By Jack Webster & Eddie LePine

WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is the ideal place to hold a Porsche reunion. The track offers excellent facilities, the area has plenty to offer (for even the non-racing spectators such as the driver’s and owner’s wives in places like Carmel), and usually at the end of September, the weather is superb. It was with this backdrop that Porsche faithful from around the world descended upon the Monterey Peninsula for the highly anticipated Rennsport Reunion VII.

The event was literally a sellout, with an announced weekend crowd of over 90,000 in attendance. If you weren’t up at the crack of dawn and at the track, you had little luck finding a parking place, and that is after waiting in traffic to even get into the facility. Even with those inconveniences, the event was stellar and Laguna Seca and Porsche put on great and well-organized show.

Porsche 919 Tribute special car. [Jack Webster Photo]

Gunnar Jeanette in the Swap Shop Porsche 935L. [Jack Webster Photo]

Gulf-Porsche 917K. [Jack Webster Photo]

Porsche 911 in the beautiful California countryside. [Jack Webster Photo]

Gulf-Porsche 917K from Le Mans 1970. [Jack Webster Photo]

Jägermeister Porsche 962. [Jack Webster Photo]

Whether you liked old Porsches like the 356 or early 911 or were intrigued by the latest machinery like the all new GTP Porsche 963 or Le Mans winning Porsche 919, there was something for everyone, including tractors. Two all Porsche tractor races were held during the event, one on Saturday and one on Sunday.

If you were into celebrities, you had you pick of them as well. Patrick Dempsey, Jerry Seinfeld and John Oates (who drove a tractor in the tractor race), were among those in attendance.

Of course, the great appeal to us, other than the cars, were the legendary drivers and Porsche personalities who were on hand to greet spectators and sign autographs at the numerous autograph sessions scheduled throughout the event. Alwin Springer of Andial fame and former Porsche factory driver Patrick Long were Grand Marshalls and they were joined by such Porsche legends as George Follmer, Jacky Ickx, Jochen Mass, Derek Bell, John Fitzpatrick, Brian Redman, David Hobbs, David Piper, Thierry Boutsen, Timo Bernhard, Roman Dumas, David Donohue, Jim Busby and many, many more. Porsche fans had the rare opportunity to meet and talk to these legendary drivers in a relaxed atmosphere where it felt more like a family reunion than a race meeting. Hats off to Porsche and the organizers for making it such a fan friendly event.

For the kids (and us big kids as well), they got to see ‘Rexy’, the Porsche 911 RSR in the T-Rex color scheme that has been running in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship this season. For us older kids, we got to see a couple of Gulf-Porsche 917Ks mix it up at speed on the track. The sound alone of those cars accelerating out of Turn 11 made attending worthwhile. In addition to all the classic Porsches running in various classes, IMSA was even on hand with the Porsche Carrera Cup and held two pro races during the event. A huge favorite among the spectators were the aforementioned tractor races (we didn’t know that many Porsche tractors still existed!). Of course, not to be forgotten were the high-speed demonstration laps put on by the Porsche 919 Tribute car, the Porsche Penske 963 and the all-electric Porsche RSR.

Even a few showers on Saturday couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd, and later in the day the rain stopped and Sunday typically Monterey beautiful.

Aside from the long lines to buy Rennsport souvenirs (Porsche needs to work on that), the only complaint we heard all weekend was that there was just too much to see and do. Now, that’s not a bad problem to have.

We can hardly wait for the Rennsport VIII – hopefully coming soon. Be sure not to miss it.

See you at the races.

Eddie LePine & Jack Webster

Jack Webster has been shooting motorsports since the early 1970’s, covering Formula One, CanAm, F5000, TransAm, GrandAm and American Le Mans races, among others. In addition to his photography, he has also worked on racing teams, both in IMSA and IndyCar, so has a complete knowledge of the inner workings of motorsport. Both his photography and writing can be seen here on racingnation.com. Eddie LePine has been involved in motorsports for over 30 years as photographer, columnist, and driver. Eddie also is now a retired racer (well, retired unless a good ride pops up). You can usually find Eddie in the paddock area, deep in conversation with a driver.

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by Pete Gorski

The internet has made looking up stories and stats about racing’s past supremely easy. But one thing it can’t do is recreate the experience of poking around in Grandma’s attic at the stuff your parents stashed away up there, like car magazines from the 1950s and 1960s. (This assumes you’re my age.) And even if VR one day features a “Grandma’s Attic” preset, it won’t be able to recreate the smell of stuffy air and aging paper. Probably.

Those magazines were eventually moved from Grandma’s house into my parents’ house before finding a home in mine. So during the downtime between seasons last winter, I read through those old Motor Trend, Car and Driver, and Road and Track issues. As somebody who spends a lot of time in the vintage racing world, it’s been quite enjoyable to read stories comparing the 1960 Corvette and Porsche 356, seeing ads for the “new” Alfa Romeo GTV or reading about the 1966 Le Mans race when that event was current news. Those magazines had fairly consistent coverage of racing of all types (man Richard Petty sure looks young there…because he was!), from Formula One to IndyCar and NASCAR when it was still very much a regional sport.

One unexpected piece in the January, 1966 issue of Road and Track, a conventionally formatted story and photo essay (in color!), was a celebration of the first ten years of Road America’s existence. From May through September, much of my time is spent hiking around the 14 turns and 640 acres (according to the article, 523 acres; apparently there’s been some acquisition since then), camera in hand, so this story was a treat to find. And the first thing that leaps out at you is, things really haven’t changed that much. I mean sure, there have been changes, both functionally and aesthetically. But looking at the pictures and reading the text, it’s remarkable how so much of what makes Road America special was built in from the beginning, and remains so to this day.

The first layer, fresh and black, exiting Turn Three. [Pete Gorski Photo]

Up the hill to Turn Seven from Turn Six. [Pete Gorski Photo]

Marker sticks for reference in Turn Seven. [Pete Gorski Photo]

Waiting for the first layer, with the grind marks still visible. Notice the drop down from the edge of the curbs. [Pete Gorski Photo]

Turn Six — the runoff and curbs were untouched. [Pete Gorski Photo]

The final layer from just past Turn 13. [Pete Gorski Photo]

Turn Five, similar to Turn Six in its state of ground-and-waiting. [Pete Gorski Photo]

One of the dozen or so photos included in the story is something that, if you’ve ever been to a vintage race at RA, especially the WeatherTech International Challenge with Brian Redman, you’ve probably seen in person — the long line of Porsche 356s queued up from the base of the paddock hill to near the entrance of the Gear Box concession stand. What I thought was a vintage-inspired formation is actually something that stretches back to (at least) 1966. Makes me wonder how many of the bathtubs you see today were in that 57-year-old picture.

The rest of the photos? Turn Five is well represented, showing fans pressed along the fence ahead of a family parked in chairs, cooler behind them, kid sitting on the ground…just like you’d see today. Sure, there’s no paved runoff, no gravel trap, no concrete barriers, and a few trees and shrubs in places that are now clear, but the topography is nearly identical. There’s a panning shot that everybody tries on the run into Turn Five — had to be much easier without all the catch fence in the foreground. Canada Corner both looks the same and yet different — fewer trees on the hillside driver’s left than now, but a big trunk driver’s right that is no longer there.

The article mentions the quality of the concessions at the track, saying, “people have been known to pay admissions in order to eat the food”. If you’ve been to Road America lately, you know the food is still a big part of the RA experience. When you consider that one of the most-liked posts on the National Park of Speed Facebook page last year was a picture of an Egger sandwich from the Gear Box, or that some people chose menu item names for their personalized Road America license plate, the appeal of the track’s offerings can’t be denied. Most broadcasts from RA reference the quality of the food available…but don’t mention it at other circuits around the country.

Another aspect of the track that was highlighted in 1966 still gets mentioned on those aforementioned television broadcasts — the beauty of the place. Well maintained, and if you’ve been there in person, you know it comes by its nickname as the National Park of Speed honestly. The article refers to the constant improvements made to the facility in just the first ten years. The direction Clif Tufte charted over 68 years ago continues to this day, with each year bringing new bathrooms, improved audio and video capabilities, and the recently relocated and improved Victory Circle.

There were two things written in the article that haven’t held true for all 68 years the track has operated. Apparently, the first ten years had nearly perfect weather. If you’ve attended the IMSA races in the past few years and heard that “IMSA” stands for “It’s Monsoon Season Again, you can only wish that statement held true. Sure, it’s interesting to see who’s a Rain Master and to watch the rooster tails twist in the air. Personally, I’ll take it dry.

The other aspect that has changed is what the author of the 1966 piece, Harry Longbaugh, called “Big Race Policy”. Road America states on the History tab on their webpage that “over 500 events are held annually at Road America”. But during its opening decade Tufte wanted to put on only “big races”, which meant two or three events a year. Fans knew they were attending a “big” event and drivers wanted to appear for the same reason, so both groups turned out. Personally I think we’re all happier that that policy changed.

One thing Longbaugh didn’t address, because he had no reason to after only ten years and twenty-some events, was the track surface itself. But if you’re a fan of Road America or follow their social media feeds, you know that a total repave of the entire 4.048 miles (pit lane included) occurred last fall for the first time in 27 years. For a race track that is justifiably proud of the fact that, unlike other road courses built in the same time frame, Road America is fundamentally the same course Clif Tufte laid out (and I just spent hundreds of words elucidating all the other ways it has stayed “the same”), this was a big change.

I had the opportunity to get up to the track before the project wrapped. Approaching along Highway J with its view of Turn Three and the long run toward the Sargento Bridge, it was a little shocking to see how dark the new pavement was. We’ve all heard the term “blacktop”, but the relentless sun “fades” new pavement pretty quickly, turning anything asphalt-based into “greytop”. For years I’ve used the color of the race surface as a reference point for color-correcting photos, so next season could require some adjustments.

You might imagine there was a temptation to use this resurfacing to “improve” the course. But the irreplaceable history and pedigree was top-of-mind when it came to the repaving process. “The Walbec Group and Northeast Asphalt engineers were mindful of the track’s history and authentic character,” explained Road America Communications Director John Ewert. “Before milling the old surface and underlayment, the entire racecourse was laser surveyed, and engineers loaded the survey data into the computer-guided pavers. To further guide the pavers and underlayment preparation, over 7000 laser markers were placed to ensure that the track width, camber angles, and curbing locations were within thousandths of an inch.”

They did make some changes “behind the scenes” so to speak. “Engineers made additional steps to improve drainage around the property, including adding culverts and pipes for running conduit and cables during events,” said Ewert. Any paving project is a big production, and while all infrastructure projects have a timeline, this one needed to be done relatively quickly so the surface had enough time to cure before the 2023 season begins. “The Walbec Group and Northeast Asphalt were selected due to previous experience and overall capability in completing the job within the desired time frame.”

“Over 800 dump trucks removed more than 17,000 tons of milled asphalt surface and underlayment, with nearly the same number of trucks replacing the old material with new asphalt. During the project, two paving machines ran in echelon style (side-by-side) to remove any center seams and ensure a parabolic crown for improved surface drainage over the entire racecourse,” Ewert continued. The unique demands and stresses of a race track meant special material was used. “All the asphalt is a highly polymerized mix with aggregates sourced from around Wisconsin. Tests were run regularly, some as frequent as every hour, to ensure the surface was perfect.” Drivers who have competed on it for years, and will so for years to come, would be the first to tell you if something changed in a negative way. Nobody cares if you change the character of Interstate 43. But here?

I visited several places around the circuit that day. Obviously the Turn Five complex still looked like the Turn Five complex — that’s the whole point of all those measurements and sensors — but absent the new material, there was a drop from the height of the curbing and runoff down to the still-grooved base layer. (As you may have figured out, none of the curbing was outright replaced as part of the repave. So if you’re a curb-hopper, the experience should feel the same.) Turn Six still bore its grinding marks, while Turns Two, Three, and Seven had one layer of new asphalt laid down. The short chute from the apex of Turn Thirteen to Turn Fourteen was the closest to “completed” that I saw, fresh tarmac laid right up against the edge of the grass.

It took just about a month to redo the entire 4.048 miles plus pit lane. Having spent hours looking at cars and bikes competing on the existing pavement for years, it’s going to be interesting to see how a race at the same-but-different circuit plays out. Lap times are expected to drop, although familiar bumps, dips, and seams have all been eliminated, so for competitors, it might be a “take the bad with the good” situation.

There have been a handful of smaller events run in the 2023 season already, with the cars of the World Racing League spending the most time on the new surface at the beginning of May. Two weekends back the SVRA SpeedTour (you might know it as Spring Vintage) kicked off the “magnet” portion of the Road America schedule, so we’ll have pictures and some observations from drivers as they turn a wheel on the new pavement.

Pete Gorski

I’ve been a race fan from the first time my Dad put a slot-car controller in my hand. That was back in the 1970s, and in the intervening years, I’ve spent hours watching racing, photographing racing, and for the past seven years, writing about racing. My work has appeared in Victory Lane magazine and SpeedTour Quarterly, along with the Visors Down Motorsports Photography Facebook page.

www.gorskiphotoservices.com

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Different weekend, same procedure – again one driver dominated the ACCR Czech Formula round at the Red Bull Ring securing victories on Saturday and Sunday

PHM Racing driver James Egozi (ITA) celebrated a dominant victory in his first-ever ACCR Czech Formula race.

In Saturday’s race, the American driving with an Italian license, who started from Pole Position, capitalized on the rolling start behind the Safety Car – due to expected rain – and fought of Michael Sauter (SUI) in the early stages of the race. Egozi then gradually pulled away from the pack to cruise to his maiden triumph in this new Formula 4 championship for Central and Eastern Europe. “Coming here and immediately winning the first race is simply amazing. I don’t know what to say,” the US teenager was overwhelmed.

PHM teammate Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi (THA) also disposed of Sauter to complete a 1-2 finish for the German outfit that only made its debut in the series. Behind the duo, Jenzer Motorsport driver Reno Francot (NED) earned himself another spot on the podium coming third. The Dutchman came awfully close to Bhirombhakdi in the final stages of the race, however, had too little time on the clock to attack.

While Mathias Bjerre Jakobsen (DEN) showed a solid run to P5, his Jenzer colleague, Ethan Ischer (SUI), who went into the weekend leading the championship, could not be content with sixth place. Nikolas Taylor (GBR) and Jiri Safranek (CZE) representing home team Renauer Motorsport finished on P7 and P8 respectively, while Oliver Michl (HUN, Gender Racing) and Miroslav Mikes (CZE, SAPE Motorsport) rounded off the field.

On Sunday, Egozi made it two wins in 24 hours in Spielberg. Starting from Pole again, he stayed out of all trouble and checked out. Battling for P2, Bhirombhakdi sent Sauter wide in Turn 4, while Ischer was pushed off by Francot. As the pair ended up stranded in the gravel, the Safety Car was called on. At the restart, Egozi made no mistake and easily defended his lead, while Francot outsmarted Bhirombhakdi in Turn 4 to move into second. That way the order remained until the chequered flag. “What a weekend! I want to thank my team and everybody else who has supported me,” the PHM Racing driver was all smiles.

Further down the field, Michl decided a three-way-battle for P5 in his favour ahead of Taylor and Safranek. Newcomer Mikes crossed the line in P8. After the race, Bhirombhakdi was handed a 30 second penalty for forcing a driver off the track and Mikes a 5 second one for track limits.

ACCR Czech Formula returns with round 3 on June 9-11 at the Slovakiaring.

RacingNation Crew

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The Chamber of Commerce weather brought out one of the largest crowds to witness the 16th Annual Joe Shear Classic on Sunday at Madison International Speedway in Oregon, Wisconsin. The second race in the ASA STARS National Tour.

Race fans witnessed a great battle among drivers representing 13 States and one Canadian Province.

Those fans saw former two-time ASA Midwest Tour champion Dan Fredrickson beat five-time champion and current co-point leader in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Ty Majeski in the 200-lap event.

But afterwards in post-race inspection, Fredrickson was disqualified for a motor infraction. ASA STARS National Tour officials have declared Majeski as the winner of the Joe Shear Classic 200.

“I hate to win it this way, but it is great to win the race named after my Truck Series crew chief’s father,” Majeski said after learning he was declared the winner. “I am so happy to win this for Joe Jr. He always has some great stories about working with his father and that his dad taught him everything he knows today. It’s an honor to win the race named after his father, who is a legendary short track driver.”

Ty Majewski WINNER*. [Roy Schmidt photo]

#91 Ty Majeski, #18 Casey Roderick. [Roy Schmidt photo]

#36 Bryan Syer- Keske, #22 Gio Ruggerio, #23 Levon Van Der Geest, #33 Albert Francis. [Roy Schmidt photo]

#28 Cole Butcher, #72 Jacob Goede, #51 Steve Apel, #18 Casey Roderick. [Roy Schmidt photo]

#18 Casey Roderick, #26 Bubba Pollard. [Roy Schmidt photo]

#28 Cole Butcher, #72 Jacob Goede, #22 Gio Ruggerio, #15 Gabe Sommers, #26 Bubba Pollard, #36 Bryan Syer-Keske. [Roy Schmidt photo]

Winner James Lynch #76. [Roy Schmidt photo]

#2 Jordan Thiel, #28 Tom Steinbach, #27 Keith Slagg. [Roy Schmidt photo]

#31 Derek Doerr, #4 Cody Vander Loop. [Roy Schmidt photo]

#51 Kevin Berg, #57 Steve Henke, #5 Mike Reichenberger. [Roy Schmidt photo]

Trucks on main straight at Madison Speedway. [Roy Schmidt photo]

Derek Krause, Ty Majeski, Jeff Storm, Justin Mondeik. [Roy Schmidt photo]

Majeski qualified seventh, but after the re-draw he started on the outside of the front row and grabbed the lead from Bubba Pollard at the start. Majeski would lead the first 75 laps of the race.

At the first stage break, Majeski and just about the entire field pitted for tires and fuel. Current ASA STARS National Tour points leader Casey Roderick and Jacob Gomes stayed out and would be the top two at the start of the second stage.

Roderick would take over the top spot on the restart while Majeski fell back to 13th.

Caution would fly on lap 124 when Jonathan Eilen spun in turn two, which allowed for a competition caution. Everyone except for Gabe Sommers, Austin Nason and Steve Apel stayed out.

Apel would take over the lead when the green flag flew, a lap later Roderick would bring out a caution after he spun on the front stretch after he appeared to come in front of Jacob Goede’s nose.

With the double file choose a lane restart, this allowed Majeski to get back into the top five.

But that didn’t last long as he and Gomes made contact going down the backstretch on lap 131. Majeski would come into the pits for repairs and re-join the race, while Gomes was out of the event.

Majeski would fall back to 10th but would work his way back into the top-five with 46 laps to go in the event.

With 21 laps to go, Majeski would get by Goede for the second spot, which eventually would be the winning move to earn his second Joe Shear Classic 200 victory and first in the ASA STARS National Tour.

Bubba Pollard, another former Joe Shear Classic winner, finished second and was satisfied with his podium finish, after struggling in practice on Saturday.

“We just wasn’t as bad yesterday as we thought we were,” Pollard said after the race. “We kept searching and working hard to get better. The other car was fine, thought we may be down on motor or something and something going on, but we didn’t, we weren’t that far off. We just kept working hard, plugging away and made some big swings in the last 40 minutes of practice, but really kept to our baseline all year. We got speed and ran in the top three about everywhere we go, and that is all you can ask for then the wins will come. It was a good day.”

Gabe Sommers finishing third. Roderick would finish fourth with Levon Van Der Geest rounding out the top five.

Upon learning that he was declared the winner of the race, the first thing he started contemplating was if he would keep the specially made Joe Shear Classic 200 trophy designed by Wehr’s Machine or hand it off to his crew chief in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

The ASA STARS National Tour next event is on Tuesday, May 16th at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina for the ECMD 150. All tickets are general admission with individual day tickets priced at $30 and two day tickets are just $50.

The ASA Midwest Tour’s next event is Saturday, May 27th with the Salute the Troops 100 at Jefferson Speedway located between Cambridge and Jefferson, Wisconsin.

ASA STARS National Tour
The ASA STARS National Tour debuted in March of 2023 for Super Late Model racing in America. Announced last October, many of the best drivers in America will compete in the ten-race national tour with a minimum $100,000 point fund. The championship team will be guaranteed $25,000.

The ASA STARS National Tour is made up of three races from each of the regional pavement Super Late Model Series under the Track Enterprises banner; the ASA CRA Super Series, the ASA Midwest Tour and the ASA Southern Super Series.

The Team Construction Winner’s Circle program has been announced as a part of the ASA STARS National Tour for licensed drivers/teams with perfect attendance. The program provides additional financial incentives to those teams who support the Series, thanks to Team Construction.

Track Enterprises, a Racing Promotions Company based in Illinois, will operate the ASA STARS National Tour. It announced the acquisition of the CRA sanctioning body in January and followed that up with the purchase of the Midwest Tour in July. In October, Track Enterprises President, Bob Sargent announced a partnership with the Southern Super Series which set the table for the formation of the ASA STARS National Tour.

RacingNation Crew

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Rosberg X Racing (RXR) were quickest in Q1 at the NEOM Island X Prix II, with their nearest Championship challengers No.99 GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing close behind in second. X44 rounded out the top three.

9 July 2022, Sardinia: Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinksy and Johan Kristoffersson came out on top in the opening session with a time of 9:00:503, over 13 seconds quicker than their effort in last round’s Q1 as the teams pushed their ODYSSEY 21s to the limit.

While RXR enjoyed a comfortable 10-second buffer to the rest of the field, it was a closely fought session behind them with less than five seconds separating the top five teams.

Winners of the first race in the double-header, co-organised by the Automobile Club d’Italia and Regione Sardegna, No.99 GMC Hummer EV finished in second place as they chase another podium finish in Sardinia.

Third in the Q1 standings were X44 as they returned to fighting form, coming out ahead of NEOM McLaren Extreme E and Genesys Andretti United Extreme E in fourth and fifth, respectively.

In sixth place were ABT CUPRA XE, with a particularly impressive lap from Nasser Al-Attiyah who was quickest through Sector 1 in Q1, and finished less than 0.5 seconds off the best lap of the session from Kristoffersson.

Coming in seventh were JBXE and behind them in eighth were Laia Sanz and Carlos Sainz Snr. For ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team, the latter returning from his big crash in last round’s Final is a huge boost.

XITE ENERGY Racing finished Qualifying 1 in ninth place. The team could have been higher up the order, but Tamara Molinaro lost crucial seconds with a half-spin as she pushed hard with the ENOWA Hyperdrive.

Rounding out the standings were Veloce Racing as the team recovered from a DNF in Q1 earlier this week to put forward a trouble-free two laps.

Results
1. Rosberg X Racing 9:00:503
2. No.99 GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing +10.741
3. X44 +11.374
4. NEOM McLaren Extreme E +15.126
5. Genesys Andretti United Extreme E +15.203
6. ABT CUPRA XE +16.919
7. JBXE +21.634
8. ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team +21.701
9. XITE ENERGY Racing +22.917
10. Veloce Racing +34.065

To learn more about Extreme E, visit – www.Extreme-E.com

RacingNation Crew

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By Jack Webster & Eddie LePine

There is a place, a very special place, located in the Kettle Moraine region of southern Wisconsin which is the resting place for an outstanding collection of motorsports history. On the face of it, it would seem like the most unlikely location for such a collection to reside, let alone thrive. For this is a collection of Eagles – Gurney Eagles to be exact.

These Eagles were hatched in California, fledged and flew the nest and then raced around the country and the world. They were the creations of Dan Gurney – engineer, designer, builder, driver – all around American entrepreneur. His company was aptly named: All American Racers.

A small group in Wisconsin, the Dresang family of husband and wife Rick & Alison along with son Jacques and daughter Alissa, have taken on the task of being “caretakers of history” as they restore, display and tell the stories of their collection of Gurney Eagles. With the able assistance of Paul Jay as full-time mechanic, fabricator and crew chief, this small group has taken on the mission of preserving Dan Gurney’s legacy for future generations to enjoy.

Jacques Dresang at speed in the DGF Eagle. [Photo by Rich Zimmermann]

Father and Son, Rick and Jacques Dresang, at Road America. [Photo by Eddie LePine]

Kettle Moraine Preservation and Restoration shop. [Photo supplied by Jacques Dresang]

DGF Eagle Formula Ford in the shop. [Photo supplied by Jacques Dresang]

Jacques Dresang in the Eagle DGF at Road America. [Photo by Rich Zimmermann]

From Santa Ana, California to Hubertus, Wisconsin is quite a flight for these Eagles. As it has turned out they couldn’t have ended up in better hands.

The Dresang family has always had a very close relationship with nearby Road America, and Rick actually attended his first race there in 1973 – by sneaking into the track in the trunk of a friend’s car! He witnessed Mark Donohue win the CanAm race in the Porsche 917/30 and that was that – he was hooked.

By 1975 Rick owned a garage in nearby Plymouth (just down the road from Road America) and lent Dan Gurney his shop to do some repairs on the team’s transporter. Gurney’s crew left $300 in the tip jar as a ‘thank you’. Perhaps that encounter with Dan Gurney provided the spark of inspiration for what would eventually evolve into Kettle Moraine Preservation and Restoration, for fast forward to 2004 when Rick and his wife Alison purchased their first Eagle – a 1972 Mark Donohue car. That was followed four years later by the acquisition of the former Chip Mead 1981 Eagle Cosworth (recently shown to the public at Vintage Indy at Road America). That was followed up in 2009 with the purchase of the 1977 Eagle DGF Formula Ford, which was restored and is currently campaigned by son Jacques in vintage events around the country.

Jacques inherited his father’s passion for motorsports and began racing karts in 1996 at the age of 11. After a successful and multi-championship karting career, he helped with the restoration of the family’s growing Eagle collection and since 2010 he has been the pilot of the crowd favorite 1977 All American Racers Eagle DGF, capturing many wins in vintage racing (against newer machines). The Eagle has landed in the proper hands, as it were.

We caught up with Jacques at the NTT IndyCar race at Road America, where Kettle Moraine Preservation and Restoration was displaying the 1981 Chip Mead Eagle Cosworth. The car looked fantastic, but was not yet running as it needed plumbing to be done to complete the restoration. If you come to Road America for the WeatherTech International Challenge with Brian Redman vintage weekend in July and you should be able to see the car running. The July event will also be a very special race weekend, as the it will feature AAR Gurney Eagles from all over the world. Suffice to say, the Dresang collection of outstanding cars will be a front and center part of the display.

Jacques: “The five cars we will have at Road America in July will be the 1981 Eagle, the 1972 Eagle that Mark Donohue raced in 1973 as the Sunoco/DX Offenhauser powered car, another ’72 Eagle that Lloyd Ruby ran as the Commander Motorhomes car in late ’73 and ’74 and then a 1977 Eagle DGF Formula Ford that I campaign. Finally, a car that is new to our collection and that has not been seen in public in a long, long, long time – the 1977 Jorgensen Offset Eagle Sidepack, that is also Offenhauser powered and was driven by Pancho Carter during the 1977 season.”

We were intrigued by the former Chip Mead 1981 Eagle Cosworth on display in the Vintage Indy paddock at Road America. (Author’s note: Jack Webster worked closely with Chip in the 1980s on the Porsche Fabcar team and he was a good friend.)

Jacques picks up the story: “What we have on display is a 1981 Eagle Cosworth built by Dan Gurney’s All American Racers. This car was purchased for the 1981 season by Dayton, Ohio’s Chip Mead. Mead bought the car basically just as a rolling chassis and decided to go the unconventional route, he leased a Cosworth DFX from Dan Gurney and Teddy Yip and that was unfortunately the car’s undoing as the center of gravity changed because of the height of the Cosworth versus the stock block Chevy. And so, this car is kind of an odd duck.

“Chip failed to qualify at Indy in 1981 even though he was quick enough as he had a gear failure on his final attempt. Among other drivers who drove this car was Big Al (Unser) who ran it once in 1981 for Longhorn Racing – he actually led four laps at Michigan International. This was also Chris Kneifel’s rookie car and Gilles’s brother Jacques Villeneuve’s rookie car in 1982 as well.”

What drew Jacques to Chip’s somewhat obscure old ride? “I always want to know more about a character, be it a Formula One driver, like a Rolf Strommelen – one of my personal favorites, or the car that didn’t make a mark in history – there’s always a story to be told. It’s journalism 101, you just have to find the angle and with these cars – they are far more than just cars – there’s always a human interest story, whether it was the driver, or where they came from. In 1981 Chip Mead was going to Indy, it was his ultimate dream – he did more later in IMSA running the Fabcar with John Higgins, Howard Cherry and James King, but at that point in time (1981), Indy and this car was everything.”

(Jack Webster’s note: I can attest to Jacque’s statement. Regardless of what he accomplished in racing after that 1981 season, Chip always looked back on Indy 1981 as the “what if” moment of his racing career. We discussed it many times.)

What drew the family to Dan Gurney Eagles in the first place, besides that chance encounter at Rick’s shop back in 1975? Jacques: “The fact that Dan Gurney went and challenged the world as an American with a small team was amazing. That he took American know how and creativeness and the ‘never say die’ attitude to challenge the world and he was successful.”

One can see Dresang’s focus and passion for the AAR Gurney Eagles, for each one has a story to tell and it is the mission of the Dresang family to tell those stories. Of their shop, he says: “It’s a restoration shop, it’s a hobby shop. We work on our own cars. It’s funny, my parents rescue St Bernards, I rescue dogs and together we rescue race cars.”

Perhaps the mission statement of Kettle Moraine preservation and Restoration sums it up the best: “We are simply caretakers. The moment one fools him or herself into believing more, he or she is most likely three feet into a concrete wall. Since August 2004, KMPR has been actively restoring, preserving and fielding vintage race cars and transporters, primarily those that began life in Dan Gurney’s All American Racers shop in Santa Ana, California. Some cars have an amazing history. Some started and finished their lives classified simply as ‘also rans’. Despite the disparity, each vehicle has a story, and it is the stories and people that are entwined in each car’s history are what we long to keep alive. With each restoration comes great responsibility to showcase history in great detail and accuracy; to honor those who made each car a part of history, now a time capsule of a time when racing was at its peak.”

With the continued dedication to Dan Gurney’s legacy, we can say that his Eagles are in good hands. They have come from hatching in Santa Ana, to fledglings leaving the nest, to racers known the world over.

Now they reside in a place that is the true “Eagle’s Nest” and their stories are being shared with new generations of racing fans

For more information, visit their website: kmvintage.net

Eddie LePine & Jack Webster

Jack Webster has been shooting motorsports since the early 1970’s, covering Formula One, CanAm, F5000, TransAm, GrandAm and American Le Mans races, among others. In addition to his photography, he has also worked on racing teams, both in IMSA and IndyCar, so has a complete knowledge of the inner workings of motorsport. Both his photography and writing can be seen here on racingnation.com. Eddie LePine has been involved in motorsports for over 30 years as photographer, columnist, and driver. Eddie also is now a retired racer (well, retired unless a good ride pops up). You can usually find Eddie in the paddock area, deep in conversation with a driver.

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During Qualifying for the Season 2 opener in NEOM, Christine GZ suffered injuries from a serious crash on her debut for Veloce Racing.

Three months on from fracturing her foot and breaking several ligaments, the Italian opens up in an enlightening interview with Veloce. GZ details the aftermath of the dramatic incident and reveals how a neuro coach has helped her through the mental impact as she readies to make her racing comeback.

Looking back to the Desert X Prix in NEOM, how were you feeling at your first race with a new team?

Christine GZ, Veloce Racing: “When I started the day off, I think I was jumping around as usual. My only thought was I wanted to get in the car and do my best. I felt ready that weekend, everything was great!

“I wasn’t really on the edge. I made a few small mistakes that set me back a little but the guys on the radio said we were fastest on track. Then I remember going down the dune and trying to keep inside as much as possible. There were already a lot of ruts and I don’t really know what happened because at the end of the day, I feel like it wasn’t really a mistake, it just happened.”

What thoughts were going through your head immediately after the accident?

GZ: “My hands were back on the steering wheel, my foot was down, I was rolling, and I was like come on! Just go back on four wheels and we’re going to finish this. Then, suddenly, I was upside down and trying to get out. I realised I couldn’t because my foot was stuck.

“The guys were super quick taking me out of the car and back to the paddock, but as soon as they tried to put me on the floor, my foot felt dead. I realised something had gone wrong.”

When you knew you were injured and would need medical treatment, how did that affect you?

GZ: “It was all so serious. I was like I’m fine, it’s just my foot. But they wouldn’t let me do anything, so we were just waiting in the hospital. I kept telling them that I have a race in an hour, so I have to get out as soon as possible. But the doctors said no, it’s not possible.

“The doctor said that the foot was fractured on the metatarsian and two ligaments were broken. He was telling me that normal people take about four months to recover. I was thinking normal people, what does that mean? I can do it in one month for sure. Then the physiotherapist said that maybe in two months it would be fixed.”

How did this setback impact you and your mentality towards racing?

GZ: “Mentally it impacted me in various ways. I passed from everything is going to be alright, to when I had surgery and I couldn’t do anything. I was stuck and I thought okay, this might be an actual problem.

“You go on Instagram, and you see everyone training and racing and then, you’re just there stuck in your bed. You can’t even get glasses of water.”

How did you manage to keep positive during this recovery period?

GZ: “I don’t think I ever let the bad, the not getting there, take over me. I was always like I know that I’m going to get there, even though I’m not right now, I will.

“When the race was moved, I had more time to recover but the objective was the same. I never told my physio that my race was postponed so that they’d still let me train so much. Every day except Sundays, because they don’t let me in. I was doing between five and six hours of rehab.”

What treatment did you receive in your recovery, especially around your mental health?

GZ: “I started having dreams about the accident happening over and over again. I talk about these things with our mental coach, and he helps me to understand what’s going on and how we can take all this to make it positive.

“My friends were impressed that I was actually talking about it. Normally I would be like oh everything is fine, which I think is what most athletes do. We hide the fact that we are not feeling good.”

So, as part of your rehabilitation, you’ve been receiving neuro training. What exactly does that entail?

GZ: “I have been working on that since last year and I think I feel that has been a great improvement for me. In neuro, he works with your fatigue, nerves, stress, reaction and all this together, he tries to bring it to another level.

“Normally during my daily life, because it’s so busy with training and racing and so on, he’s never gone too hard on me. You can’t start your day and feel already dead before going to training. What we’ve done now that I’m at home is to train at our maximum level so that you see the consequences of how you can train at that high performance and experience how that affects the rest of the day.”

Breaking the stigmatism around mental health, would you recommend neuro training to other athletes?

GZ: “Every athlete should have a mental trainer. People get a little bit scared when you say psychologist, but all this time has given me a chance to think and see how to get better in a different way.

“We kind of drive away from this mental health story because we’re drivers and athletes, we are strong and put in 150% for everything we do. I think we have to see it in a different way.

“It’s crazy because I thought okay, this is my limit. Then when I do neuro and I think that I can’t go over this and can’t do more, I see that my limit is actually so much higher.”

It sounds like, despite the hardships you’ve been through, you’re going to come back stronger than ever before.

GZ: My head right now is 100%. I’m ready to get back in the car. Maybe in another situation I wouldn’t be like that. But with all this help, I’m on it! I’m ready to get back and smash it in Sardinia.

Head to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k1QN_gDB7M to watch the full interview.

To learn more about Extreme E, visit – www.Extreme-E.com

Season 2 Calendar: 
Neom, Saudi Arabia
19-20 February 2022
Sardinia, Italy
06-07 July 2022
Sardinia, Italy
09-10 July 2022
Antofagasta, Chile
24-25 September 2022
Punta del Este, Uruguay
26-27 November 2022

RacingNation Crew

The post Christine GZ: “Every Athlete Should Have a Mental Trainer” appeared first on RacingNation.com.

During the Crazy Race of the Season 2 opener in NEOM, Kevin Hansen suffered a serious back injury behind the wheel. Two months on from cracking vertebrae 8 and being airlifted to hospital, the popular Swede is back behind the wheel of a racing car again and closing in on a return to competitive action. In a revealing interview, the JBXE driver details his recollections of the injury, his recovery and how he is still desperate for a maiden Extreme E victory.

Kevin Hansen [courtesy Extreme E]

Kevin Hansen, JBXE: It was really nice! There were some initial mixed feelings because I was a little bit nervous, but the doctors had given me the green light to get back in the car. I’ve had plenty of time to build up to it. It was such a good feeling to get going again and slide around on track – it felt very natural.

I had a good feeling from all of my runs and really enjoyed it, especially the feeling of going fast. It was a little bit scary to go over the jumps in the beginning, but I did it over and over again and I felt fine.

The doctor said if anything I should be stronger than before because it has over-healed itself – like the body always does. It was amazing to get back out there.

It was like I didn’t have to think when I got back in the car – it all felt so natural despite not having driven for a couple of months. Once I got the power down, had some rotations and got it sliding, it was like I had never been away.

I was perhaps a little bit rusty and not completely perfect out there, but the first test was not really about that. It was about getting some kilometres under my belt and feeling how my back responded to it. It was really positive!

XE: That’s great to hear. Looking back to NEOM, can you tell us a little bit about the injury you suffered?

KH: The injury was a crack to vertebrae 8 – it moved from being shaped like a square to that of a triangle.

With Extreme E, we have two different drivers in the car of different sizes. My teammate Molly [Taylor] had an insert in her seat and I didn’t, and that compression in the final downhill run in NEOM meant that my hips were not fully fixed to the seat. When I moved forward, the weakest point of my body going over any jumps was my back. My hip moved a bit and it compressed my top vertebrae, which led to the crack.

I’ve been through worse compressions previously when competing in Rallycross, but just catching the wrong part of terrain at the wrong time was a bit too much and that caused the injury.

I experienced huge, incredible pain almost immediately and I knew I had broken my spine straight away. I had no doubt about that – I also heard the crack and it was really loud! I could feel it directly.

The first thing I did in the car was check that I could feel my legs. I tried to move them around and was relieved when I knew I could still feel them.

Then it was a long painful drive back to the Switch Zone on the speed limiter – we were still leading the Crazy Race at that moment don’t forget!

I was on the radio to the team saying that I had hurt my back, but we were in front and in my mind, I was still thinking about that knowing I had to get out of the car to help us on course.

XE: It’s amazing that in spite of the impact, you still had the capacity to think about the race and your team’s chances of victory on track. How do you recall feeling once you jumped out the car?

KH: I jumped out due to all of the adrenaline I guess. I was really scared as I know these injuries are extremely serious. I didn’t know just how bad it was at that time – whether it was fully compressed or something totally different. I just knew that the pain was crazy! It was a shooting pain right up into my chest as well.

I got some treatment really quickly and medication to ease the pain and get control over everything.
Since then, my recovery has been all about staying stable to allow for my spine to recover and heal. More recently, I have been able to move more freely as a result which has been great.

XE: What treatment did you receive as part of your rehabilitation, both immediately after the accident and upon leaving NEOM?

Kevin Hansen [courtesy Extreme E]

I had a few nurses taking care of me, too, day and night, and I was given the time to recover and get my energy back. I took my first steps after the injury in the hospital in Saudi Arabia, too, which was a big moment. I was given a high level of help which was good to feel confident in the early stages.

I then flew home before starting my rehab directly with the Red Bull Athlete Performance Center (APC). It was really hard work there, where I mainly focused on my mobility – I still had my brace on at this point, so I was concentrating on flexing and latterly exercises with the brace to start building up my core movements.

Before starting rehab at the Red Bull APC, I made sure I was always walking at home to ensure I was consistently moving whenever I could – so long as I wasn’t in pain.

This allowed me to keep the blood flowing and help heal up my back as I wasn’t staying stiff. That definitely helped with my early rehab, while I was in the brace for four weeks.

There are so many talented people at Red Bull APC, while Red Bull also have their own spinal cord programme with ‘Wings for Life’ – I knew they would be the best people in the world to work with when it came to recovering from a back injury.

The physios, nutritionists and coaches were superb and I got help with just about everything that you could imagine in order to recover from the injury. It was all tailored and structured for my recovery.

XE: It must have been a challenge to recover physically from such an injury, but what did you have to overcome from a mental perspective?

KH: I got a lot of motivation after suffering this injury. I was really hungry to get back because I knew that without hard work I would never be as good as I was before. I really think that now I am so much more structured and much stronger mentally from this experience. I feel stronger despite being beaten down by what happened. When you take a hit you can get really low – especially when you cannot move or even sleep like you want to.

I had a lot of support from my friends and family which was really nice – I think they were more worried than I was! The support I received was great and I received so many messages which was incredible in the days after – even weeks after – which meant a lot. I had a lot of people get in touch which meant a great deal – it was also really motivational for me.

You can get really vulnerable and so you have to put in the hard work to get back. If I didn’t go out and walk, or didn’t go out to Austria to get the right support, no one else was going to do it for me. This has helped me a lot. Getting into the car for the first time was a big step and now it is about pushing myself even further to focus on my performance behind the wheel.

Going back to my physical condition following the accident, I feel almost stronger than before. This is also a real positive for me. I even managed to take part in the Wings for Life World Run last weekend – which was a great feeling!

XE: It sounds like, in spite of what you have endured so far, we are going to see an even better Kevin Hansen for the rest of the season! What are the next steps in your recovery?

KH: The next step is to build up my confidence in the car. I want to really feel 110% confident and get back to my performance levels from before. It is about strengthening those competition points and look at how I can improve things. It is about building up even further my physical and mental strength. I guess it is thanks to this injury that I feel this way!

As for Sardinia… I certainly still have some unfinished business with my Crazy Races. I am still desperate for my first win in Extreme E and I hope to be back for the double-header in July.

To learn more about Extreme E, visit – www.Extreme-E.com

Extreme E Season 2 Calendar: 
Neom, Saudi Arabia
19-20 February 2022
Sardinia, Italy
06-07 July 2022
Sardinia, Italy
09-10 July 2022
Antofagasta, Chile
24-25 September 2022
Punta del Este, Uruguay
26-27 November 2022

RacingNation Crew

The post Kevin Hansen’s Road To Recovery appeared first on RacingNation.com.

Begun in 1986 as a trade show for the “grass-roots racer,” PRI (Performance Racing Industry) is a three-day event, now held at the Indianapolis Convention Center since its 2013 move from Orlando, Florida. The show attracts more than 1,000 manufacturers who display their racing products to an estimated 70,000 racers and teams who attend each December.

Though the main reason for the PRI show itself is to bring the latest in racing hardware to the grass-roots racing community, the show also brings sanctioning bodies, race teams, sponsors, etc. an opportunity to reach attendees with their latest rules, schedules and tracks.

Some highlights of the show:

● Each year PRI hosts an opening morning breakfast where a nationally known racing speaker answers questions from the audience. This year, speakers were Indianapolis Motor Speedway and NTT INDYCAR SERIES owner Roger Penske and IMS president Doug Boles. Among a list of topics they covered, Penske took the opportunity to remind the crowd that it is more important than ever to work together across the (motorsports) industry. “I can’t think of a better place to gather than the PRI Show. This is the perfect setting to communicate with race leaders,” he noted. Penske and Boles discussed issues related to IMS and Indycar racing in general, including the desire to to host a world class endurance race there, and eventually bring an F1 race back to the 16th Street circuit. Boles and Penske showed their mutual respect, often picking up the dialog of the other as one paused.

● Another highlight of the first day schedule was an appearance by drag racing champion John Force and his Peak team at the Chevrolet performance booth. Sixteen-time NHRA champion Force, Top Fuel driver and Force daughter Brittany, and teammate Robert Hight, 3-time Funny Car champion, spoke to the crowd with Jim Campbell, VP of Performance and Motorsports at General Motors, moderating. Greg Anderson, the NHRA Pro-Stock champion, who also runs for Chevy, spoke to the crowd earlier.

● Sanctioning bodies, such as the World of Outlaws sprint car series and the ARCA Menards stock car series, boasted large displays, handing out 2022 schedules and answering questions from fans. Missing from the ARCA booth was long-time ARCA VP of Business & Corporate Development, Mark Gundrum. The Wisconsin native recently announced his retirement from ARCA and will be missed.

● One of the groups taking advantage of the large, racing oriented crowds at the PRI Show was the Museum at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Museum, constructed in the track’s infield 50 years ago, is in the process of bringing its exhibits to more up-to-date standards, along with some talk of building a new facility. Their exhibit at PRI included several winning racers (Jimmy Clark’s Lotus Ford among them), and was museum staffed during the show. Eight levels of membership, along with various benefits, are offered to supporters. For more information on joining and supporting their efforts, see www.imsmuseum.org.

● The 2022 PRI Show will be held December 8th-10th, again in Indianapolis. It is open to racing suppliers, race teams, partners and sponsors involved in the sport.

Paul Gohde

Paul Gohde heard the sound of race cars early in his life.

Growing up in suburban Milwaukee, just north of Wisconsin State Fair Park in the 1950’s, Paul had no idea what “that noise” was all about that he heard several times a year. Finally, through prodding by friends of his parents, he was taken to several Thursday night modified stock car races on the old quarter-mile dirt track that was in the infield of the one-mile oval -and he was hooked.

The first Milwaukee Mile event that he attended was the 1959 Rex Mays Classic won by Johnny Thomson in the pink Racing Associates lay-down Offy built by the legendary Lujie Lesovsky. After the 100-miler Gohde got the winner’s autograph in the pits, something he couldn’t do when he saw Hank Aaron hit a home run at County Stadium, and, again, he was hooked.

Paul began attending the Indianapolis 500 in 1961, and saw A. J. Foyt’s first Indy win. He began covering races in 1965 for Racing Wheels newspaper in Vancouver, WA as a reporter/photographer and his first credentialed race was Jim Clark’s historic Indy win.Paul has also done reporting, columns and photography for Midwest Racing News since the mid-sixties, with the 1967 Hoosier 100 being his first big race to report for them.

He is a retired middle-grade teacher, an avid collector of vintage racing memorabilia, and a tour guide at Miller Park. Paul loves to explore abandoned race tracks both here and in Europe, with the Brooklands track in Weybridge England being his favorite. Married to Paula, they have three adult children and two cats.

Paul loves the diversity of all types of racing, “a factor that got me hooked in the first place.”

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