24 hour Rolex - GO LEH!!
LEH,
sorry dude...
having been through the race before (in 02, we finished 6th overall and 2nd in class)... i know how it feels...
you guys obviously had the legs of the gt field........
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we were leading our sr2 class in 02 and my teammate clobbered a porsche in the middle of the night... while i was sleeping accross the street... i woke up, came back to the track and was like "why does my car have another name on it?"
they had to borrow a nose cone from another team.......
----------------------------
anyway....
good luck the rest of the season...
cb
sorry dude...
having been through the race before (in 02, we finished 6th overall and 2nd in class)... i know how it feels...
you guys obviously had the legs of the gt field........
-------------
we were leading our sr2 class in 02 and my teammate clobbered a porsche in the middle of the night... while i was sleeping accross the street... i woke up, came back to the track and was like "why does my car have another name on it?"
they had to borrow a nose cone from another team.......
----------------------------
anyway....
good luck the rest of the season...
cb
Great job Leh...you and the guys did an amazing job with the car. It was good to meet you and hang out over there over the weekend.
You were right about Farnbacher...they sure know how to run the business. Solid hardware, fast cars, plenty of food, a trainer...really first class. During the night we saw them watching the weather and heard the management talking about saving you for the rain while you were napping back there. Guess they knew you were ready for some wet laps
Man that night was long, cold and wet...especially with the long stoppage.
Sunday we were in the far infield stands at NASCAR turn 1 for the last few race hours when I first saw the car smoke under braking in the inside horseshoe...and was hoping it was just something minor rubbing and that the car would finish. Sorry to see it go on you guys like that especially so late in the race!
Best of luck for the rest of the season bro!
Ethan
You were right about Farnbacher...they sure know how to run the business. Solid hardware, fast cars, plenty of food, a trainer...really first class. During the night we saw them watching the weather and heard the management talking about saving you for the rain while you were napping back there. Guess they knew you were ready for some wet laps
Man that night was long, cold and wet...especially with the long stoppage.Sunday we were in the far infield stands at NASCAR turn 1 for the last few race hours when I first saw the car smoke under braking in the inside horseshoe...and was hoping it was just something minor rubbing and that the car would finish. Sorry to see it go on you guys like that especially so late in the race!
Best of luck for the rest of the season bro!
Ethan
Pictures from the weekend. Sorry they suck i got a new camera and Leh wont show me how to use any of the good features. i had it on auto for all the shots and about 60% came out like crap.
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Time for my pictures... (seeing as how I had more time than I would have liked)
First Up: Koni Challenge "Fresh From Florida 200"
Me, between driver-change practice
My co-driver Chris Yano and I, watching final Koni Challenge practice.. the cars hadn't passed tech yet, and this was not a happy time.
Finally, me in the car, through tech.. I would have 15 min of infield driving (to bed the brakes) before I rolled out on the pace lap.. this 15 min was the extent of my time in the car, and in any SRT-4 to that point.
Me in the car between driver-change practices. T-minus 40 min to race time.
Driver change practice..
Putting stickers on the car, I was supposed to be in car #13, but once it changed, stickers went on this one (car #73)
Me in the car on the pace lap.
Chris Yano waiting to go into the car.
At speed during the race. No jokes about what actually counts as "speed" please. More than a couple dozen times a lap I was wishing this car had been tuned by the boys at AMS. If its pace wasn't rough enough, the transmission went out in spectacular fashion 57 min into the race while going through the tri-oval.
Next up.. Rolex pre-race.
First Up: Koni Challenge "Fresh From Florida 200"
Me, between driver-change practice
My co-driver Chris Yano and I, watching final Koni Challenge practice.. the cars hadn't passed tech yet, and this was not a happy time.
Finally, me in the car, through tech.. I would have 15 min of infield driving (to bed the brakes) before I rolled out on the pace lap.. this 15 min was the extent of my time in the car, and in any SRT-4 to that point.
Me in the car between driver-change practices. T-minus 40 min to race time.
Driver change practice..
Putting stickers on the car, I was supposed to be in car #13, but once it changed, stickers went on this one (car #73)
Me in the car on the pace lap.
Chris Yano waiting to go into the car.
At speed during the race. No jokes about what actually counts as "speed" please. More than a couple dozen times a lap I was wishing this car had been tuned by the boys at AMS. If its pace wasn't rough enough, the transmission went out in spectacular fashion 57 min into the race while going through the tri-oval.
Next up.. Rolex pre-race.
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Rolex 24 Hours Pre-Race.
The Playboy Porsche comes with the Playboy Playmates. They got a lot of camera attention.
Leh being interviewed on pit road.
My girlfriend Melissa, Cory and me on pit road behind Cory's Porsche.
The #01, and would-be-winner Target Chip Ganassi car rolling out on the pace lap.
Next Up: The race.
The Playboy Porsche comes with the Playboy Playmates. They got a lot of camera attention.
Leh being interviewed on pit road.
My girlfriend Melissa, Cory and me on pit road behind Cory's Porsche.
The #01, and would-be-winner Target Chip Ganassi car rolling out on the pace lap.
Next Up: The race.
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The race:
Here it is again, pay close attention, it won't be so shiny after the event.
Turn One, the leaders in traffic, stirring up dust. For those that haven't experienced it yet, or may not get to.. this track gets downright dirty during the race. The bus stop in particular ends up looking more like a country dirt road than a chicane, with what feels like more dirt than racing surface. 70-some-odd cars will do that putting off wheels here and there.
It's not if there will be a problem in the Rolex 24, it's when. 23 hours and 30 min after this impact, the #22 car would cross the finish line and win GT class.
Pontiac vs Porsche vs Daytona Prototype.
Rush-hour at Daytona. Spring break cruising? No.. turn 6 an hour into the Rolex 24.
The Autometrics team (cars #14 and #89) watches the TV between stops.
Next up: darkness falls.
Here it is again, pay close attention, it won't be so shiny after the event.
Turn One, the leaders in traffic, stirring up dust. For those that haven't experienced it yet, or may not get to.. this track gets downright dirty during the race. The bus stop in particular ends up looking more like a country dirt road than a chicane, with what feels like more dirt than racing surface. 70-some-odd cars will do that putting off wheels here and there.
It's not if there will be a problem in the Rolex 24, it's when. 23 hours and 30 min after this impact, the #22 car would cross the finish line and win GT class.
Pontiac vs Porsche vs Daytona Prototype.
Rush-hour at Daytona. Spring break cruising? No.. turn 6 an hour into the Rolex 24.
The Autometrics team (cars #14 and #89) watches the TV between stops.
Next up: darkness falls.
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Exit light, enter night:
Teams went all-out on the reflective graphics this year.
RedBull, it gives you wings. And really bright graphics.
This one took the cake though.. I didn't even notice that there was a Pontiac emblem on this car till my flash hit it.
I wonder why thay didn't do all the targets in reflective.. might have been overwhelming I suppose.
Midnight in the garden of broken cars. The #89 was undergoing a gearbox transplant, and teammate and driver of the #14 car Cory stops by to check on the progress. While there, fans caught his attention, and got his autograph.
While the driver gets the glory, the crew gets greasy. The #89 in the middle of its midnight transplant.
loosening up before getting in the car.
Night-time pit work
SunTrust car just before the braking zone going into turn one.
Rain takes its toll on drivers, cars and crew, here a fueler waits for his car to come to the pits while the rain falls on pit road.
Meanwhile, back in the garage.. a Golden Brothers Racing mechanic takes advantage of the firm bed and turn-down service of the Daytona International Speedway.
Nightlight. One of the Pontiac GXPs gets ready to go back to battle after a garage stay.
More sleep time. These Autometrics crew members don't have the nice bed and pillow of the Golden Brothers crewman though.
Rotary power. The screaming #70 three rotor RX-8
Neither rain nor sleet nor snow.. It's not the post office, but the #01 car was still on target for the win despite the precepitation.
Pontiac GXP at speed.
Leh behind the wheel of the #85, in the rain and in the lead.
After his stint, Leh was interviewed by SpeedTV. His face was happy, but I promise he was tired, when the camera lights went off, you could see how dazed he was from a very tough stint.
Grand Am rules allow the Daytona Prototypes to run real-time telemetry. This is one of the screens monitoring one of the cars as it circled the 3.56 mile track.
Next up, daybreak.
Teams went all-out on the reflective graphics this year.
RedBull, it gives you wings. And really bright graphics.
This one took the cake though.. I didn't even notice that there was a Pontiac emblem on this car till my flash hit it.
I wonder why thay didn't do all the targets in reflective.. might have been overwhelming I suppose.
Midnight in the garden of broken cars. The #89 was undergoing a gearbox transplant, and teammate and driver of the #14 car Cory stops by to check on the progress. While there, fans caught his attention, and got his autograph.
While the driver gets the glory, the crew gets greasy. The #89 in the middle of its midnight transplant.
loosening up before getting in the car.
Night-time pit work
SunTrust car just before the braking zone going into turn one.
Rain takes its toll on drivers, cars and crew, here a fueler waits for his car to come to the pits while the rain falls on pit road.
Meanwhile, back in the garage.. a Golden Brothers Racing mechanic takes advantage of the firm bed and turn-down service of the Daytona International Speedway.
Nightlight. One of the Pontiac GXPs gets ready to go back to battle after a garage stay.
More sleep time. These Autometrics crew members don't have the nice bed and pillow of the Golden Brothers crewman though.
Rotary power. The screaming #70 three rotor RX-8
Neither rain nor sleet nor snow.. It's not the post office, but the #01 car was still on target for the win despite the precepitation.
Pontiac GXP at speed.
Leh behind the wheel of the #85, in the rain and in the lead.
After his stint, Leh was interviewed by SpeedTV. His face was happy, but I promise he was tired, when the camera lights went off, you could see how dazed he was from a very tough stint.
Grand Am rules allow the Daytona Prototypes to run real-time telemetry. This is one of the screens monitoring one of the cars as it circled the 3.56 mile track.
Next up, daybreak.
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Daylight falls on the speedway. It didn't scare the rain away though, as the showers seemed to be heavier for a while.
Staying up all night finally took its toll on this crew member, and he was the focus of many photographers, including the drivers of the Golden Brothers RX-8.
The Playboy car made it to daylight looking pretty good.
Grand Caravan. Hoosier guys head back to the hotel after the night shift.
The moment of heartbreak.. mostly for Leh and his team, but for those of us cheering him on in the pits, and at home.
Cory's Autometrics #14 Porsche.
Damage to the back and front.. but leading.
Told you it wouldn't look as pretty... Juan Montoya must be practicing for his NASCAR season looking at all those tire marks.
A few min left to go, Grand Am officials lining up in pit road.
The 24 Hours is a mix of emotions.
And it's over... the winning DP crosses over the finish line and under the checkered flag.
The Krohn DPs cross the line in formation.
... as do the American flag themed Vettes.
Staying up all night finally took its toll on this crew member, and he was the focus of many photographers, including the drivers of the Golden Brothers RX-8.
The Playboy car made it to daylight looking pretty good.
Grand Caravan. Hoosier guys head back to the hotel after the night shift.
The moment of heartbreak.. mostly for Leh and his team, but for those of us cheering him on in the pits, and at home.
Cory's Autometrics #14 Porsche.
Damage to the back and front.. but leading.
Told you it wouldn't look as pretty... Juan Montoya must be practicing for his NASCAR season looking at all those tire marks.
A few min left to go, Grand Am officials lining up in pit road.
The 24 Hours is a mix of emotions.
And it's over... the winning DP crosses over the finish line and under the checkered flag.
The Krohn DPs cross the line in formation.
... as do the American flag themed Vettes.
