Blog

We had quite the up and down day at Infineon on Sunday, Father's Day. Lynda, Lindsay, Sam and Patrick were all in attendance. But our Miccosukee Resort Chevy Impala looked like it had been through a war after the race.

We managed to make some early progress, pitted early and with a pressure adjustment, our 2nd set of tires worked very well. And we moved from 31st all the way to 6th! After a green flag stop for gas only, cautions dominated the final 15 laps or so and that's where we sustained most of our damage.

The serious bumping started with the #29. Kevin Harvick couldn't pass me but had fresher tires which helped his mid-turn speed....and he continually drilled my car in the back several times eventually pushing the left rear quarter panel into the tire. And my neck is still sore from the whip-lash!

Things just got worse from there. I was a few cars behind Dale Jr., and someone spun him out in turn 7, and all I could see through the dust was the number 88! Do not hit the Nationwide Series team owner in the door! I took to the grass and lost another 13 or 14 spots and the best we could recover to was 27th, right behind Dale Jr. I was protecting his rear! Rrrrright....

Anyway, it was great fun working with the Phoenix Racing crew. One of my very first NASCAR races was in the #4 Chevy for James Finch and his Phoenix Racing team in the former Busch Series event at Watkins Glen in 1997. We've come full circle.

We will be better prepared for Watkins Glen, and with some time to prepare. The Hendrick Chevy power should really help us at The Glen as well.

Thanks for visiting, Ron

Sonoma day two

June 20, Sonoma

Day two and final practice with Phoenix Racing and our Miccosukee Chevy Impala is complete. The team and I focused on trying to improve forward traction and also to improve high-speed balance.

To improve forward traction we softened rear springs and did some shock adjustments, which had us in 11th after the first practice.

In the final practice we tried a front spring adjustment and a couple of different front sway bars and finished up practice 2nd! Not bad considering the amount of time we have to work with the car and team.

It's still going to be a long race. The traction is very poor, and after a few laps the pace drops off about one second and you're just trying to keep it on the track. I think we will be okay though. We have to survive the first couple of turns, having to start from the 14th row, and then hopefully we can start moving forward.

This new NASCAR policy for double-file restarts should create some serious havoc, particularly late in the race! So don't miss it.

More after the race.

Thanks, Ron

Sonoma Qualifying notes

June 20, Sonoma

Well, we are starting 29th in tomorrow's Sprint Cup race at Infineon Raceway. Considering the Phoenix Racing Team finished converting the car from an oval track car and, putting on the Chevrolet body only this past Monday!....I'd say we did pretty well.

We had to qualify on time, and the new format is the go-or-go-home cars (12 at Infineon) are competing for 8 spots in the field. These teams are all outside of the top-35 in points and do not have a guaranteed spot. All entries outside of the top-35 are competing for the final 8 positions in the 43 car field.

We had 90 minutes of practice and I have not driven much at all this year and no Sprint Cup cars since last August. So needless to say I was a little nervous.

Challenge number one in practice was we lost track time because we had to change a transmission. We managed to get two qualifying runs in and were as high as sixth but finished up practice 25th, having managed 9 laps.

For qualifying, we were the final car of 48 to run. The track was very slick but we finished the lap 3rd of the 12 go-or-go-home entries and 29th overall. Goal number one accomplished...MAKE THE SHOW!

I will report in after final practice later today.

We're having fun driving for James Finch and his crew. It's old school racing, low key, having fun and just go'in racin'!

Thanks, Ron

Le Mans 2009, Infineon Raceway June 21

The 77^th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans was a great race all around. The weather for a change, stayed dry throughout the event. The locals were excited as one of the three Peugeot’s entered won the race overall!

In the GT1 class, the #63 Compuware Corvette C6-R with Jan, Johnny and Antonio Garcia, managed to run trouble free to win a sixth Le Mans title for Corvette Racing, in ten attempts. The #64 of Oliver, Olivier and Marcel Fassler led the class with two hours to go when something internally broke in their transmission, stranding them short of the pit lane entrance and ending their race.

Congratulations to all of the crew for their outstanding work. And to crew chief Dan Binks, he finally has a Le Mans 24 hour victory in his collection of wins!

Also, a big thank you to all the members of the European Corvette Club. I spent a couple of hours in their corral area in the infield at Le Mans and found them to be incredibly enthusiastic about Corvette’s, and the group was from all over Europe! It was a pleasure meeting them all.

We’re off to Infineon Raceway this weekend for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race. I will be driving the #09 Chevy for James Finch and his Phoenix Racing team. It’s a bit of a last minute deal and I have not driven the car as yet but we will give it our best and work hard at getting a decent set up in the Friday practice before qualifying.

It’s never a bad trip to California and the track is located near beautiful Sonoma – although I miss out on the fine local wine, the rest of family and friends do not!

Lynda, Lindsay, Sam and Patrick are all making the trip as Sunday the 21^st is Father’s Day....Here’s hoping we have a decent weekend!

Thanks for visiting, Ron

Michelin and Corvette Enthusiasts Unite at the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School

GREENVILLE, S.C. – To a driving enthusiast, it doesn’t get much better than an opportunity to learn from a professional driver. Now, the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch (SMMR), Nevada’s premier driving school, and Michelin North America have teamed up to offer consumers an ultra-high performance experience led by Ron Fellows, one of the most celebrated names in Corvette Racing.

The Michelin/Corvette pairing has already proven to be a success as the Michelin® Pilot® Sport PS2 TM ZP tires were chosen as original equipment for the 2009 Corvette ZR1. As part of the Ron Fellows Driving Experience, consumers will experience the highly-capable Michelin® Pilot® Sport PS2 TM ZP tires which provide superior levels of cornering grip, straight-line traction, ride, comfort, noise reduction and extended tread life for confident everyday driving.

In addition to the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 ZP tires developed for the Corvette ZR1, Michelin also offers replacement tire sizes for the C5, C6 and C6 Z06 models (coming in August 09 for the Z06). All vehicles at the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School will ride on either Michelin® Pilot® Sport PS2 TM ZP tires or Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires.

“Our partnership with Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch and Ron Fellows is a natural extension of the relationship we have built with Corvette and Corvette Racing over the years,” said Nicolas Goubert, brand category manager, Michelin North America. “We look forward to offering school participants an experience that is unmatched as two power performers like Michelin and Corvette come together on the track.”

The Michelin-Corvette relationship has proven to be a winning combination since 2004 through a highly-interactive partner-team relationship in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

With an overall series record of 51 victories out of 59 races in the GT1 series, Michelin has helped Corvette Racing dominate on the track by developing and delivering performance-proven products for the most successful Corvette race cars in the team’s history.

Spring Mountain’s purpose-built, 3.5-mile road course of esses, banks, blind drops, off-camber corners and straights challenges drivers with elements inspired by the world renowned Long Beach Grand Prix Street Circuit and the Mosport International Raceway.

Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks, motorcycles and the space shuttle. The company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America (www.michelinman.com) employs more than 22,600 and operates 19 major manufacturing plants in 17 locations.

Long Beach 2009

At Long Beach last weekend we managed to get a photo of the three original Corvette (#3) drivers. Chris Kneifel, John Paul Jr., and yours truly (from right to left), are pictured in front of the #3 Compuware Corvette, just before the ALMS race at Long Beach. It was great to see Chris and JP as it was a chance meeting for the three of us and brought back memories of our first season together back in 1999.

The first race - for all of us at Corvette Racing, was the (1999) Rolex 24 at Daytona, with the silver and black GM Goodwrench Corvette C5-R's. Those were cool looking cars for our debut. Although we weren't exactly setting the pace then, we managed to snag the class lead until we developed a severe engine oil leak.

There's much more to the story and I will provide bits and pieces, for a 10-year retrospective of Corvette Racing...as soon as we find all the photos!

Thanks for visiting,

Ron

March 9, 2009

John Morris (SMMR owner) and I, discussing ZR1 performance!

We had a great time last week at the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch. Following a week of schools – including a group of ZR1 owners – Spring Mountain hosted Corvette Track Days. It’s a twice-annual event where Corvette owners as well as SMMR club members, spend the weekend driving their cars on the full 3.1 mile circuit. The event is managed by the Spring Mountain staff and our terrific instructor-team of Rick Malone, Jordan Yost, Justin Johnson and Chris Hill were also busy with the novice groups.