Race Report:  Rolex 24 At Daytona
Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Brumos Racing returned to Daytona International Speedway last week, hoping to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Hurley Haywood’s first Daytona 24 Hour victory with a victory of our own. Fresh from a successful test session earlier in the month, the outlook was positive as both cars and drivers showed strong promise.  Early practice sessions for both the #58 and #59 teams were encouraging, with the #58 posting practice times ranging from 1st to 7th, with two first place finishes over two days.  The #59 car also was a strong performer, with a 4th place finish in the first session and a 2nd in the final practice.

David Donohue, who qualified our #58 car in the 7th spot on the grid, started the race for that team.  He encountered problems early on with a vibration that caused unscheduled pit stops and delays. A fueling problem also developed later in the race, which necessitated the return back to the garage for a two hour repair.  Despite the best efforts of the crew and strong performance of all the drivers, the ongoing problems throughout the night caused the team to fall too far behind the leader to stay in contention. Despite these numerous problems, our car was able to stay in the race to finish, coming in with a 27th overall and 13th in the DP class. 

The #59 team seemed to be faring much better, as Hurley Haywood started the race from the 17th spot, steadily gaining position during his first stint behind the wheel.  The car remained competitive through the scheduled driver changes with no major problems.  Caution periods through the early hours and evening worked well with the team’s strategy, and the sunrise showed the car still holding up well and in good position.  Around 8:30 Sunday morning, Joao Barbosa took the car into the lead on a restart, to the enthusiastic cheers of our crew.  It seemed possible that Hurley might realize his dream of a 6th win, but as we all watched on live track feed, the unthinkable happened.  The car suddenly broke loose, spinning out of control, sustaining extensive front and rear end damage. 

As our crew raced to the garage with toolboxes, anxious to assess the damage and get the car back on the track, Crew Chief Bill Keuler noted, “Only an engine failure would keep us from returning to this race”.  Fortunately, Barbosa was unharmed, but it was discovered that a bracket had cracked. This freed the rear suspension which caused the high speed spin, significantly damaging the car and necessitating 2.5 hours of repairs.  As the work was completed, an anxious crowd of onlookers held their breath as driver J. C. France climbed in and started the engine. It roared to life and the #59 was back in action.  The crowd cheered and applauded as our crew rolled the car out of the garage - not only ready to race, but clean and polished, according to Snodgrass standards.  We not only rejoined the race - we ran faster times than the leader, finishing a respectable 23rd overall and 11th in the DP class.

When asked for his comments at the conclusion of the race, Dan Davis summed it up best.  “I’m very proud of our crew for never giving up and for doing something that I saw no other team do...they practically rebuilt one-and-a-half race cars, and we finished a very competitive and grueling race that earned our crew a lot of respect in the garages.”

Hurley Haywood agreed, adding, “We have the ‘hero cards’ of the drivers, and they are the ones who get all the attention.  Everybody wants to talk to them, to see them, and to get their autographs or pictures taken with them. But when you look at what happened here - this car was basically demolished - and our crew stepped right up and worked so hard after a long night to get it back on track.  And it wasn’t back on track dirty or held together with duct tape… looked practically as good as new...and they did it with a smile.  If you ask me, the crew are the real heroes here, and their teamwork and pride are the reason Brumos has been so successful throughout the years.”

Team manager Michael Colucci will be busy the next few weeks working to relocate the Michael Colucci Racing operation to a new shop in North Carolina, and many of his crew will be making the move as well.  They are taking advantage of the longest break between races of the 2008 season to make the transition and concentrate on getting the Brumos cars ready for their next race.  We came away from the Rolex 24 feeling very positive about our prospects for 2008, and eager to get back in action at our next race. That race will take place on March 29th at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Posted on 01/29 at 01:14 PM