Wil-

Well, those are some of the perils of racing. Bad PR is always a threat in racing. Explain to your co-workers the differences in the classes, and the fact that the car that won was a Doran JE4 prototype powered by a 5.0 litre GM engine with Pontiac valve covers which is really built and maintained by Katech. Even my dumb@ss friends would pick up on the differeces in prototypes and GT cars.


By the way, I have always enjoyed your posts.

Way to go Orbit guys!

Weaver, thanks...I do the little I can.

Yeppers, just like an Ilmor motor can be Chevy one moment and Mercedes Benz the other.

In Europe the racing Vipers were called "Chrysler-Vipers"....maybe they should have been called "Daimler-Vipers" with a big three-pointed star on them.

That way...I could have cheered a German marque to victory.. :)

---Wil Ferch

I just scanned the Daytona coverage on my Tivo. A couple questions:

- Why do all the DP cars have such wide, boxy, and - IMO - ugly cockpit roofs? Is it a design rule?

- Why do I find the 996 racers so darned attractive when I find street 996s rather plain? The racers are "curvier", with more flares, right?

- How can the NASCAR drivers go out there in the rain and dark, never having raced in the wet or at night before, and do so well? Good ole boys and all, but I really respect them.

- Why do so many of the racecars use yellow headlights? Is yellow better for night driving? If so, is it legal to use yellow headlights in CA?

John, To answer your questions
1. I agree tha the DP's have an ugly roofline. They have to meet certain size criteria but some are better than others( BMW Picchio comes to mind).
2. The 996 GT3 RS cars have flares but the Cup cars don't. The GT3 series also use the turbo front end which is much nicer looking. Lowering and some nice tastful paint jobs go along way to making these cars look better and more businesslike.
3. Some of those NASCAR drivers are awesome, in fact last year Kyle Petty gave a really good interview singing praises of sportscars how much he liked driving the 996 racecars vs. the NASCARS( he drove one of the Orbit GT3-RS's last year).
4. The yellow headlights are "ACO" yellow which is what they use at LeMans. Most GT3-RS cars are speced with these so they can race in Europe. I use yellow headlights on my car and have actually printed the MA statute that allows these. I put a copy in my dash in case Officer Friendly doesn't believe me. Check your local DMV!!

Cheers, James

Rules changes. Simple as that. Changing rules to change who wins is something that NASCAR excels at.

With the right set of rules, a Hyundai could win Daytona.

Which makes me rethink and somewhat understand Porsche's current position on racing....

In the past...a win *meant* something. It meant *this* company took on all comers and won. Their technology / appraoch / products were simply better. Think of the great Silver Arrows of the late 30's.

Today...you can "buy" a racing organization. and win. Or re-label an engine and win. Or have tube-framed cars labelled "Jaguars" that are really Fords and win. Or have rules orgnaizers require your cars to have ballast and restrictors ( you know...for a better "show"....) and win.

So Porsche's brass is thinking....what's the point? We can't demonstrate technical superiority any more...it's expensive...and the spectators are "on" to the labelling scam anyway... and the organizers won't let an advantage stay too long because it upsets the "show"...Hrmpphh !...lets build an SUV and 4 door instead and milk this company's reputation (of its PAST) as much as we can. We'll retire soon with big packages before the masses find out what happened ".

---Wil Ferch ( I guess showing my cynical side today!)