Race Day (pictures to come later)

Sitting in the trailer listening to the bits and pieces of the awards ceremony drift over the loud speakers, it really hit me that the weekend was over. While it was exhausting and at times frustrating, it was always fun. The company, the food, the track, even the disappointments, is all part of racing which means that mishaps and hardships included, its one of the things I love most in the world. 

Unfortunately we weren't able to finish the race. With only ten laps remaining, a call came over the radios that made all of our hearts sink. "Guys, I'm coming in. We don't have brakes. The car isn't drive able." We had lost the driver's front caliper, our race was over. Since other cars had ended their races before we did, we finished 26th, dropping only two spots from our qualifying position, even with mechanical problems. 

Byron and Lara drove their hearts out and all things considered with the car, were incredible. The amount of mental and physical focus that goes into endurance racing is something many people don't comprehend. Our drivers need to drive flawlessly for over an hour. By the time you get our of the car, you're both physically and mentally exhausted. When you factor in the heat, the traffic, the pressure and the stress, its a victory alone that they kept lap times consistent and made minimal errors. I'm so proud of both of them, for all of us, for being here and doing it, finishing position aside. 

All in all I think the weekend was a great success. We learned a lot about the cars and team dynamics that provided vital information for the future. You have to start somewhere, and its never going to be perfect. Learning from our mistakes will only make us better. And while I can only speak for myself, it was an amazing time and I learned a lot about myself. 

Most importantly, I need to thank Doug, John, John and Fred from Penske for helping us with our pit stop. We couldn't have even started the race without you. You brought a great confidence to the team, especially by letting us sit in the "condo" to watch timing and scoring. And for letting me pretend to be Roger Penske for two hours. Congratulations on your fourth place finish. I also want to thank Nancy at Somewhere in Time for graciously opening her beautiful home to us and making amazing breakfasts very early every morning and to Jeff Smallwood at Grand-Am for being so helpful and supportive. He made me feel so welcome and included. It was so nice to see a friendly, smiling face every time I was at the Grand-Am trailer. Wes Duenkel was also a great help today taking pictures for us (Wes took the pictures I will be posting later). He was also staying at the same bed and breakfast. It was great getting to talk to you and look at your amazing pictures. They are very different than most motorsports pictures, and the artistic element in them is incredible. 

And thank you, for reading and following us this weekend. I'll leave you with Keith's words of wisdom from the weekend - "Why not?"

-Sara