After qualifying, every racer just wants to get the race started, but every engineer wants to drop a brand new engine and a new clutch into the car, so drivers go out on Thursday night for gourmet Italian food while their loyal mechanics crunch deep into the night to ensure we wake up Friday morning with the last bits and pieces being attached to the rear end of the car as we show up for the final test runs.

Unlike the forecast for tomorrow's race start, today was yet another perfect Tropicana box cover day, sun shining, 75 degrees and non-interfering winds.  No one worked harder than the 99 Gainsco crew, which miraculously rebuilt the whole back end of their bright red Daytona Prototype and made the 9 AM final practice session right on time.  Gets the blood going to see that kind of commitment to the sport and the series.  No one was trying to set land speed records in this stint, but both the 60 and 6 cars ran each of their four drivers for a few laps, scuffing tires, bedding a set of race brakes and practicing driver changes.  Track temps of almost 90 degrees let us step on it fairly quickly with little risk of spinning out; our 6 car felt secure and the engine ripe for a tumultuous 24 hour race, rain or shine, and we will have rain for a few hours to kick this monster off.  So say the weather gods, marginally more reliable than stock market predictors.

Other than the large ferris wheel on the infield each year, one of the great visuals at Daytona is the array of huge international flags, tightly stretched color-filled flags that span maybe 80 or a 100 yards left and right of the newly upgraded and highly noticeable starter stand, covering hundreds and hundreds of seats.  There's the linear British flag for Franchitti who must have ancestors from elsewhere, Columbia's colors for Montoya, of course the US flag, France and Porsche's Germany in black red and gold, Itlay, even Australia and some other barely recognizable national symbol.  Moves the heart, pumps out the chest, feelings of pride...except where's the South African flag?  For the past 5 years we've had Wayne Taylor, myself and at least 1 to 2 other African Americans competing like the devil in this magnificent event, but no love, no flag, no honor, no pride or respect for the true boys from the deep south.  Even with the popularity of Invictus, we're a victim.

Mike Shank, like all team owners, keeps surprises to a minimum, to hold the drivers in check and the karma in balance.  Way too risky before big events like these 24 hour races.  As usual, he arranges a dedicated professional to assist the team with drinks, food, ice, rub downs and so forth, in the trailers, the coaches and the pits.  Today Andrea shows up and I could have sworn I'd seen her at Lollipops a few years ago: blonde, fit, two coats of paint masquerading as a pair of jeans, a real bounce in her, um, step, the works.  In an hour of landing from outer space she insisted on taking me over to lot 46 to demo the 1973 coach Mike Shank had been offered by a friend, so the drivers could have a place to sleep for a few hours during the darkest hours of the race.  What a demo!  I gave her John Pew's cell number when she asked how she could stay in touch.  Actually, for a bunch of ego-maniacal, stressed out, grumpy drivers, it'll be nice to have an energetic and smiling helper in the pits.  For the first time ever, my wife Elena chose not to attend this 24 and it serves her right.  There is a little justice in life.  Actually, she's busy decorating a new Manahattan store she's opening with more colors than Crayola knows how to produce.

At 1 PM today Grand Am invited all the famous Rolex winners (Haywood, Law, Donahue, Pruett, Papis, Borcheller etc) and the top drivers from all race series into Victory Lane for a photo shoot: Dixon, Franchitti, Hunter-Reay, Luhr, Buddy Rice, Ricardo Zonta, Justin Wilson, Butch Leitzinger, Wayne Taylor, Max Angelelli, Matos, on and on, and me.  Please reduce the heckling in the back of the room!  Yes, me.  Strange as it seemed, Grand Am is trying to elevate the profile of the Trueman-Akin Pro-Am competitions, so invited their only 2 time Trueman Award winner to stand behind a pillar during the photo shoot.  What a kick for me.

Ford then invited the Krohn Racing, SunTrust Wayne Taylor Racing, Doran Racing and Michael Shank Racing principals and drivers over to the Ford coach for a quick pep talk from Ford's head of racing, who thanked the teams for bringing home the engine manufacturer's trophy in 2009 and celebrated by giving us each a neat zip up jacket with logos of our series and the car you should all go out and buy.  Ford's current corporate slogan, brimming with deflective British modesty, suggests under the beautiful blue Ford logo that you should "Drive One".  Hell, just go out and buy one.

So the day died down early and effortlessly as the 72 car Continental Tire series ran their 2.5 Hour race (won by a good friend, Matt Plumb, for RumBum), while we all peeled off for an early dinner and a quiet night's sleep before the bells toll tomorrow for the gut wrenching, fatigue inducing, focus filled 24 Hour Rolex race.