WiFi access is spotty at the Speedway, but we'll do our best to post updates here and on our Facebook page. Stay tuned!
Tonight we're having our welcome party for GRM Experience ticketholders and some of the teams that will be competing. There will be free food, so hopefully that will bring out the drivers too. 
Watching Timing and Scoring as I type this!
http://grandam.racersites-cluster.com/OrbitsServer/grandam/TimingView.html?sid=1480&VN=52538
Bless you, Enquiring minds want to know.
GO! Speed Source
Looks like Flying Lizards are on Pole in DP and TRG is on pole in GT...
DukeOfUndersteer wrote: Looks like Flying Lizards are on Pole in DP and TRG is on pole in GT...
Go Porsche Racing!
What happened to Speed Source? Looks like Sahlens is the fastest Mazda, with Dempsey close behind.
After Mazda dominated last year Grand-am took some performance from them, and it looks like they took too much. They were planning on giving them some performance back, but maybe that hasn't happened yet.
Also, live timing and scoring for night practice going on right now.
http://grandam.racersites-cluster.com/OrbitsServer/grandam/TimingView.html?sid=1479&VN=57673
In reply to Jamesc2123:
Thanks for the link. Coverage has come a long way since waking up at night to try and catch Dave Despain in the STP Pit Communication Center for highlights of the last four hours.
Where's a link to the map showing the GRM tent location? I have looked at the event page already but probably have race fuel fumes on the brain.
Its in between the lake and the international kink.
Found it hereEvent Map
I just hope that everyone made it thru the police protection network thru the State of Georgia. Never seen so many cops out working on a non-holiday. I got to meet one from Morrow up close and personal. Just hope that when I get back home I can figure out how to get the damn thing fixed.
Wally, you know I was thinking the same thing at the 6 hour last year. I was standing at the toe of the boot (not even any PA speakers way out there), watching cars go by, and using live timing on a smartphone to check positions, lap times, etc. I definitely had one of those moments of "damn, we've come a long way haven't we".
Yeah, great day at the track, and nice to see so many friends of GRM qualifying so well. Should be some awesome racing this weekend.
Jamesc2123 wrote: After Mazda dominated last year Grand-am took some performance from them, and it looks like they took too much. They were planning on giving them some performance back, but maybe that hasn't happened yet. Also, live timing and scoring for night practice going on right now. http://grandam.racersites-cluster.com/OrbitsServer/grandam/TimingView.html?sid=1479&VN=57673
I heard that some adjustments were made, but perhaps not enough.
By the way, I got to watch some in-car video and data from one of the top Continental Tire Challenge cars. Holy cow those cars have gotten fast. Also, the data reveals all.
Some photos from tonight's activities...
The cars always look cooler at night.
We had a few project cars at the UNO Chicago Grill for our welcome party.
Eating, drinking, and being merry. The party was a lot of fun!
Lyonel Kent was on hand to enjoy the party. He drives in tomorrow's Continental Tire Challenge with Race Epic and Murillo Racing, and has been a friend of the magazine for a long time. Good luck Lyonel! Check out LyonelKent.com
Didn't the track get re-surfaced recently? What's the feedback been?
A number of the prototypes (I think 7 drivers.) qualified under the old qualifying record set last year.
I wish every hotel front desk looked like this.
Tearoffguys Photos We have 5 cars in the top 10 in GT Autohaus ,Magnus , 65 Roses , Stevenson and Brumos . In ST class we have a 1st and 2nd P1 APR VW and P2 Rick Deman in the Trade Manage Porsche
Our "GrassRoots" style GA Corvette is at the GRM experience. Stop by and take a look. Our low tech racer was built for about 15% of the high tech builds. A conservative guess would be about 700 man hours of Woody's (Bemco Fab) spare time. A lot of short track technology here.
She still needs a bit of work, had never rolled until we put her in the trailer for trip to DIS.
Now if we can hit the lottery or get a govmint' stimulus maybe we can actually race her.
ZOO wrote: Didn't the track get re-surfaced recently? What's the feedback been?
Smoooooth. Easier to drive, too. The drivers are saying that they're not picking up a ton of time on the banking, but it's just more comfortable and the transitions from the oval to the infield are smoother. The reconfigured bus stop is also a bit quicker to navigate.
We're also seeing some equipment changes this year, with new tires for DP and GT and some teams running a new shock absorber package in Continental Tire Challenge. The GT3 Porsches have also picked up some power, too.
It's also a stacked field. I was talking to a friend who owns a DP team. They qualified like two-tenths off the pole--it's a top-10 starting point, but they're still several cars back. He said they're going to run the race like a 24-hour sprint.
Also, a PS: Even though our special ticket package is sold-out, everyone is invited to visit our compound--play some slot cars, meet the staff, mingle with other enthusiasts, sit for a spell, see the project cars, etc. We can't offer dinner or parking, but we can offer some hospitality. We'll be here all weekend.
Stopped by today, bought some magazines (that I'm sure I've read a dozen times) for the flight home, stickers, and a new T-shirt. Talked with JG a little bit.
I also noticed that the GRM Econoline sports the same number as our GT entry (#44)! Maybe if the 997 takes a dump we can borrow the van?
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