Duncan Dayton and The Circle Game
With the outright speed and reliability of the Audi and its French counterpart,
Le Lion, it was no surprise that the records fell as quickly as adult beverages
were consumed at Turn 10. Acura certainly didn’t have the race it had hoped
for, especially after a stunner of a qualifying, which saw pole over the Euro
heavies.
LMP2 was a rather lonely affair but a well deserved class win for the Lowe’s
Acura of Luis Diaz and Adrian Fernandez and fourth overall behind a deuce of
R15’s and a solo lion cub.
Regardless of how big the crowd was for Sebring, this is going to be a difficult
season for the ALMS. Now that Audi and Peugeot have gone home, the
overall car count will not only be disappointing for the fans, some of the team
sponsors will have a difficult time justifying the expenses. Le Mans has
become too expensive for racers from the former colonies except for a few.
The luckiest enjoy manufacturer backing.
So what should a high powered and highly visible team do while waiting for
the ALMS schedule to resume after the Les 24 Heures du Mans? If that team
is Patron Highcroft Racing, the answer is simple. The Indianapolis 500.
Duncan Dayton has the personal, the transporters, the facilities and a first
rate relationship with Honda. Patron would become a most welcome addition
to Gasoline Alley. So what if Dario Franchitti is in another seat, that shouldn’t
hold back Highcroft from filling a couple of slots. As he has already displayed,
Duncan Dayton is not an individual to underestimate. A few phone calls, a
meeting with Tony George, a business plan to present to Patron and it could
happen quickly.
A Patron Highcroft entry at the Brickyard would give fans of the ALMS
something to support, haven’t we had enough of the Chipster ? Besides, he
runs in that other series, the one with the prototurtles…
Come on Duncan, it’s only four left turns. You can pull this off.
Kerry Morse
March 2009
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