<VV> Road America.

[Smitty]

What an experience.   Never again will there be so many Stingers in the same place at the same time to perform as they were designed to.  We felt very special as we were allowed specific use of the Leister Garage which was about 20 pit slots on pavement.  The welcome protection from the direct sun on the hot days and the rain protection during the downpours made the engine changes and clutch rebuilds a lot easier to live with.  We felt so sorry for the big money teams huddling under their awnings in two inches of mud.  Yeah, Right.
        There were several engine changes with Jim Shardt winning top honors for most, with three.  To the best of my knowledge there were only two fan belt losses which is pretty remarkable considering the number of laps run overall.  Bob Storec must have surely earned the highest number of man hours per lap prize.  He spent his entire first day trying to correct some carburetor problems and never quit for 5 days.  His Atlanta support group joined him on the third day and after another day, ended up installing a backup engine.  Bob managed to get out for a couple of heats and made the final big Stinger Race, which was the important goal for all the racers.  My buddy Chuck Sadek’s # 73 ran like a watch but had some metalic brake issues.  Made it difficult to dive deep into the corners
The race showed some really great performance by the cars and drivers as well.  I believe it was pre-planned that the two lead cars and the two tail end cars paired up side by side and toured the last lap side by side.  I guess raci’n ain’t always about winning.  
           It was great being with all the racer friends I have met over the years and I appreciate that they allowed me to share in this world class event.