... and, man, was it ever (a lot of work and) exciting. I crew for Tiger Racing and what a week. (that's me wearing the Team Chevy hat on the website photos)
Blew our new engine in Tuesdays practice. The crew worked til 2 am putting in the spare (with 6 races already on it). Got some practice on Weds (very little), as we were battling an ignition gremlin. Thursday replaced the plug, wire, coil and injector in # 8 and finally qualified 28th.
Several competitors got sent to the back of the field for various reasons, so we started 23rd(?) on Friday. Lou got spun during qualifying and flat spotted all 4 tires, started in the back, John Young (car) was found to be too light, started from the back, Kevin blew an engine, had to start from the back and there were a couple of others I didn't keep track of.
Race day and the GT race was at 4:30pm. Started the activities by having to be at false grid at 3:30pm to get lined up, then the staging on the track, then the touring lap, then set up on the track again then the start. What an ordeal. Your focus and concentration is practically out the window by the time the light goes out.
The Caddies were as expected. F*$#kin fast. They would punch it up a tenth, during qualifying, around Phil McClure until they got pole. Max, Phil then Andy. When the race started, Andy stalled it and everyone left. By the end of the race, well, you know where he finished.
We finished 17th, on a tired motor, but we finished and that was all we wanted from that race.
Here's THE LINK to some of the pictures. I'll load a few more later this next week.
Headed out on another business trip tomorrow.
[ 21. March 2004, 06:19 PM: Message edited by: 99 HOSS ]
Posted by chrisL (Member # 97) on :
looks like alot of hard work there Mike!
Posted by 99 HOSS (Member # 109) on :
... I just help out where I can. Getting the driver strapped in and hooked up to everything from the cool suit to the radio or just cooking lunch, it's a big team effort.
We did have Johnnie O'Connell (ALMS GTS Corvette team) stop by on Friday to wish the team luck. We all wished the same for his team and look what happened. Posted by Big A (Member # 1761) on :
I saw that Vette the last time I was at Tom Oats. Fine looking car. What did they do with the Camaro's they used to use?
Posted by ss_rs_z (Member # 1888) on :
Very cool. Posted by 99 HOSS (Member # 109) on :
Big A - they've all been sold. They still have their T1 Corvette for sale (they finished 3rd in the Runoffs with it last year) and Stan Wilson still has his Camaro for sale. Prepped by Tom Oates.
Posted by 2002Z4CSS (Member # 1393) on :
Looks exciting! Posted by SS_CarGuy (Member # 2065) on :
I watched the broadcast of the GT race yesterday on Speed TV. You are right about the Caddy's........nothing could touch them and Andy Pilgrims charge thru the field was unbelievable.
I am sure it was fun crewing............but like you said it can be very tiring.That Vette looks like a real nice car.
BTW, will the Caddy's get a weight penalty for the next race?
Posted by RagSS (Member # 1127) on :
...You sure do put your time in on this stuff Mike, ...gotta love it though, ..very cool!!
Posted by Cavy Dan (Member # 1352) on :
Awesome day for the Caddy's! And being a new vehicle to the lineup makes it even more special. Way to represent!! Posted by westell (Member # 2034) on :
Thanks for sharing Posted by 99 HOSS (Member # 109) on :
SS_carguy - as competitors we're all hoping the weight penalties are added by the next race at Lime Rock in May. We're still trying to find the door he blew off when he went by our car.
RagSS - it's a lotta fun. Meeting all the competitors, seeing the cars up close, loud unadulterated horsepower. I do enjoy it. Posted by 99 HOSS (Member # 109) on :
I've added a few ALMS photos. Take the link above to view.
![[Cool]](cool.gif)
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