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| Paddock Patter At DIS - Race Day |
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© Andrew S. Hartwell
Optimism And Performance - The Goldin Brothers Secret?
Steve Kuykendall is the crew chief for the Goldin Brothers Racing Mazda RX-8 (#08) being driven this weekend by brothers Steve and Keith Goldin, John Finger and Ron Zitza. In the hours before race start we talked with Kuykendall about this effort. We are certain we have seen this car at this race before. But we don't think we have ever seen it anywhere else. And Kuykendall was making sure the drivers would see everyone else as he was busily scrubbing down the front windshield when we caught up to him.
Yes, we have been here several years in a row, and this is the car we ran here last year. We had a lot of mechanical difficulties, a lot of problems. But we've solved those problems. We have done a lot of testing this year, and data acquisition, and we have really got the car handling. We feel like we have a shot at winning this race.
We wondered if the Mazda would be getting a good run at other races throughout the season.
We may run a few races here and there this season. Last year we only ran the Rolex 24 and another Grand-Am race in Homestead. We have also run a few SCCA races with some other cars but this is the only race we run this car in.
One need only look at the recent history of this event to know that some teams just ooze optimism about how they can perform. Ironically, it seems the smaller teams are the ones with all the chutzpah, or more correctly perhaps, the determined optimism to face the giants and call themselves David. Kuykendall certainly sweated enthusiasm for this car and this team in this race.
We have a lot of mechanical gremlins worked out of this car. We've got the horsepower we need now. We have a good driver lineup with a lot of experience. This should be our year. We have not had one single problem this weekend. We are really looking forward to this race.
We could tell Kuykendall whole heartedly believed his team would get the job done. We asked him what team amongst the over 40+ GT teams running this race he thought might be the most optimistic about their chances to win.
This team right here, right now! We are taking this one home!
How can you not get wrapped up in that kind of enthusiasm? We hope the team shows well for such gusto should not go unrewarded. Although we suspect there are at least 40 other GT teams out there who could care less about who has the most enthusiasm and more about who gets to drink champagne in victory lane.
And the end of the first hour of the race, the Goldin Brothers Mazda was listed in 56th place overall (out of 69 cars) and 29th (out of 41 GT cars) in class. Is it possible some of that optimism could be converted into liquid and be poured into their tank?
At Speed Hopes To Be
Continuing our theme of the little guys with all the positive energy, we moved over a few garages where we saw the #28 At Speed Motorsports Porsche was being worked on in the paddock just a short time before the start of the race. We asked the team crew chief, Charles Land about the activity. Guess what? He too was chock full of optimism for his team's chances in the crowded GT class.
It's a new car for us and we are just going through it to make sure it is dependable and that it is safe. The main focus for us is to finish 24 hours. We missed yesterday morning because we had a safety issue and we needed a part that had not yet arrived. We weren't allowed to go until we got the part so we made the evening practice, and we had practiced Thursday night. We had a test session here at Daytona a week or two ago to dial it in and get familiar with the car.
I think we have, in our main driver, Ian Baas - who won here last year driving with Randy Pobst - a man who has the maturity and the experience to finish. Hopefully our other three drivers (Joel Fineberg, Bruce McQuiston and Joe Safina) will follow suit. But knowing what he accomplished la
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