Quilifying is over for GT at the Rolex 24

[mr south 59]

Orbit racing out of W.P.Beach was 1st on the leader board in final practice and they quilified 4th.

A lot of you know how proud I am of my son Dustin Dunn. He is the tire speicialiest for Orbit Racing and the only 17 yr old on pit road this year at the Rolex 24. This will be his first 24 hr race with Orbit as Tire Speicialest. Orbit won the GT class and took 2nd overall in 2004. Lets wish Orbit Racing good luck for the rest of the weekend and maybe we can keep the cup in Florida this year.

Good luck Orbit and Dustin.

Andrew Dunn

[JackTripper]

quilifying - the act by which someone removes a quill from in its ink well repository and repeatedly stabs their intended victim with said quill.

Just funning - I'm hoping that Orbit can knock off Flying Lizard, Farnbacher Loles, et al. SAMAX (another Porsche team in Florida) used to have my favorite Porsche in the GT class - had a tangerine paint job with paintings of planets on it.

And if someone gives me free tickets like they are supposed to, I'll try to get you some good pics of the Orbit car.

[carolwicks]

WTG Dustin!

i was going to bring bobby to the bud shootout etc this year but i checked on ticket prices and they went thru the roof... maybe next year. ;-( have fun dustin. see ya soon...
carolwicks (OZ)

[mr south 59]

Jack. I don't think the Flying Lizard is there. But if they were we would......... . But realily. Orbit my need another photogapher for a long race like this.LOL If not, can you pull a tire kart or gule lug nuts. Thats how I am getting in. You could go in my place. Heck, I can't even stay awake all day at work.

Carol. I'm with you on the price of tickets. I haven't taken my boy's to a Nascar race since they were about Bobby's age. Back then for the twin 125's childern under 12 were free and everything but the Winston Tower was general admission. I have a picture of Jeff Gordon's ex wife Brook(before they were a couple) when she was Miss Winston holding my oldest son Mark in her arms. I think you saw him for the first time this past weekend. I wish you could have stayed around a little longer because my sister showed up.

[gcue]

Best of luck to your son and the Orbit team.

[mr south 59]

Thanks Phil.

Here are the results.


Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
Rolex 24 At Daytona Qualifying
at Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla.
Jan. 24, 2008

(listed with position, car number in parenthesis, team, car, time, speed in mph)

1. (60) Oswaldo Negri Jr., DP, Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley, 1:40.793, 127.152.
2. (6) AJ Allmendinger, DP, Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley, 1:40.802, 127.140.
3. (91) Marc Goossens, DP, Bob Stallings/Riley-Matthews Pontiac Riley, 1:41.041, 126.840.
4. (10) Max Angelelli, DP, SunTrust Racing Pontiac Riley, 1:41.161, 126.689.
5. (61) Mark Wilkins, DP, AIM Autosport Ford Riley, 1:41.413, 126.374.
6. (01) Scott Pruett, DP, TELMEX Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley, 1:41.505, 126.260.
7. (58) David Donohue, DP, Brumos Porsche, Porsche Riley, 1:41.764, 125.938.
8. (11) Ryan Dalziel, DP, SAMAX, Pontiac Riley, 1:41.878, 125.798.
9. (7) Matt Plumb, DP, Sigalsport, BMW Riley, 1:41.975, 125.678.
10. (02) Scott Dixon, DP, Target Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley, 1:41.996, 125.652.
11. (99) Alex Gurney, DP, Bob Stallings/ Riley Matthews Pontiac Riley, 1:42.160, 125.45.
12. (23) Joey Hand, DP, Alex Job Racing Porsche Crawford, 1:42.230, 125.364.
13. (9) Helio Castroneves, DP, Penske-Taylor Racing Pontiac Riley, 1:42.257, 125.331.
14. (2) Mike Rockenfeller, DP, SAMAX Pontiac Riley, 1:42.271, 125.314.
15. (76) Nic Jonsson, DP, Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley, 1:42.296, 125.283.
16. (77) Memo Gidley, DP, Doran Racing Ford Doran, 1:42.526, 125.002.
17. (59) Hurley Haywood, DP, Brumos Porsche/ Kendall Porsche Riley, 1:42.816, 124.650.
18. (3) Shane Lewis, DP, Southard Motorsports Lexus Riley, 1:42.936, 124.505.
19. (12) Tonis Kasemets, DP, RVO Motorsports Pontiac Riley, 1:43.135, 124.264.
20. (03) Vitor Meira, DP, Vision Racing Porsche Crawford, 1:43.342, 124.015.
21. (16) Matteo Bobbi, DP, Cheever Racing Pontiac Coyote, 1:43.618, 123.685.
22. (51) Tommy Erdos, DP, Cheever Racing Pontiac Coyote, 1:43.709, 123.577.
23. (09) Guy Cosmo, DP, Spirit of Daytona Racing Porsche Fabcar, 1:44.920, 122.150.
24. (31) Seth Ingham, DP, Matt Connolly Motorsports Pontiac Chase, 1:48.783, 117.813.
25. (70) Sylvain Tremblay, GT, SpeedSource Mazda RX8, 1:50.758, 115.712.
26. (56) Christian Montanari, GT, Mastercar Ferrari F430 CH, 1:50.873, 115.592.
27. (67) Spencer Pumpelly, GT, TRG Porsche GT3, 1:50.945, 115.517.
28. (34) Johnny Mowlem, GT, Orbit Porsche GT3, 1:51.348, 115.099.
29. (21) Diego Alesi, GT, Matt Connolly Motorsports Pontiac GTO.R, 1:51.450, 114.993.
30. (80) Jan Heylen, GT, Synergy Racing Porsche GT3, 1:51.513, 114.928.
31. (62) Martin Ragginger, GT, TRG Porsche GT3, 1:51.573, 114.866.
32. (30) Robert Thorne, GT, Racers Edge Motorsports Mazda RX-8, 1:51.606, 114.833.
33. (57) Robin Liddell, GT, Stevenson Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R, 1:51.717, 114.718.
34. (88) Frank Stippler, GT, Farnbacher Loles Motorsports Porsche GT3, 1:51.723, 114.712.
35. (66) Bryce Miller, GT, TRG Porsche GT3, 1:51.802, 114.631.
36. (89) Jörg Hardt, GT, Farnbacher Loles Motorsports Porsche GT3, 1:51.805, 114.628.
37. (87) Dirk Werner, GT, Farnbacher Loles Motorsports Porsche GT3, 1:51.823, 114.610.
38. (86) Wolf Henzler, GT, Farnbacher Loles Motorsports Porsche GT3, 1:51.841, 114.591.
39. (15) David Empringham, GT, Blackforest Motorsports Ford Mustang Cobra GT, 1:51.947, 114.483.
40. (69) Jeff Segal, GT, SpeedSource Mazda RX8, 1:52.052, 114.375.
41. (07) Paul Edwards, GT, Banner Racing Pontiac GXP.R, 1:52.061, 114.366.
42. (90) David Russell, GT, Automatic Racing BMW M6, 1:52.065, 114.362.
43. (27) Kevin Roush, GT, O'Connell Racing Porsche GT3, 1:52.095, 114.332.
44. (22) Marc Basseng, GT, Alegra Motorsports/Fiorano Racing Porsche GT3, 1:52.194, 114.231.
45. (29) Scooter Gabel, GT, Alegra Motorsports/Fiorano Racing Porsche GT3, 1:52.240, 114.184.
46. (63) Duncan Ende, GT, TRG Porsche GT3, 1:52.278, 114.145.
47. (14) Anthony Lazzaro, GT, Autometrics Motorsports Porsche GT3, 1:52.473, 113.947.
48. (06) Andy Pilgrim, GT, Banner Racing Pontiac GXP.R, 1:52.486, 113.934.
49. (40) Charles Espenlaub, GT, Hyper Sport Mazda RX8, 1:52.528, 113.892.
50. (72) Lawson Aschenbach, GT, Autohaus Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R, 1:52.552, 113.867.
51. (50) Boris Said, GT, Blackforest Motorsports Ford Mustang GT, 1:53.109, 113.307.
52. (83) Tim Bergmeister, GT, Farnbacher Loles Motorsports Porsche GT3, 1:53.136, 113.280.
53. (65) Tommy Archer, GT, TRG Porsche GT3, 1:53.174, 113.242.
54. (85) Ross Bentley, GT, Farnbacher Loles Motorsports Porsche GT3, 1:53.353, 113.063.
55. (43) Wayne Nonnamaker, GT, Team Sahlen Corvette, 1:53.564, 112.853.
56. (74) David Murry, GT, Autometrics Motorsports Porsche GT3, 1:53.812, 112.607.
57. (84) Chris Bingham, GT, Farnbacher Loles Motorsports Porsche GT3, 1:53.991, 112.430.
58. (17) Ron Zitza, GT, Terra Firma Motorsports Porsche GT3, 1:54.309, 112.117.
59. (68) John Mayes, GT, TRG, Porsche GT3, 1:54.316, 112.110.
60. (52) Constantino Bertuzzi, GT, Mastercar Ferrari F430 CH, 1:54.855, 111.584.
61. (64) Johannes van Overbeek, GT, TRG Porsche GT3, 1:55.268, 111.184.
62. (44) Glenn Nixon, GT, Bullet Racing Porsche GT3, 1:55.424, 111.034.
63. (26) Joe Jacalone, GT, Gotham Competition Porsche GT3, 1:57.408, 109.158.
64. (08) Steve Goldin, GT, Goldin Brothers Racing Mazda RX8, 1:58.400, 108.243.

[carolwicks]

mr south....

we DID stay around... hahah the van wouldnt start. danny snow and his brother came by and finally i got a jump start. would love to have met your sister. you have a wonderful family... mom is a gas! yes, i did see Mark... i dont think you could ever deny being his father!!! rofllllll there will be other times! i guess i will not see you at lakeland tomorrow night? i will be there saturday night in the pits. i wish i could go tonight too. ;-( whatever you are doing this weekend... HAVE FUN! see ya soon. give dustin a huge hug for me. im so proud of him. great kid!
your friend always...
carolwicks (OZ)

[drtracer9559]

Hey there mr. south 59 and everyone else. I was tthere as well wish we could have met. Our koni st cars didn't far to well on friday but we finished. To big a track for the little motors we run. I also was tire changer on the 84 farnbacher team we ended up 13th in the 24 and man am I still tired, my first 24. Our team manager tom long was in the 24 as well in the bmw m6 for automatic. He was with them last year in the gs cars but is with us now. Anyway what an expieriance that was well know to get my car ready for nfs this weekend. cheers everyone.

[canedogs06]

What an awsome race this year. Tough luck for orbit having to change a gearbox so early. The bimmer sure looked awsome out there they just need a little more time to work out the kinks of a new car. the 84 drivers and team did a great job to overcome the problems that crept up durring the race. It seemed the pirellis when cold gave drivers fits until they warmed up. That may have contributed the record amount of full course cautions. The Koni race was great as usual especially with 92 cars taking the green . Id love to crew for a team durring the koni challenge and rolex 24 especially since I doubt I will ever have the 12- 45 K it takes to buy a seat for the 24.

[mr south 59]

First of all I have got to say "OH MY GOD". That was the most incerdiable thing that I have ever been involved in in my entire life. I am more proud of my son know than I have ever been. There is more responibility to his job than I ever knew. I worked hand in hand with him the entire race. We kept the tires and fuel coming to the pit crew. It is a very hectic job. Just the procedure of a tire from when it comes off of the car to until it is ready to go back on the car is unbelievable. It is a minimum or 4 tires every 50 minutes. and many times it was 8. We had to refuel the fuel system every stop. That is a major chore. And we were up for 44 hrs straight. The sheer cubic dollor that were spent for that race was unbeleavable. Our team had $1,000,000 budget for this race that included building 2 cars, all the testing and everything needed for the race. Our team alone had a $60,000 budget for tires. $1600 a set. $8000 for fuel for the car and thing like $700 for Red Bull. There was 16 pit crew members including an engineer, and mechanics. We had computers, scoring monitors, and a weather monitor war wagons in our pits. We had three golf karts. One for tires, one for fuel and one for a shuttle. Our pit was Nascar stall #3 close to turn 1 and our garage was #53 almost at turn 4. If the car brakes we have to bring the war wagons back to the garage. It would take me hours to put it all into words. I am still in shock.

Now about the race. For about the first 4 hrs things were going as per plans. Except the rain. We were logging laps. We had contact with the Brumo DP car that knock off our front valance and worst of all we had wheel contact and we broke a gear box. We decided to rebuild it instead of puting in the one that we loged all of the practic laps on in fear of another failure. We lost 53 laps in the pits. We came back on the track in like 55rd overall and 36th in class out of 40. The whole team kept digging all night. Well except our F1 driver. He would drive the car if "the car wasn't on the lead lap". But that is a whole other story. When the checkered flag flew it was pure for juvilation for the entire crew. It was an incredible feeling just to be running at the end of 24hrs. We finished the race in 31st overall and 17th in class. It was a great experiance and I can't wait for the next event. I won't tell you who won so you can enjoy tape. I heard we got some good air time in the morning. Speed was live in our pits in the morning.

It was my first 24. And to be behind the seen was incredible. I don't think my feet will touch the ground for at least a week. I'm still on cloud 9.

P.S. We shared our space with Max Papis. I finialy found someone that smiles more than me. He is a cool guy and we had a great time together.

Canedog, Saturday around 11 I had a few minutes so I grabbed a kart and road buy your camp to personily thank you and meet you with no luck. But ha, I did get to see the Parelli girls. And how 'bout them Playboy girls. i think I like this road racing stuff.

[canedogs06]

With most teams spending 1 million dollars or more for just this race keep this in mind. $100,000.00 to the first place Daytona Prototype team and $50,000.00 to the first place GT team. But for the teams that compete in this race it doesnt matter how much the purse is because just finishing the race is priceless. Mrsouth at 11 we were allready in the garage waiting to be let out onto the grid. Should of giving you my cell # and we could of met up. Well time to get our modified ready to roll

[drtracer9559]

Hey thanks for posting the pics. I agree as well with the cloud 9 thing. I feal fine today but I had to be up at five thirty yesterday and what a long day. Last tuesday night I went to bed at midnight and got up three hours later to be at the shop to hit the road. What a long weekend but none the less awsome. props to my boss he had us in suites so I can't say the beds sucked. And let me tell you the food bill for farnbacher for the 24 four alone had to be many thousands. It was a great thing to be a part of and I got payed. As for the koni team thats my job. The blue car got stuffed in the wall in practice we lost a clutch due to a rear main seal leak but we got it together and it finished. Our cars are hadling car not power cars so daytona is our worst track. But I will say when bsi had the cars they were five to nine seconds slower at that track than we were so alll inall not bad. We had a photo guy so I should recieve a disk soon will post some pics when I get it.

[drtracer9559]

Oh and as the the m6 they either jump time or something and bent the intake valves first time out for the car though. they will be back

[mr south 59]

For as serious as it was all of the time, there was also a lot of joking around. One of our driver was doing the stent from aruond 3:05 until 3:55. Well, he dozed off while waiting for the car to pit. The crew decided to changed our large pit clock to 4:45 and then wake him up. We told him we couldn't wake him up and Fitzgerald went to the hauler for some rest and there wasn't another driver our the pits at the time so we had to put Dustin in the car for the stent. The look on his face was priceless. We laughed our a$$'s off. He was only sleeping for under 5 minutes.

Around 7:00 in the morning Dustin fell asleep in a chair against the fence with his hood zippered up completely over his face. Well, the crew zippy tied the zipper to the fence. Well that wasn't enough. Dustin gives the the crew a lot of greef and they need to get him every chance they get. Well the Farrari team next to us had a case fo silly string. Now the Farrari team, our team and Max Papis's team is spraying him. In seconds he is covered in string, banana piles, cans ect. Know a crowed is forming around him, about 35 people and about 15 in the grand stands above the pits taking pictures and videos. The crowed woke him up about 1 minute befor the Speed camera got there. It was great!

9559, I can't wait until our pics are up on the Orbit site. You post your link when yours are up and I will post mine. And your not joking about the food bill. I think you might be a little under the numbers for the farnbacher's team food bill. Hell they had 7 cars. It was a very nice pit area. I had to go by it every time on the way to our pits. You were only a few pits stalls away.