A LOOK BACK // TED ANTHONY JR. @ DAYTONA TESTING

Hello again CTD readers! I am excited to write to you again and share my first experiences of driving at the famous Daytona International Speedway. This is the first time TC Motorsports had our new Camaro race cars on track, and what a track to break them in on! The first time on the banking is like no other track I’ve experienced. You look forward, and all you see is pavement. The car moves around much more than I thought it would, and I now have a much healthier respect for the NASCAR boys that run three-wide at 200 miles an hour!... [read more]

As I said above, this was the first time our cars had turned a wheel in anger, and they were not without teething issues. The first day of testing was nothing more than a shakedown. Make sure the cars stay together, learn the way the car works, and learn the track. We were a bit off the pace, but considering it was our first run ever (at the track and in the cars), we were pleased.

Saturday was surprising on many fronts. The first being that it freakin’ SNOWED in Florida! When I got to the track in the morning it was a balmy 29°F. The cold, wet weather prompted the officials at GRAND-AM to shut down the track until it was deemed safe to run, which happened at about 11:00AM. This meant we only got one session, which was tough considering we had so much to accomplish. Our test session went well, but we were still fighting a driveshaft vibration, as well as trying to sort out the handling.

Sunday was the best day by far. It was still cold, but it was clear and sunny at the same time. I finally felt comfortable enough to start pushing the car a bit, and managed to turn a 2:00.8 lap, which was within 1.6 seconds of the fastest car (which went under the track record of 1:59.2). Considering the lack of development time we had with the suspension, I was very happy with my pace. Unfortunately the second session didn’t go as well, and the car developed a miss late in the day, which hampered further progress.

As I write this, the cars are being gone over with a fine-toothed comb, and I greatly anticipate our first practice session at Daytona on January 28th.

Be sure to follow along with Live Timing & Scoring at Grand-Am.com during the race on January 29th, which starts at 1:15PM Eastern Time (10:15AM Pacific). Then tune in to SPEED for the broadcast of the two and a half hour race on Saturday, February 13th at 7:00PM Eastern Time (4:00PM Pacific).


Photo: Curtis Creager
Editorial: Ted Anthony Jr.