In the simplest sense, this is a video of a reasonably quick lap around Road America (jump to 1:56 for the lap). In a deeper sense, this is a mentally taxed driver just trying to do what he and his teammates set out to do - Drive. The disappointment level of my teammates weighed heavily on my mind during these laps. 

After winning back-to-back 8 hour endurances races at Mid-Ohio in April, we set our sights on the GTU class at Road America. As the only non-prototype chassis in the field, we had high hopes that a reasonable pace and superior reliability might yield a respectable finishing position. The racing gods had other plans. A subframe failure 35 minutes into the race sent us into the pits (thankfully not a wall) with what would be a race-ending failure for most. The team sprang into action to evaluate the damage and make the necessary repairs. We all contemplated packing it up after such a serious failure. But I just felt like someone needed to drive the car afterward; Out of respect and appreciation for the herculean efforts of the talented Emile Tabb who performed the repair. And out of defiance (maybe denial) of the cruel misfortunes that endurance racing often deals to it's challengers. 

While we prefer races like our pair of wins at Mid-Ohio, we come away better equipped for future success after the challenging events of Road America. The grueling experience of running our cars in endurance racing helps us predict and prevent failures of a similar kind in our customer vehicles. The knowledge gained at Road America is invaluable. With the help of our suppliers and partners, we've already begun working on solutions to prevent future failures in this area. Onward and upward!