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With no rest for the weary,
the 24 hrs at Daytona is the ultimate make it or break it marathon." |
February,
2000 |
| 24 Hours at Daytona 2000 Under
a brilliantly blue, cloudless Florida sky, the kind one normally sees on those wish you
were here beach scene postcards, the fastest GT race cars in the world started the 24
hours at Daytona race at Daytona International Speedway. These included the legendary
racing teams of BMW, Corvette, Ferrari, Ford, Porsche, Cadillac and Viper. Excuse me, did
I say Cadillac ? Yes, Cadillac. It seemed only |
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| Another Porsche about to
fall victim to the powerful Viper |
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| Richard Bailey admires
both his not quite finished Roadster
and the not quite affordable GT racers. |
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fitting that the car
synonymous with the Sunshine State’s overwhelming geriatric population start
it’s racing program here at Daytona. This wasn’t, however, the soft springed,
cushy, behemoth your grandfather owns, the kind you see on every wide boulevard in
Florida, taking up just a bit more than one lane, with no apparent driver behind the
wheel. No, this was a hard driving, sleekly styled SR-series speed demon. |
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| Sure
it's fast, but can it be built for less than $20,000 ? |
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keeping track of every
lap and every breakdown. Both the stands and the infield were a buzz of activity, fans
determined to see and be seen at this prestigious event. Additionally, there were seven
427's, and their seven owners, all of whom staunchly braved the chilly forecast to be a
part of Daytona. Mick Nudl, our favorite
Aussie, came down from Georgia in his well driven ford blue FFR 1129. From the middle of
the state came Gary Bogart |
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his mean green machine (FFR 1xxx) and Chris Broomfield (FFR 1802) in his steel blue show
stopper. Richard Bailey couldn’t have looked finer, even if FFR 1836 was still in
primer. Taking time out from sun bathing in southern Florida, Luis Lopez’ FFR 1584
and John Phillips’ FFR 1152 made the trek north to Daytona. Mike Mack, too, decided a
trip down from Pennsylvania with his Factory Five beauty was worth the effort, especially
if he could see Mickey and the Disney gang after the race. |
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Chevrolet
turns up the heat while Mark and Jim obtain a late race entry. |
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| 427's waiting their turn
on the infield. |
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In an endurance test
of their own, the FFROGs had to battle the persistently strong winds which cut through the
60 degree sunshine like a cold ginsu knife, in actuality, it feel more like a New England
winter rather than a breath of Florida warmth. Still these brave, perhaps fool-hearty,
men, battled the cold in style, driving their cars back to the warmth of their homes after
the checkered flags flew.The rest of the FFROG contingency (including Floridians Jim
Broom, Bill Durnell, Jay Hamilton, Jason Kempf, |
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| Chuck
West; and others from further north, including Tom Blank (Iowa), John Hannaford (Ontario),
and John Host(Alabama), all watched as one race car after another fell victim to the
challenge. By morning only a third of the starting field was still running. Many teams, in
fact, were already packing their bags, ready to head home with worn out cars and crew. The
FFROGs, however, were still out in force, waiting in the wings, hoping beyond hope that
they might be called off the bench, ready to do battle with the big boys. |
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| Even Daytona caught a
little of the New England weather. |
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| Luis Lopez warms up next
to his girlfriend, while John Phillips shows off his Pikes Peak Veteran ride. |
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In the end, the new Roadster, the Viper,
and the Viper Team, was the one that took the checkered flag. With an overall race winner,
and a finish with four cars in the top seven, they brought racing respectability back to
snake-dom. |
| FFROG attending members included: |
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| 427's turn towards the
sun to soak in the Florida warmth. |
| Special
Note* |
| We'll be back next
year, so mark your calenders early. |
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Jim Schenck |
|
FFR Engineer |
| Mark Weber |
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FFR Mad publicist |
| Mick Nudl |
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FFR 1129 |
| Richard Bailey |
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FFR 1836 |
| Mike Mack |
|
Builder |
| John Phillips |
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FFR 1152 |
| Chris Broomfield |
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FFR 1802 |
| Luis
Lopez |
|
FFR 1584 |
| Jason
Kempf |
| Jay
Hamilton |
| John
Hannaford |
| Jim
Broom |
| Chuck
West |
| John
Host |
| Bill
Durnell |
| Richard
Chaney |
|
