Although we as a team are frustrated how the race ended up, we were pleased with the performance from the cars. The team is doing a great job working on the cars when not at the track and continue to make them faster.

Stay posted for more news.

-scott

In ST out luck was a little better. I managed a time good enought for 4th place however I only was able to complete 2 timed laps as the shift linkage broke leaving me in nuetral and without the ability to change gears.

The ST race starts at 10:30am and then the GS race is later in the day. I will post an update after the ST race but everyone can watch the live timing and scorning online at grand-an.com

-scott

I am also driving Maxwell Papers ST cars. I do not know if I will be racing in their RX-8 or their boxster but both cars are fast and well set up.

We have one more practice for both the ST an GS cars and then qualifying later this evening.

I will try to do a quick update between practice and qualifying if I am free so check back in a couple hours for another update!

-Scott

I am also driving Maxwell Papers ST cars. I do not know if I will be racing in their RX-8 or their boxster but both cars are fast and well set up.

We have one more practice for both the ST an GS cars and then qualifying later this evening.

I will try to do a quick update between practice and qualifying if I am free so check back in a couple hours for another update!

-Scott

I will post updates at the end of each day at the track to keep everybody informed on how the weekend is going!

-scott

For a week or two I thought that we would not be racing at Salt Lake because of this issue. However, thanks to AXA, First Service, and Cohen Financial we were able to put together a deal with Andy Lally in the #66 TRG Porsche. Andy and I have raced together in the past and have had great success. Coming into the event we both had high expectations and wanted to do well for the sponsors and for the valuable team points.

The first day went well and we made progress both in lap time and in setting up the car. In qualifying I set the fastest TRG time of the weekend, which was good enough for 8th place.

In the race my job was to hand Andy a car that was in good shape and on the lead lap and I did my job. Andy along with the team did a fantastic job not only driving but also with pit stops and strategy. Andy lead much of the race but even one of the best Porsche drivers in the world could not hold off the Mazda’s and Pontiac’s and eventually we slipped as low as 4th.

However, with only a lap to go two of the three cars ahead of us made contact and slowed enough for Andy to sneak by. Andy then held off another competitor to take home a 2nd place.

This was my first podium finish in the Rolex series and I am thrilled. Everyone did a great job and it showed. Once again I have to thank AXA, First Service, Cohen Financial, along with Brent, Josemanuel, and the Bucklers for making this possible.

This good finish moved the #66 AXA TRG Porsche up into 3rd in the team points and 2nd is still within reach.
The Rolex series has one more race left on the 2009 calendar, which is in Miami Florida. We are currently seeking sponsorship to run this event.

During the practice sessions we along with everyone struggled with handling. It seemed like no matter what we changed on the car it was terrible and the tire wear was worse that we had ever seen. After adjusting just about everything to prevent the car from sliding we decided it was something we will have to live with.

In the race Josemanuel did a good job, driving for over an hour and handing the car over in 10th position. However, towards the end of his stint he noticed that the car started to have a misfire and it was progressively getting worse.

We came in for new tires, a driver change, and gas and things were looking like we could still get a decent finish. However, the problem continued to get worse and worse until about 15 min from the end of the race the car called it quits.

Both Josemanuel and I felt that the car in the race was very good compared to the other cars; however, due to our issue we could not show it. We look forward to going back to the watkins glen short course on the first weekend in August.

Because we were racing the same weekend as NASCAR our track time was limited. Although we had a good set-up at the 24hr race earlier in the year the track condition was very different this time. A combination of the heat and the lack of useage of the track made the track very slick. During our practice sessions Josemanuel and I both struggled to get comfortable in the car. Since we were not the fastest car on the track we just planned to stay out of trouble and be smart.

In the race Josemanuel did a fantastic job. He turned the car over to me on the lead lap and inside the top 10. However, just after the one hour mark during our final pit stop of the race and when I got in the car we had a problem. During the pit stop the left rear wheel would not come off. Although the team did their best to get it off it was to no avail and we lost just enough time in the pits to put us a lap down. It also ment that I would have to nurse the car and the left rear tire to make it survive the remaining hour and 20mins.

Despite out issues in pit lane and having a car that was not anywhere near 100% at the end of the 250 mile race we were 7th. This was our best finish of the year and although I would have liked to have done better I will take a top 10.

The next track on the calendar is Barber Mortorsports Park in Alabama. Josemanuel and I both have plenty of track time at Barber and are coming into the event with high expectations.

-scott

We did not get much quality practice time as the track was never the same; sometimes it was wet, sometimes it was drying, and rarely was it completely dry. We made some changes to the car to get it set up better for the dry; however, we were still fighting some handling issues.

In the race Josemanuel was doing great. He had the car in the top 7 after only a couple laps. Unfortunately, fell out of the top 10 when he spun and we got assessed a penalty during a pit stop. Our goal at almost every race we go to is to stay on the lead lap. If we managed to stay on the lead lap it would translate into a solid finish. However, the penalty was just enough to put us a lap down. I got in the car about an hour and twenty min into the race. We were still fighting a handling issue so it was hard to keep a fast pace. I had one of my most interesting stints of my career due to a fuel leak in a later pit stop. A rock got jammed in our fuel inlet which lead to gallons of fuel spilling out everywhere and when I turned on my wipers I even got some in the car. The crew did a good job quickly fixing the issue and I did not loose too much fuel in the process. However, it was just a matter of time before the race gas fumes that got on my suit and in my helmet caught up to me and as a result we got Josemanuel in the car for the last twenty min of the race. Josemanuel then did a great job and managed to pick up a spot or two in the closing laps.

All in all it was not a great weekend. I think I can speak for Josemanuel when I say we both look forward to Daytona and putting Mid-Ohio behind us.

Since for this race we had three drivers instead of two this means practice time is now less for each of us. Unfortunately, as valuable as practice was the 68 car did not get much. On Thursday I was supposed to get my first laps in the car but after being on the track for less than 30 seconds I quickly realized we had a gear box issue as I was limited to first and second gear. This issue was not a easy or quick fix and it required a new gear box to be put in and the loss of two hours of valuable practice time.

Come the race each of us got a handful of laps and we felt like we had a consistent (but not necessarily fast) race car. Josemanuel did a great job during his long first stint in the race and handed the car over to Duncan just outside of the top ten. Duncan then did a great job and got the car up to 9th during his stint. About three hours into the race I got in the car for the first time. I quickly made up the positions we lost during the pit stop and got the car back inside the top 10. However, about an hour into my stint I had a left rear tire blow out which lead to some extended pit stops to fix the issue. This dropped us back to 11th. Our goal for the weekend was a top 10 finish and that was still in reach. Duncan got in the car with an hour remaining and spent that hour closing a one minute lead that the 10th place car had on us. He did a fantastic job shaving one, two, and sometimes three seconds a lap of the 10th place car. However, as soon as he managed to catch the other competitor a full course yellow came out which would prevent him from being able to pass and prevented us from achieving our top 10 finish.

Josemanuel and I will be racing again in a week and a half at Mid-Ohio. I have raced there in both Formula BMW and Koni Challenge and Josemanuel has driven his Porsche cup car there for multiple weekends including last years Rolex GT race. Both of us look forward to this race and hope to break into the top 10.