Daytona Rolex 24 Hour Post #3

Now,  Back to more of the Rolex 24 At Daytona sponsored by WeatherTech:

Enjoy the photos you have been waiting for.

Frikadelli Racing  GT3R Porsche

 

 

The One Two, The Two Won

 

Black Swan Racing

Crowd Favorite Mini Campers

Fast Pit Stops Help

Last Minute Tune Up

 

The Delta Wing Had A Chance Until The Crash

 

 

Chip Ganassi Racing- All Star Drivers

Dixon, Kanaan, McMurray and Larson

 

Scuderia Corsa

Visit Florida.com  #90  Corvette Prototype

 

GT Daytona and GTLM Porsches

Alex Job Racing and Porsche North America

 

And The Competition Continues In The Next Post.....

Race Alert! Less Than 30 Days Until The Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg

We interrupt the blog posts of the Rolex 24 at Daytona for a reminder that the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is less than 30 days away.  Here's a few shots from this afternoon at Advanced Auto in St. Petersburg. They were showing off one of the race cars.  I've also included a few pictures from last year to give you an idea of what you will see.  Come out and attend this, the first race of the season for Indycars in one of the most beautiful settings ever for a race.

2016 Teaser of a Picture

Brought To You By Firestone

 

 

 

From Last Year: 

Beautiful Vistas 

 

Close Competition

Meet The Drivers

And See The Teams

As They Get Ready To Race

 

 

Come See These Drivers And More....

March 11th - 13th

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rolex 24 At Daytona Post #2

This is the second in a set of posts covering the 54th Rolex 24 hour race at Daytona, known this year as the Weather Tech Championship.  There was a lot to cover with 24 hours of racing, preceded by a Ferrari Challenge race and the BMW Performance 200/ Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and a few hot laps with vintage sports cars.  Then there is the worlds first Motorsports Stadium as a part of the show that needs to be shown. 

I captured as much of this as one person on foot could- I must have walked 10 miles over the three days traversing from one end of the track to the other  and from the infield to the outside main entrances.  It was well worth it and I'll post many of the pictures that will take you there. Relax in the comfort of your den or office and take a look at the pictures.

As a bonus, I've attached a link to the IMSA video covering the entire race, perfect for a cold winter's day.  See below:

Rolex 24 Race Video- Watch Here

This video covers the race better than me writing a short novel for you, so I recommend checking it out.  My job is to bring you great photos of what it is like to attend one of America's greatest race weekends. I'll take you to the heart of the action on the track as well as to the top of the main grandstand, to late night tours of the garages and show you the beautiful vistas along Lake Lloyd deep in the middle of the 'Stadium'. I'll even post some pictures of the grandstand's grand entrances and the artful steel skeleton holding up over 100,000 fans.  Attending the three day event (Four if you want to arrive Thursday for the best campsites) was truly an experience. These pictures are a taste of what it was like being there. Put  Daytona International Speedway on your bucket list.

And another bonus- See this video about Lake Lloyd- the lake shown in some of my shots- this will put it in a new light and see how advanced the new Motorsports Stadium has become compared to the days when cars crashed and ended up in the lake as the video shows. There are some really interesting stories here that you will enjoy.  Click below:

Lake Lloyd Lore and True Tales

Here's the first photo montage - enjoy the pictures and imagine you are there.  This place is BIG- It will overwhelm you if you try to take it all in at once.  This blog post sets the stage - yes there's only a few cars on this post- wait for the next one in about a week - there will be many more!

                          ONLY IN AMERICA- DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Strong Bones

 

Iconic View

Sundown Over The Backstretch

The Sweeping Tri Oval

You Need A Map?

That Top Row is WAY Up There

Sunrise Over Lake Lloyd

Escalators The Size Of Atlanta Airport's!

 

 

 Mustang- Fast!

 

Crazy Paint Job

 

The Heart Of Racing- Alex Job Racing

 

Race Cars Everywhere- On the Ceiling

 

Friday Night Prep Work Before The 24 Hour Race

 

The Work Never ends

 

Cool Colors

 

Audi VIP Lounge- Nice

 

 

There's More - Next Post

Daytona Rising - Thrilling First Event

For the fans of any kind of auto racing, IMSA's 2016 Rolex 24 Hour race at Daytona was a huge win for the world's first and only 'Motor Sports Stadium'.  This event showcased the culmination of the Daytona Rising project, which was a $400 Million dollar improvement project for one of the best known race tracks in the world. Attending the event was something memorable and as enjoyable as camping out for three days in the infield can be. And, it was great to have a thrilling finish to add icing on the cake to this first race at the world's first motor sports stadium.

As a fan, the upgrades are excellent including  better seating comfort, conveniences (like hundreds of phone charging stations), clean spacious bathrooms and an almost Disney like look as you approach the three large 'Fan Injectors' aka entrances to the stadium.  When you go up the escalators to your chosen seats, you realize this place is gigantic. Then as you walk to the edge of the veranda near the seating area, a breathtaking view awaits.  There's no bad view in the place. If you like heights, venture to the top of the world in the highest seats and see the entire track from one spot- and with binoculars see the beaches of Daytona.

Even if you are not a race fan, this place is worth visiting as one of the wonders of the world- almost on par with the Pyramids in terms of something special that man has created.  But I digress.  A race did take place the last weekend of January 2016, a very special event for the sports car world. The 54th running of the 24 Hours At Daytona.

I have so much photo material and stories to share, my next few blog posts will be a mini series on the race weekend.  The stars included the cars, the drivers and the new 'Stadium' and I'll cover it all in pictures and text.   This is the first in that series - just call it the Intro Overview.  I am including a great link with a video embedded showing  Team Corvette battling for the closest finish in this race ever.  My photo montage highlights the three elements - Cars, Drivers and The Stadium.

First- Check out this link with the video of the exciting finish:

Most Exciting Finish

And here's a summary of the race from IMSA:

IMSA Article


And here's some information about the 'Stadium':

The World's First Motorsports Stadium

 

Pop The Champagne Let The Race Begin

 

These Guys Made History - See Video Above

 

 

Having Fun At The Autograph Session

 

World Center of Racing

 

Here's The Champagne

And The Race Has Begun

 

 

 

This Is A Race Track?

 

Daytona At Dawn- Daytona Rising!

Stay Tuned For Blog #2 This Weekend

Ford GT 40 Return To Racing Heritage

Many of you may be too young to remember the excitement of the Ford GT 40 when it took the racing world on, as in Ferrari in the early 60's.  It was born to win Le Mans and it did, thus the legend that lives to this day.  We are in for a treat as it is officially back for the 2016 racing season so keep watching my blog for updates.

In my most recent trip to our upstate New York home I ventured down to the basement archives on a cold January day and found a gem of an old Autoweek issue from September 25, 1989 featuring a story about the GT 40's 25th anniversary party at my home track, Watkins Glen, NY.  This was not just a gathering of old friends, it was a gathering of some of the world's best drivers including six time Le Mans winner Jackie Ickx, along with Stirling Moss, Brian Redman, and Bob Bondurant to name a few!  And the star of the party, the GT 40 was well represented with almost a third of all the GT 40's production run present!  An incredible confluence of drivers, cars and fans that will probably never be duplicated.

So what is so special about the GT 40?  Besides beating Ferrari at le Mans, it is in my opinion one of the most beautiful cars in the world- ever.  That the GT 40 is still contemporary looking decades later is a testament to the beauty of its design. And to continue the tradition, the new  Ford GT is another knock out.

Ironically my second magazine cover on this post is another September issue, but this time it is September 2015 from Road & Track, titled 'The Design Issue'.  And what did they pick to feature on the cover?  The new Ford GT


Here's some pictures and links to some really great videos about the Ford GT 40.   Be sure to play the videos on the links below- it's worth your time.

                And here's some video:

                        Video #1  2016 Ford GT 40

                         Video #2  Classic Ford GT 40

                    Get ready for racing - the Rolex 24 Hour begins the season January 30th.

Mac Exotic Car Storage - McLaren MP4-12C

This is a quick post after I made a quick visit to Mac Exotic Car Storage in Sarasota, FL to attend a rally and private car show event organized by SoFlo Exotics car club.  Here's a very special McLaren MP4-12C  High Speed Operations Car with Vodafone F1 colors.  In fact it is the world's only MP4-12C in that color scheme according to SoFlo Exotics.

I found Max Exotic Car Storage to be the place to keep your ride safe and in a climate controlled environment with some really nice examples of fine automobiles. It reminds me of the days back in the '70's when I had a full time dream job of detailing over 30 Rolls and Bentleys for Palmyra Motors which was one of the largest Rolls and Bentley dealers the country at that time. Their facility was called 'The factory' which was three miles outside the small town of Palmyra, NY.  Some of my future posts will carry stories from that experience in the summer of 1974. 'The factory' was nice, but it had none of the security and climate controls found at Mac Exotic Car Storage!

When you have time check out Mac Exotic Car Storage and SoFlo Exotics on the web at MacExoticCarStorage.com and SoFloExotics.com. 


Meanwhile, check out these pictures of a one of a kind McLaren!

The color scheme inspiration - see below

 

 

 

 

The End