Gentlemen,
Daytona 2017 was truly one for the ages. If it is possible for a race to be more exciting than Le Mans last summer, (though admittedly not as important), this was it. It was absolutely insane. Ford GT's all out front for a period of time, and then all the Ford GT's were back in the pack. Cold, wet, miserable weather all night that the drivers and crew had to deal with. We had a much easier go of it in the comfortable confines of the Rolex lounge directly over the start finish line at the very top of those massive grandstands. We could see the entire track and the cars never disappeared from view and this made for a grand experience.
But during the last hour of that race I stood outside transfixed by the raging battle playing out before me. Six cars within three seconds of the lead, often the top four within one second of the first place car. I stood next to eight men all wearing Rizi Competition Ferrari jackets and hats. With 40 minutes to go they were jubilant as it appeared their car had untouchable speed on every straightaway. It was going to take something dramatic to put the Ford GT out front and Muller knew it. Unable to out accelerate that Ferrari he chose to out brake it in turn one right in front of us. In one of the riskiest and most dramatic passes during that race he pulled off what did not look possible. All of the Ferrari spectators to my right let out a loud collective "F**K" while those of us wearing Ford colors cheered wildly.
The words of Chip Ganassi came to mind when, after the #68 Ford GT took the lead at Le Mans and Ford factory executive turned to him and said, "What happens now?" his response was, "A million things can happen now, and only one of them is good".
But the most heart attack inducing moments were yet to come as that masterfully driven Porsche 911 tried to do the exact same thing about eight laps in a row, stuffing his nose deep into turn one only to have Muller expertly slam the door shut in a masterful display of defensive positioning. I've been to thousands of sporting events in my life but I have never been so on edge. And when it was all over I was almost more relieved than jubilant.
I'll be the first to admit that I would not be calling this "One for the ages" had the final result gone another way. But it didn't.
And with all of that drama going on, Brian Stormer and I were trying to soothe our frazzled nerves by consuming 50,000 calories a day from the buffet, bar, and desert lines up in that lounge. It may take a week or so before our systems get back to normal.
What a ride!
Chip
