Greg and Chris left the shop Monday late afternoon for the track. Parking is on Wednesday morning and after a five month break we were all a little anxious to get back on the track. The car and team have a new look, we have a new driver line-up, Modified Mustang was joining us as our guest and on top of all that we havent had the car out in 5 months and we all needed to brush up on our game.

I hate having time off when it comes to racing. I have always struggled with coming out swinging and this was no exception. I was literally waking up sick with nervousness Monday and Tuesday night and just couldnt shake the feeling of uncertainty. The S197 Mustang is entering its 3rd year of competition and while I hadnt heard of any new car to beat its always a concern going into a new season. Even without new models joining, the advancements made by the Porsche and BMW teams are consistent and ongoing and you can rest assured that their times have advanced from last year. 106 cars were registered for the event and that is A LOT of people to have on the track at one time regardless of times, so the event was destined to be tuff.

The sports car purists dont seem to like running the oval tracks, and I typically have to agree that they usually arent as interesting as say Laguna, or Barber Motorsports Park. Daytona however, is just one of those places that has an aura about it that just cant be ignored. Maybe, its that we are the opening event for the speed weeks or that we are surrounded by some of the biggest names in racing. I am really not sure why, but there is something about being at Daytona that is unlike any other place I have ever raced at and I just love it.

I feel like we have one of the best driving teams in Koni Challenge and that is a very powerful statement given the level of competition that we are facing. BJ Zacharias drove the car when it made its debut at Daytona three years ago but unfortunately he hasnt been able to drive for us much since due to scheduling conflicts, but we are very excited to have him back in the car. Ian Lacy drove part of the 2005 season for us and all of 2006 and has consistently been able to drive the car to its limit even when the car really wasnt as hooked up as it needed to be. Putting these guys together with a team that is coming into its maturity is a very good feeling for me, and I am pleased to be part of a group that has true winning potential.

So back to the race.The first session was cold and there was still a lot of left over moisture on the track. We werent really looking to put up a big number in this outing and considered not going out at all, but felt that we really needed to get some run time on all of the new parts that were put on the car in the off season. The motor, transmission, and rear axle had all gone through a major overhaul and with only one more session before qualifying we couldnt afford to wait to uncover any problems during that session. The track actually came around quite well and was very useable; however the issue of track traffic became very apparent.

Up and through qualifying we continued to battle traffic, and staying out of harms way is as much of a challenge as anything with this many cars. BJ qualified the car 7th which we were all pretty happy with. Daytona is one of, if not the only, track that the Mustangs seem to be the car of choice at so we were right where we needed to be.

Our race was cut short due to a black flag for a broken windshield we acquired during the opening laps of the race. We do carry spare glass for just such an occasion, but I didnt feel like we could safely get the new glass in the car and get back out on track at that time. We were all crushed by this chain of events and are very anxious to get back out there and avenge this loss. Being realistic I dont think we had a top 3 car, but we did have a top 5 car and not delivering against that potential is very frustrating for all of us.

We would like to thank all of our friends, family, and sponsors who came down to support us at the track. The next race is in Miami the second week of April and we hope to put the Champion Motorsports / Modular Depot Mustang back in the winners circle.

Rick Reynolds
Champion Motorsports
Team Manager