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It's an annual trek for me, to be there when the sportscar racing season begins. Where would that be? At the Daytona 24 Hour race; haven't missed it since '88. Actually, I make a complete trip out of it, of course; a good time of year to take a couple of weeks away from Minnesota!
I fly into Orlando late on Sunday evening, the 24th of January. Diana picks me up; she's really a great lady. I've got my annual mid-winter skill tune-up starting on Monday morning. What would that be? Sprint kart racing, the same "trainer" used by every modern Indy, F1, and Le Mans champion. It's a day-and-a-half school, and then a 10-race series, put on by Ted Callaghan at Start!! Racing…all for under a thousand bucks, arrive-and-drive.
The participants are all Porsche Club, BMW Club, and Mercedes-Benz Club people. The series uses a totally inverted start, so the fastest guy starts last, to totally maximize the challenge…and the action. Races are eight laps, so the pace is quite brisk. This creates a paradox, just as in real life; a lot of passing needs to be done, and there's not much time to do it in…got to be in a comfort zone with the obvious conflicting requirements that equation presents…success depends on it!
We draw for positions for the first race. Hey, I draw #2; I get to start on the front row. Yahoo! I motor off; that was probably too easy to be good training. That win puts me at the back of the field for the subsequent nine races, of course. Now I've got my work cut out for me! Everybody's skills keep getting better and the pace quickens with each race; this is just what we all wanted to have happen!
By the end of the third day, Wednesday afternoon, the NLP series is over. Just your best eight (of the ten races) finishes are counted toward the championship, so for me the actual final score is: seven wins plus one second place. A pretty good performance from me, just starting the '99 season a faster driver than ever!
We have our victory banquet at the Race Rock on International Drive, just the most way-cool motorsport restaurant in the whole world. The trophies are handed out: yours truly as repeat Champion, Ron Lewis for second, Bob Hieronymous for third, and Greg Fresh for most improved, with Vic Lee taking fifth place. The series can take up to sixteen people, so maybe you'd like to join all the exciting action for the great training and fun in January 2000? Just give me a call [Kim doesn't truck with that e-mail stuff; his phone number is 612/881-0113 - (Continued on page 5)
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