The 2012 racing season has officially gotten underway in North America . The Rolex 24 hour at Daytona was just completed this past weekend, congratulations to Mike Shank Racing for their overall victory. Lots of hard work and dedication brought that group the spoils of victory- and an awfully nice Rolex watch.
Last week we left off during the offseason, and I was hard at it with the remaining guys I had left. Things were beginning to turn around and we were starting to see some light at the end of the long tunnel. We were able to reduce the number of people we had in the shop- yet increase the amount of productive work that was being done.
As the start of the season got closer and closer, the car was returning to form after being rebuilt. The motor was pulled at the end of last year to be sent out and gone through by our engine builder. After long weeks hoping nothing was wrong with the motor, we got it back- with a clean bill of health, and it was being put back in the car, along with a new transmission and rear end gear. We were hanging a new body on the car and trying to button everything up to get the car painted before the beginning of March.
For those who have raced on America
We were right on schedule, and the car was done being painted the first week of March. One of our sponsors at the time was a company that created vinyl signs and lettered vehicles. So we had all of our vinyl cut for us and started putting that on later that week. I was really proud of my guys and all that they had accomplished.
The first test and tune day at the speedway we were running at was the first weekend in April, and the weather was going to cooperate to give us a nice warm day at the track. I remember being at the shop that Tuesday night before our test day. I remember feeling such a sense of pride in that racecar and in my team, such a sense of accomplishment. It gleamed bright red and white, the colors of our team, and sat there in the shop just looking fast- begging to be released on the track. The smell of the paint was still heavy in the air that night as I wondered how many other people were doing the same thing all across the nation.
I remember loading up for that Saturday and just knowing in my heart that we were starting the season off on the right foot. Knowing all of the hard work that was done this past winter was going to pay off, and we would be one of the quick cars this afternoon. The trip to the track was quiet and uneventful, no one really wanting to talk about the day. When we got to the track, we unloaded and got into line for Tech inspection. I looked around, and I soon realized that we weren’t the only team that was hard at work this past offseason.
In our class I had counted 18 cars that were in line for inspection, which meant that there were probably another 5 or 6 that would show up on the first raceday. Looking around at all of the machines that looked just as good if not better than mine- I thought to myself, “I wonder where we are going to stack up with these guys”. My seemingly endless confidence not more that 6 hours ago, had faded, and in its place was a knot that had my stomach tied tight. Many things became clear that day- Lesson #1- A shiny racecar is not necessarily a fast racecar.
Next week, we start our quest for “Rookie of the Year” and realize that in order to be fast- you have to be knowledgeable. Speed does not just appear, and great drivers are made- not born. Feel free to leave comments, or email me directly at justinonderko@verizon.net for any questions. Let me know what you guys think, I appreciate the emails I’ve gotten so far, it means a lot that you guys take the time to write in. As I’m sure you are used to by now, and its something all of us racecar drivers do- I want to plug my sponsors. As always they continue to help us and make what we are doing possible- please check them out- we have a couple of them up on this page as clickable links. You can also follow me on twitter- @justinonderko.
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