Page 38 - KCRPCA Mar Apr 2019

38
MAR / APR 2019
and has designed and hand built four cars. Our 80 year old Mom puts up with all of us, nodding and smiling every time every conversation gravitates toward car talk. Mike, Dan, Tricia, and Kathy are all pro race rookies, but Kathy has been to numerous Kentucky Derbies. Sounds like the perfect recipe for a disastrous weekend.
Steve and I have each been to at least six Rolex 24’s, so we know the drill. Fly into DAB (air-port-speak for Daytona Beach International Airport); arrive Thursday, get the full four day pass with garage and infield access; pack like you’re going back to the Himalayas, bring layers, and have a plan so you don’t zig zag back and forth around Daytona International Speedway as if you only have three hours to see every last thing there is to see. You have to remember you are there for FOUR days, and have plenty of time to see the all of sights. If you can, get an infield parking pass, but as those sell out before the ticket window opens, Turn 4 parking works okay as well. To my surprise, Kathy wanted to also arrive Thursday and wanted the full experience. I tried to explain to her the excitement of spending forty minutes watching mechanics change a front suspension upright. Dan also wanted the four day thing, but then I would expect no less from a car nut usually suffocating under tuition bills and grade school basketball practice.
Thursday is a great time to visit the garages. How the race teams can get anything accomplished, and cars moved through the mass of humanity choking the paddock amazes me. The family race rookies learned quickly that pedestrians have zero right of way and nearly getting run over by a Lamborghini driven by a dude wearing mechanic’s gloves is no joke. Arriving later in the day, we had
enough time to watch some quali, enjoy sunny shirtsleeve weather, and check out some of the incredible manufacturers’ displays adjacent to the International Horse-shoe and Kink turns. As much as I like Porsche, their little 20’ x 20’ cube was super lame compared to the F1 Paddock-esque displays from Mazda, Cadillac, Ford, Chevy, Corvette, AMG, BMW, Lamborghini, Acura, and yes, Hyundai. Kathy learned that Cadillac gave out the coolest looking t-shirts, and I learned that Corvette thinks all American males wear trash-bag sized clothing. My favorite part of Thursday used to be the only night practice of the weekend, especially walking adjacent to fence along the front straightaway, but alas we learned that is no longer allowed. Thank recent car-in-fence crashes for that.
Friday looked to be another bright, sunny, albeit cool day. This is a good day to finish visiting all of those manufacturer areas and scoping out where you want to watch the 24 hour race. Also plan a visit to the PCA tent and corral, as the Porsche club folks in Florida know how to put up quite a tent. Then sit back and enjoy the four hour Michelin Pilot Challenge Series race. Think of this as your own personal practice session for watching the 24 hour race. This is also your first opportunity to walk on the grid for pre-race, stomp in the famous Daytona tri-oval grass, and experience the front stretch banking of 18 degrees (then imagine 31 degrees at the turns). Watching the start from the grandstands near Turn 1 is our favorite, eventually moving to a couple of infield spots along the International Horseshoe. After a fun race, Friday ended with an informative presentation and Q&A session by the Mazda DPi (Daytona Prototype International) team. Kathy became