Bill Oursler on the man behind the curtain It takes courage to admit you’re wrong. Yet, the Grand Am’s Roger Edmondson did exactly that during the Phoenix Rolex weekend following a multi car crash in a preliminary race that damaging a good portion of his prototype field, when he announced he had made a mistake in introducing a system of qualifying races for the Rolex championship. The Grand Am president said that it had not been one of his better ideas and therefore, it would be cancelled forthwith; period, end of story. In many ways, Edmondson, the former boss of the American Motorcycle Association before coming on board with the Grand Am, has been something of a shadowy figure. A position more a function of working in an environment controlled by NASCAR’s famed France family, who, led in this case by Jim France, has been the driving force behind the Grand Am. Yet, at Phoenix, Edmondson came out of those shadows in impressive fashion, and in doing so gave everyone hope for the future of the sport in North America. The game to play… Unlike so many others in the motor sport industry, Edmondson’s passion for his cause, in this case the often criticized “NASCARized” concept that is the Grand Am and its Rolex tour, is tempered by a reality – a pragmatism, if you will, that just because one has the power, one is not always correct in how it is exercised. In short, it is the one’s objectives, not one’s ego that counts. In this posture, Edmondson is joined by his counterparts at the American Le Mans Series, Scott Atherton and Tim Mayer, who in the face of sometimes strong opposition from the folks at la Sarthe, have forged a degree of independence which bodes well for the future of the ALMS, and a certain independence that is based around a “performance balancing” formula that will permit Atherton and Mayer to restrict any entry they feel has too great of an edge on its rivals. Like Edmondson, that displays a great deal of courage on the part of Mess. Atherton and Mayer. This is particularly so in light of the fact that those restrictions will hurt the manufacturer set, upon which their championship is founded, the most. Is compromise solution… To put this in prospective, it is necessary to go back nearly a year to the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis where the FIA and its president, Max Mosley were confronted with a difficult situation which required a great deal of pragmatism to resolve after Michelin refused to guarantee the integrity of its tires on the combined road and oval course that constituted the Indy F-1 circuit. Instead of considering the needs of the sport, the promoter, or the fans, the FIA hid within the regulations and did nothing, an amazing posture for a governing body that has acquired a reputation for changing or scrapping its rulesbook on a moment’s notice when it has suited it. Yet, Mosley last June appeared far more interested in reminding the F-1 community that he and the FIA were the rulers, rather than taking what would have been the same practical course traveled by Edmondson et al. The Paris Sights For far too long the racing world has been the victim of shortsightedness spawned by those with rather small focused agendas and an inability to consider the longterm effects of their actions on the future of the sport. Consider for a moment what happened in 1967 when the FIA summarily banned the unlimited prototypes after the “low tech” NASCAR V-8-powered Ford ran over their European opposition for a second straight time at Le Mans. In their wisdom, the FIA gave less than six months notice of their imposition of a three-liter displacement cap for the prototypes – a limit that just happened to benefit the new French Matra V-23’s then beginning their journey to Le Mans glory. Moreover, when both Porsche and Ferrari took advantage of a regulatory loophole to create their impressive band of 917s and 512s, the French-oriented FIA quickly moved to outlaw those cars as well. This even though they brought a new excitement to the sports car community, and excitement which would vanish with them for more than a decade before the 956s joined battle with the Tom Walkinshaw Jaguars and the Sauber Mercedes in the mid 1980’s. Give me steam… In retrospect people will most likely forget Edmondson’s decision at Phoenix to step back from a concept that he and others felt was the wrong path to take. However, the mere fact that instead of standing “firm” when he could and denying the need to make corrections, he did what he did, represents an historic moment that others should follow when the need arises. |
Bill Oursler |
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| No. Class Team Drivers Car Sponsors 0 DP Tuttle Team Racing Brian Tuttle, West Palm Beach, FL; Jonathan Cochet, France BMW Riley Tuttle Team Racing 01 DP CompUSA Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates Scott Pruett, Auburn, CA; Luis Diaz, Mexico City, Mexico Lexus Riley CompUSA 3 DP Southard Motorsports Shane Lewis, Jupiter, FL; BMW Riley Southard Motorsports 4 DP Howard - Boss Motorsports Andy Wallace, England; Butch Leitzinger, Rebersburg, PA Pontiac Crawford The Boss Snowplow 04 GT Sigalsport BMW Gene Sigal, Los Angeles, CA; Peter MacLeod, Bellevue, WA BMW M3 Motul/ GRW.com.mx/ enVista/ OMP 5 DP Essex Racing Rob Finlay, Charlotte, NC; Michael Valiante, Vancouver, BC Canada Ford Crawford Make A Wish/ Z-Line Designs/ Finlay Motorsports 05 GT Sigalsport BMW Matthew Alhadeff, Los Angeles, CA; Bill Auberlen, Redondo Beach, CA BMW M3 Alhadeff Motorsports/ Motul/ GRW.com.mx/ enVista 6 DP Michael Shank Racing/ Mears Motor Coach Mike Borkowski, Miami Beach, FL; Antoine Bessette, St Bruno, QC Canada Lexus Riley Michael Shank Racing/ 7 DP Tuttle Team Racing Brian Tuttle, West Palm Beach, FL; Jonathan Cochet, France Pontiac Riley Tuttle Team Racing 8 DP Synergy Racing Burt Frisselle, Kihei, HI; Brian Frisselle, Kihei, HI Porsche Doran GlycoMax 09 DP Spirit of Daytona Racing Doug Goad, West Bloomfield, MI; Larry Oberto, Seattle, WA Pontiac Crawford Spirit of Daytona Racing 10 DP SunTrust Racing Wayne Taylor, Apopka, FL; Max Angelelli, Italy; Jan Magnussen, Denmark Pontiac Riley SunTrust 11 DP CITGO Racing by SAMAX Milka Duno, Venezuela; Marc Goossens, Belgium Pontiac Riley CITGO 12 DP Lowe's Fernandez Racing Adrian Fernandez, Mexico City, Mexico; Mario Haberfeld, Brazil Pontiac Riley Lowe's 14 GT Autometrics Motorsports Cory Friedman, Charleston, SC; Gordon Friedman, Charleston, SC Porsche GT3 Cup Mill And Textile Supply/ Mac Papers 17 GT SAMAX Robert Bell, England; Porsche GT3 Cup SAMAX 19 DP Playboy/ Uniden Racing Guy Cosmo, West Palm Beach, FL; Michael McDowell, Monroe, NC Ford Crawford Playboy/ Uniden/ Palms 21 GT Matt Connolly Motorsports Jeff Altenburg, Ellicott City, MD; John Angelone, Bridgewater, NJ; Matt Connolly, Bethlehem, PA BMW M3 23 DP Alex Job Racing/ Emory Motorsports Mike Rockenfeller, Monaco; Patrick Long, Las Vegas, NV Porsche Crawford Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team 24 GT Matt Connolly Motorsports Bill Cotter, Seattle, WA; Todd Hanson, Atlanta, GA BMW M3 Matt Connolly Motorsports 31 DP Team Cytosport Greg Pickett, Benicia, CA; Scott Sharp, Tequesta, FL Pontiac Riley XCYTO Energy Drink 38 GT Bernheim Racing Steve Bernheim, Beverly Hills, CA; Dwain Dement, Laguna Hills, CA Porsche GT3 Cup BernheimLaw.com 39 DP Crown Royal Special Reserve/ Cheever Christian Fittipaldi, Brazil; Eddie Cheever Jr, Orlando, FL Porsche Crawford Crown Royal Special Reserve 40 DP Derhaag Motorsports Chris Bingham, Clyde Hill, WA; Randy Ruhlman, Greensboro, NC Pontiac Riley PLP/ Preformed Line Products/ Coyote Closures 41 GT Team Sahlen Eric Lux, Amherst, NY; Charles Espenlaub, Lutz, FL Porsche GT3 Cup Rembrandt Charms/ HRPworld/ GOJO/ Hawk 47 DP TruSpeed Motorsports Charles Morgan, Little Rock, AR; Rob Morgan, Ladera Ranch, CA Porsche Riley Querencia Golf Club/ Wright Motorsports 50 DP Rocketsports Racing Paul Gentilozzi, Lansing, MI; Tomy Drissi, Los Angeles, CA Ford Crawford X-MEN 3 The Last Stand the Movie 56 GT Beachman Racing Bruce Beachman, Woodinville, WA; Rick Delamare, Snohemish, WA Corvette Beachman Racing/ Sunset Chevrolet 57 GT Stevenson Motorsports Tommy Riggins, Jacksonville, FL; Vic Rice, San Rafael, CA; John Stevenson, Swansboro, NC Corvette Stevenson Automotive 58 DP Red Bull/ Brumos Porsche David Donohue, Westchester, PA; Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ Porsche Fabcar Red Bull/ Brumos Porsche 59 DP Brumos Racing Hurley Haywood, Ponte Vedra, FL; JC France, Ormond Beach, FL Porsche Fabcar Brumos Porsche 60 DP Michael Shank Racing Mark Patterson, Bronxville, NY; Oswaldo Negri, Aventura, FL Lexus Riley Flight Options/ Nett App Lexus Riley 64 GT TRG Paul Edwards, Nipomo, CA; Kelly Collins, Newport Beach, CA Pontiac GTO.R TRG 65 GT TRG Marc Bunting, Monkton, MD; Andy Lally, Dacula, GA; RJ Valentine, Braintree, MA Pontiac GTO.R TRG/ F1 Air 70 GT SpeedSource David Haskell, Plantation, FL; Sylvain Tremblay, Coral Springs, FL Mazda RX-8 Mazdaspeed Motorsports/ Mazda USA 71 GT SAMAX/ Doncaster Racing Greg Wilkins, Toronto, ON Canada; Dave Lacey, Toronto, ON Canada Porsche GT3 Cup Minestar Solutions/ Tim Hortons72 GT Tafel Racing Robin Liddell, England; Wolf Henzler, Germany Porsche GT3 Cup NEC 73 GT Tafel Racing Jim Tafel, Alpharetta, GA; Andrew Davis, Bogart, GA Porsche GT3 Cup NEC 75 DP Krohn Racing Tracy Krohn, Houston, TX; Nic Jonsson, Sweden Ford Riley Krohn Racing 76 DP Krohn Racing Jorg Bergmeister, Germany; Colin Braun, Ovalo, TX Ford Riley Krohn Racing 77 DP Feeds The Need/ Doran Racing Terry Borcheller, Gainesville, GA; Harrison Brix, Campbell, CA Ford Doran Kodak/ Amp'd Mobile/ Sirius 80 GT Shoes for Crews/ Synergy Racing David Murry, Cumming, GA; Leh Keen, Dublin, GA Porsche GT3 Cup Shoes for Crews/ Synergy Racing 81 GT Synergy Racing Steve Johnson, Bristol, VA; Robert Nearn, England Porsche GT3 Cup Comfort Systems USA/ Johnson Commercial Development 89 DP Pacific Coast Motorsports Alex Figge, Vail, CO; Ryan Dalziel, Orlando, FL Pontiac Riley Playboy/ Vonage/ Palms Casino 97 DP CyberSpeed Racing Tony Ave, Mooresville, NC; Skip Cummins, Houston, TX Pontiac Riley CyberSpeed Racing 98 GT Pacific Coast Motorsports David Empringham, Toronto, ON Canada; Ross Thompson, Phoenix, AZ Pontiac GTO.R Pacific Coast Motorsports 99 DP Gainsco/ Blackhawk Racing Jon Fogarty, Portola Valley, CA; Alex Gurney, Irvine, CA Pontiac Riley Gainsco Auto Insurance |