the
Grand Am Drivers Meeting.”
At the drivers meeting
on Thursday morning, standing around all the regular drivers, I felt
very humbled. The guy leading the meeting made a comment which further
illustrated the difference between Club Racing and Grand Am when he said
“Guys, lets put on a good show for the folks.” That’s a big
difference. We are the “show.” Another friend of mine who travels
with me to various Club Races told my wife later that evening:
“Mac’s never raced in front of spectators before.”
Looking at the mix of
drivers around me, you could pick out a variety of amateur and
professional drivers. This to me is the hallmark of sports car racing.
From the very beginning of road racing, you have had a mix of privateers
and corporate sponsored efforts. I heard after the race Tony Stewart
made a comment on air stating that it was tough running with the slow GT
Porsche group and that there were some new drivers out there that had no
business being on the track. Since I was one of those he was referring
to, I kind of took issue with his remarks. He misses where the origin of
this business came from and what the Grand Am circuit is all about. You
will always have drivers who are “new” to a race. On top of this, in
Grand Am and in the ALMS series, you have cars of wildly different
capabilities. Instead of complaining about it, they should just deal
with it like you would any other condition that exists around a race
course.
Practice for the races
was to be held from
9:00AM
until
2:00PM
with a 45 minute break around lunch. Practices were broken into groups.
First it would be the GT class cars on the track, then GT and DP cars
together then just the DP class. I
would be co-driving with Jay Brown who is a fellow Club Racer. He would
begin the GT only session then I’d take over. This would give me a
little time on the track with just GT’s before getting thrown to the
wolves with the DP cars. Nice planning for me.
Things worked well for
the first three laps or so with just the other GT cars. Then after the
DP cars joined the practice, entering the bus stop on the backstretch, I
had a DP car dive inside of me and this put me too late in the turn. In
hindsight, I should have been more aware of him coming up from behind
me, slowed some and tucked in behind him. Instead, I ended up going into
a rear end slide which took me into the tire wall on the inside of the
track. Welcome to Daytona Mac McGehee. I was able to drive the car back
to the pits where I learned fortunately that the only thing damaged was
bodywork. The back bumper was removed and a repaired right hand mirror
had to be installed. The good news was that none of the suspension items
were damaged so the car could run straight, just without the rear
bumper. This left me pretty disappointed with myself and it kind of
humbles you as if being out there with this group wasn’t humbling
enough. I really felt bad knowing my family and friends were coming to
watch and that the car was beat up looking because of my boneheaded
action. What made me feel a bit better though was when I heard that Tony
Stewart had an “off” in the same spot later that day.
The reality of this
situation is that the damage caused by me will have to be paid for by
me. This is another difference between Club Racing and racing at this
level. The professional drivers on the Grand Am Rolex circuit for the
most part have no worries about doing damage to the cars. When an
amateur has an off, it will be their responsibility to cover the
damages. This puts a little governor on your performance when your brain
keeps reminding you of the economic consequences of damages.
I did have an
opportunity to drive the car in one more session but my chances at
practice were done. Jay qualified our car with a time of 2:01.737. This
put us 41 overall and 20th in class. Now was the six hour
wait until the race start. This time was to be set aside for the Bush
and Cup drivers’ practices. However, 15 minutes after the Grand Am
group came off the track, a real strong rain storm moved through the
area and from the look on my computer, it would be around awhile.
Watching the radar though showed a clearing between radar returns and we
all kept our fingers crossed that this would hold when the race started.
During this time, I took advantage of the air-conditioned space in the
trailer for a light nap. By starting time, the weather broke and though
the track was damp, it was not so much that it would require rain tires.
As is the case for all
of my Club Race weekends, Autometrics Motorsports was going to be
managing our car. They had two cars to work with. The primary focus of
course was the number 14 GT car driven by Cory Friedman and Leh Keen.
Coming off of a very impressive first place finish at the Six Hours at
the Glen they were in the top five for the season in points. I have to
say a bit about the Autometrics team. They are a professional bunch and
know their cars and their jobs. Starting with Gordon Friedman, under the
skin he is a seething caldron of stress but he’s very good at hiding
it. His #1 motto is: “I’ll tell you when to worry.” Adam Friedman
really is the technology expert as it pertains to the cars. He knows
data and is very cool with managing timing and information. The other
guys in the pits were Jim Lichter, Jon Buck, Paul Cadd, George Steele,
Daniel Beard and Bill the Fuel Guy. Watching
them work and prepare the pit for action really showed me how little I
knew about professional racing. You see the driver a lot but behind the
scenes is a lot of activity that is necessary for a driver to do his
best. My hat is off to all of them and the effort they provided for two
Rolex Series Grand Am cars.
In our pit stall for
the race was Jay’s mom and dad, Leh’s mom and dad (Cindy and
McGrath) along with his grandfather and grandmother. Each stall has a
cable TV outlet so we were able to get the track broadcast feed onto a
TV we had. Pizza was brought in for the crew along with lots of water
and Gatorades. I wasn’t going to eat any pizza though then get into a
car for an hour or so stint especially wearing a full face shield.
My wife and kids came
to the race and made it into the NASCAR Nextel Fan Zone. I went back to
be with them before the race started. This is only the second race they
have come to but like the last race they came to it represented a
“first” for my racing career. The first “first” was my first
Porsche Club Race at Roebling in 2002. Now they were all there to
witness my first start in a professional series. Along with my family
were several close friends and it was very meaningful for me to have
them there. I know at least three of my family members would rather have
been shopping so their presence was that much more special for me.
What a spectacle a race
start is. Our cars were on the grid with the drivers strapped in and
waiting. Grid people from Sun Trust Bank were holding row markers. Race
crews were scurrying around setting up pit stalls. Media people with
microphones and cameras were roaming around looking for sound bites.
Families of owners and drivers were milling about. It was a real hubbub
that let up only for the singing of the national anthem. Then,
“Gentlemen, start you engines.” Looking across at the stands, there
was a healthy number of race fans in attendance and I began to confirm
with myself that I was indeed ready for this moment.
Breaking this up was
Jay coming over the radio with about 10 minutes to go for the start
saying he had a red warning light coming on above his steering column.
Turns out there was nothing obvious in the engine so Gordon told him to
let him know if anything changed with the car. At this point, Gordon
chose to remind us what the number one Gordon Friedman motto is:
“I’ll tell you when to worry.”
The start was
interesting in that it was a two-part start. The DP cars had their pace
car which was a little less than half a lap in front of the next pace
car for the GT class. Jay got off to a good start and I settled down to
watching the coverage on the TV, listening to the track announcers and
looking for each of our cars as they would cross the start finish line
which was located directly across from our pit stall.
During his time in the
car, Jay would continue to monitor the water temperature and give us
updates on the status of the warning light that was on. Part way through
the race, Jay came down pit road to the pit and I noticed a cracked nose
on the driver’s front corner and also there was green liquid dripping
from the same general area. Radiator! With Jay sitting in the car,
Gordon did a radiator change on pit row. What a mess. Lots of oil dry
but the fact that they did that within about 10 laps or so shows the
experience they have dealing with Porsche automobiles. It turns out that
on one of the laps, several cars checked up (slowed way down) in the
infield section and he came in contact with one of them. You could tell
he was disappointed with himself and boy could I relate to that.
At about the time the
group finished with the radiator, a full course caution came out. This
was at the window for finishing the race without having to refuel.
Gordon looked over and let me know it was my time for driving the car. I
felt bad for Jay because he had spent the last 20 minutes of his stint
sitting in the pit area while the radiator was worked on. I put on my
helmet and climbed into the car. I was then sent out of our pit area but
was held up at the end of the pit road area to wait for the pace car and
field to pass by. When the official let me go, I was at the tail end of
the field breathing a sigh of relief. This meant I could basically warm
up a lap or two before the fast cars lapped me. We were half way around
the track when I realized much to my dismay that all the leaders had
pitted and now they were all stacked up behind me. When the green flag
came out, the speed and noise at which the leading DP cars went by was
deafening. Then having to go through the turn 1 through 3 combination
and the full infield section with cars racing around me on my first lap
into the show kept me just a tad bit nervous. Welcome again to the big
time Mac McGehee. Over and over I’d tell myself, stay low on the
banking and don’t do anything unusual or dumb.
As Cory had told me,
the DP cars had the white lights and the GT cars had the yellow ones.
Some cars had both lights on, others only had one. The one light cars
were tough because you didn’t know what side of the approaching car
you were looking at. This almost got me in trouble a couple of times.
Leh came up behind me once and over our radios, I gave him an inside
pass with no problems.
An interesting
distraction occurred towards the end of my stint behind the wheel. When
you are driving at night (and in the daytime for that matter) your focus
tends to be out in front of the car on the track, the wall and the other
cars. Several times coming around NASCAR turns three and four, over the
top of the track wall I’d see a fire work going off. In the middle of
the first professional race of my life, in my head I replayed a section
of the movie
Le Mans
with Steve McQueen that showed all of the entertainment going on for the
spectators while the race was in progress. I quickly though brought my
mind back into the car to focus on the task at hand.
This went on for over
an hour in the car. I figure it was about 30 laps. I had no way of
knowing when the finish was coming so I just kept on going the best I
could while trying to stay out of the way of cars that were in
contention. As it turns out, I crossed the finish line with the leading
DP cars as they were getting the checkered flag so I know I was on the
television broadcast at least once.
What were some of the
lessons learned? First, this is a “show” as we were told and the
level of competition is different than that in PCA Club racing. PCA does
it for sport, camaraderie and fun. In Grand Am, you are racing for
points and in some cases a job. Also, the awareness we are taught as
Club Racers really helped me when I was surrounded by faster cars. The
focus on driving my line and not doing anything abrupt kept me and the
competitors around me out of trouble.
Will I do this again?
You bet. Now that I have had some experience with this type of traffic,
I feel that I’ll be able to concentrate more on going faster without
as much concern for the other cars on the track. I stated earlier that
my goal had been to use this event as a warm up for a campaign in the 24
Hour race in February. I now feel better about this opportunity and am
looking forward to participating with another driving team. Jay was a
good partner and I’m glad he took the time to share this experience.
For now though, back to PCA Club Racing and more seat time…
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