May CARBOY Signed by Alex Pfeiffer (SPLIT THREAD)

[AlexPfeiffer]

Originally posted by nissanguy_24
Good job at Laguna-Seca man. That S2000 was cool, too bad for the accident.

Where you having problems controlling it? you didnt seem as smooth as with the black 86. Eitherway way i was there rooting you on. As was my honda owning friend, lol... he doesnt see too many Hondas drifting.

And welcome to the board !

PS: selling anything from the Laguna Seca crash? CF should go for alot!

I did keep the peice of bumper off the JIC car that I hit. Just in case Jon starts turning into an A$$. Brian was total cool about it, it was a racing accident, but Jon kicking the car and getting in my face about it wasnt too cool. Lets just say not many people where happy about that.

I'm keeping that part as a souvenier.

Alex@battleversion.com

[nissanguy_24]

Ah i see. There was some dissagrement about what was happening out there. Will the S2000 be at the Formula D event in Texas? or will you bring the 86?

Sorry for the questions, its just a pleasure and a treat to get to talk to you. You have quit abit of fans around here.

[AlexPfeiffer]

I have to rock the 86. I'm known in that car. And who else will show up with as much respect with a spray painted beater car and give the corperate guys some stress. I'm the underdog, you need to have that side of the sport. It wouldnt be drifting if you didnt have that aspect in it.

This is the thing missing here in the US, In Japan, this sport grew up with its drivers and it became a sport as they became good. The drivers started on the mountain roads and slowly progressed onto race tracks and BECAME profesional drivers. Here in the US, they bring profesional drivers down to compete against us amatures. I have been doing this along time and i do have experience dealing with the profesional ranks of racing but the big companies do think they can just spend more money to get publicity and win. Its up to you guys, the fans, to keep drifting real. Know your sport. Know what you want to see. Dont let it get out of hand while we still have control.

I have respect in the comunity because i keep it real. I'm not afraid to say anything. Yes, the pass on me from Sam was wrong, Tarzan was wrong by pushing the Viper (he also drives a viper). I did win that battle fair and square in the first 2 runs. My car was way too hot to do the 3rd and 4th run, i've never see a temp guage go all the way around and get pegged against the stop again untill that day.

We had a meeting about what happen and hopefully that with not happen again. This one more time thing needs to change. It was obvious to the judges and the fans that I won the round, but for the fans we ran again, and unfortunatly I couldnt do it again. I dont mind this at all. Both Sam and I before the run said lets make this a good show. I told him, "if I hit you, its not you, your cool, but the Viper sticker on that quarter panel says hit me"

Well, if you look at Sam's background (ice racing), he still has racing in his blood and wants to win. So, just by instinct, he passed me. I love his style, getting up close and personal, makes a good show but, since they let that happen, he did it to everyone else and it would have looked bad to stop it. We all had to apex the top corner of the track, all of us in regular drift cars had to run a bit wide in the D area of the track to get a good run at the apex and the down hill to hit the right line at the last 2 corners which would setup the Viper for a good inside run with his wide tires and good torque. (trust me, i know, I did drive Tarzan's car when Mopar was trying to pick their driver, and according to BJ, I was runner up to Sam's spot)

The fact of the matter is the Viper is not legal under the Formula D or the D1 rules. They know this but mopar is trying to be cheep in their marketing, by using a car they already have. Under the rules of the sport, they should use a stock chassie which they did not. Formula D made a misstake by letting it run. Honestly, if they kept the judges in check, there would be not as much of a problem. We do want to see more types of cars out there. We all like to see the battles between david and golith. Its good for the sport. I like being the underdog. No one can get upset about me loosing but myself and I am still happy just to be there.

One thing we need to do is educate the public better to what the rules are and what you should be looking for as a good drift. What actually makes one drift different than another. Most people think tire smoking around a corner is drifting and they are completely wrong. Its about taking your skills and your car to its limits. The image i have is watching someone go in at crazy speed, throwing the car in at a crazy angle, everyone holds there breath thinking the guy is not going to make it, then, just then, your hear the throtle kick in, the car gets more angle, sits down, digs in, and touches the track, kicks up some dirt, touches something, and survives to the next round.

Sorry, would like to write more but got to go.

Alex

[nissanguy_24]

Your thoughts and opinions are very similar to my own, though no doubtably much more respected. One of the long and on going topics on this forum is where drifitng is going. Where do we want to take it. The fans and the grass roots drifters are the key i believe. Corporations will want to turn this into Nascar Xtreme!!! You know.. the in your face moutain dew drinking long hair, rebeling against anything we can find hop in our SUV and go ride the rapids form of Nascar. And though i do enjoy ocasional nascar race. I dont want it to go in that direction. Because there was a point in nascar history where you watched the cars run that you drove to the race in. You know "stock" cars.

We have seen Nascar change. The corporations would love for drifting to catch on and be the new form of Nascar, Instead of the D One Grand Prix we would have the Cingular Wireless D1 cup presented by pepsi cola at the winston cigirette stadium. Million sof dollars being spent on cars, being paid for by millions of dollars in advertising. That way we will remember that its Mcdonalds that makes the big mac sandwitch when watching it.

Drifting can go that direction easily. Its up the grass roots guys and the fans to keep it 'real' so to speak. We deside what we like. if we dont like something we let the event organizers know. or we dont go to an event. Drifting is pretty commercal in japan too. but the companys sponsoring these drift cars all make parts for them. A company sponsors a S15 Silvia, because they make coilover suspension for the S15, or body kits or turbo setups. As much respect as i have for Sam, and his viper. Hes a hell of a driver, and a nice guy. gave me a signed tire at Laguna Seca... As much respect as i have for him, or even if he wins every drift event, The simple fact is i am not walking down to my local dodge dealership and purchasing a competition coupe viper. Nor am i going to be contacting mopar for a set of drift spec viper suspension components.. IF they dont sell drift parts then why are they sponsoring drifting? they are sponsoring a drift car to win. Thats all just to win. Same reason they sponsor nascar or drag rails. Just to win.

I dont want drifting to go into that direction. I want to keep professional drifitng as close to the grass roots level as possible. I apreciate what you do for the sport. We can talk about it, but its you out there getting known. We apreciate it. When we see your 86 roll up theres really a sense of "this guy is like us" Hes a grassroots amature type drifter, who just happens to be very good and going against these pro drivers in factory machines. I was very glad when Gushi's S13 put down the Monsters at Laguna seca. That S13 probably cost less fully built then the stock GTO. i hope that message goes out to the factorys. I dont mind the ocasional expensive car participating, because we know theres alot of expensive cars in the D1.. but i want them to understand it doesnt take that. All it takes is inexpensive rear wheel drive cars. And i hope they realize that, so they will start building what we love again.

American sports cars have long been expensive. The Vette the Viper for example. To get a car that handles, or with modern suspension (you know '70 datsun 510s had IRS so quit bragging Pontiac) we've had to pay alot. There have always been the muscle cars, and those were cool, but they arent known as light weight handling cars. I hope drifting teaches this lesson.

In the end its all about the fun, We know that guys like my and guys like you will always enjoy doing this, even if its just at an amature level. And hopefully guys like you will be able to do this at a pro level for a long time. and hopefully it will stay the sport we love.

I've rambled on abit so i will end this now.

[AlexPfeiffer]

I'm with you on that Nissanguy.

Just it is kinda good to have the corperate side of things. Not saying I'm a sell out, I need to make a living too, hell, I've got a herina and havent been to the dentist in years, broken teeth every where, I'm sure you guys have seen it in pics, if not you will now, but by bringing in the corperate sponcers, it will open up the sport for the grassroots side of things. Without drifting going mainstream, there wouldnt be the acceptance to drift. Like I have said before, I have been doing this a long a$$ time. I am old school, I started when there was no sceen. (if i misspell everything, screw it, im drunk and i just had some really good sex)

I've been running mountain roads (i say mountain cause who ever says touge things they are cool) since ive had a licence. Well even before it. I took my mom to the mountain with a permit. She rode with me in the begining and have giving her some incredible rides. She may pull the door handle off and yell at me (wont take her for a ride anymore) but she is proud of how far this has gone.

I'm originally from Palolo valley in Hawaii. I moved out to the mainland because there wasnt enough racing in hawaii. I dont want to make this story to long so I'll try to keep it short.

I have to run hard. Being a profesional driver is all i've ever dreamed about. Its taken me threw many roads and many places. Met alot of really cool people. The drifting comunity is expecialy close to one another and people will do anything to help each other out even though you have to line up against one another. We do it because we love to run. Its our love for the sport, fun, and feeling of family and togetherness that keeps us all going. No matter the money (trust me, alot of people may think im rich or something, just because i own a broke company and make suspension parts, i cant afford to buy oil for my motor if it didnt come free) You have to keep going. This is the lesson Ive learn. If it is your dream and you have enough tallent, Just keep going, no matter the cost. You only live once and you cant look back on a weekend thinking what if i went to that event. Just go, Any track experience you get is good. Even if you sucked that day, you still learn from your mistakes that day. Most of driving is mental attitude.

This is why I say Sam was cool by passing me, Its his mentality and what he has been doing for years, passing people sideways. he did it very well and i give him props, It was a good show and the fans loved and hated it. It isnt what you expect in drifting and isnt what we should push. It is a fact that he was able to do it to everyone because of the car he was driving. If say he was in anyone elses car, that wouldnt have happened the way it did.

We did have a meeting, and Tarzan was a big topic of discussion. Weather or not he was fit to be a judge. Not saying anything bad but he did bad mouth drifting a few times but now is caught in the trend himself. He is a good carature to have and has a great apeal to the fans. We just dont feel like he should be a judge. We would like to see an american judge in his place. Right now, there is 2 major forces in drifting, yokohama and falken. In the US it is fair because they both hold one judge and they all did a great job with the judging other than the viper thing. I mean, it was obvious that Ryse did a great job durring practice and put on a good show with Sam, but in the comp he did sandbag and try to slow down just enough to make it into the top 16 thinking that he would beable to run tandom against anyone. This was a good idea, hell, you dont want to try too hard and blow it, but it was obvious that he made criticle misstakes on entry into the first turn (which is a big thing being judged) and just didnt perform the way he should have. On his deffence, they did tell us that speed wasnt important and a smooth concistant line was what they wanted to see. The part we missed in the translation from the judges was this is what they wanted to see in tandom, and not for qualifying. They did want to see corner entry speed and this is what the the corperate guys lack. They may beable to gain speed mid corner and have great angle and tire smoke but it isnt what drifting was meant to be. Power is not everything and not using what your car is capable of is just wrong in drifting. You should never slow down to just make it in. That was obvious at the last D1 event in Irwindale.
I wish there was more information to everyone on the amount of tallent and skill that was shown durring the days before the event, SO intence. Honestly, I felt bad doing as well as I did. D1 needs to push american drivers for thier own good. I did finish 3rd american but would have felt bad if i made top 16. Even though its a dream of mine, it would have not been fair. i have to say that the run the caught everyones breath was done by the Espelir car right before he crashed. Hiraoka (team rapid) went in at such a speed and angle not seen before. Everyone just stoped as he droped into the bowl. There was silence, anticipation, then throtle, smoke, inches off the wall. An intence moment. All the drivers in the pits were in aww. he just defied the laws of physics as he went threw there. Then he went around again, just a bit more speed, everyone knew he wasnt going to make it but he was going to try. Just a few MPH more than the last run, the rear hit and the car flew into the wall. I get several calls durring the night looking for parts and all i could do was give them phone numbers to try. then next morning, there it was, they spent the night putting the car back together and it was ready to run again. A bit shaken, Hirioka did his best but with a bent car couldnt do the same again.

Drifting is about pushing, taking your car and yourself to its limits. Testing the water, experiencing what you didnt think you could do. I love that vid of Sam and I. I really didnt expect to do that well against him. I just couldnt belive in the 3rd run i went accross the grass and switch it back then got next to him again. That whole sequence of things just flew by but seeing it on vid after put everything in perspective. I did do good and I am more than happy that we did put on such a good show for the fans. We need you guys. I hope to see more drifting mainstream. Its not what i wanted to see a few years ago but now I think it will be good. Just as long as everyone can get along and keep each other in check. Keep it real. There has been a lack of driving skills since the whole import drag/car show sceen started and im glad to see things going back towards actual driving events.

Sorry got to run again. Will finish up with more beer and time.


Alex

[AlexPfeiffer]

PS, i dont always have time to get on the boards but i will try to post up some facts that the comunity needs to know. Like Formula D did a great job at Atlanta and the Viper thing is not their fault, it was introduced a bit late by mopar. We do fell that having mopar there is great for the sport, it does open the eyes of the racing comunity and has brought in good media even though drifters are not going out to buy vipers but it would be nice if mopar did play by the rules and would start off with a street baised viper instead of the tube frame they have now by the time we get to Sears Point!!! Or maybe Dodge spent to much money maketing there trucks this year?


Alex@battleversion.com

[chrisfromda909]

thats the real alex pfeiffer?? ahh!! dood awesome. you signed my d1 ticket! thanks a lot for showing love to the fans!! unfortuantely i lost all my d1 pics including the one of you signing my ticket on sum guys back

too much to read in the posts... i need a drift car... mine got impounded.

[CrazyHawaiian]

I've heard the stories about the crazy tantalus wagon. Good post man, its good to read the thoughts of someone that was competing. I feel the same way you do about passing. I think you are doing a great job and keep it up. Will we see you again at the next Drift Showoff?

[driftfreak]

Originally posted by AlexPfeiffer
(if i misspell everything, screw it, im drunk and i just had some really good sex)



Alex

ya its alex

[Tsunami]

Alex thanks for posting, I'm really glad you're here. It's great to see things from an insider's point of view, especially one of America's top drifters. I pretty much agree on what you and Nissanguy said about the status of drifting in America. I would like to see some more domestics involved that are actually street vehicles, like Revlimit's Camaro or the El Camino from TX.

Anyway don't be a stranger and good luck in the next round of Formula D!!

[SHIFT_drift]

yeh i think it's really cool too to have a pro drifter's insight and view of things.. and i also think it's really cool to just have you here on the boards

[Feint]

I've just got a few questions to ask if you don't mind.

I'm currently a student aka don't get paid enough.I've been thinking of where I want to go,and plan to hopefully run in a D1 driver search in two years.I also want to drive professionally,seeing the driver search as an option to become a pro driver,I want to take advantage of this opportunity.So basiclly I just want to ask some questions related to getting to where you are today,and where you are going.

My first question is pretty straight-foward,What steps did you take to get to where you are today? More than just going to local events.I have the same desire as you,so I'm just wondering what it takes besides money and dumbluck.Another question I have to ask is; How do you balance driving and work? Doesn't driving cut into it sometimes? What advice do you have to give to young drivers who want to go pro someday? I'm definitly trying to get something started,it just takes soo much frickin money.I wish I just had 20K in front of me now to blow.

[TougeDorifuto]

Wow. Alex Pfeiffer joined the boards. Welcome to the boards and good luck in your upcoming events.

[AlexPfeiffer]

Feint, I've noticed you on this board alot.

Here is something I wrote a while back and I need to continue the story at some point but here it is.

Where Did Battle Version Come From?
Story of My Life, By Alex Pfeiffer
Born in Honolulu Hawaii in 1975. My father was a fan of the local circle track where he would take us every weekend to watch the local races. That's kind of where I started to enjoy motor sports. Week after week of watching v8's bang their way around the track. Falling asleep in the stands as the sprint cars race by. I was 5 or 6 but knew that I wanted to race. Years went by and now it was time for me to get a license. First car was an 80 Mercury Zephyr that my grandfather gave my dad for an extra car. I tried everything I could to get it sideways or burn out. The only thing that would work was to take it in the pineapple fields where it didn't take much HP to get it sideways. About the same time, mopeds started to get popular in Hawaii. I bought my first ped for $35 and started to learn the ins and outs of what made a 2-stroke work. That thing was great; it was my ticket out of the house. Didn't need to keys from dad anymore and I could actually afford the .75c fill ups. Now that I was out of the house, I had a chance to meet all the local guys and before you know it, we would have big moped meets on Friday nights to race each other. Laguna drive was the racetrack of choice. A 2 mile strait with plenty of time to get up to speed. The second racetrack was our local mountain, Tantalus. Tantalus is a 10-mile loop around the mountain with more than 100 turns. A perfect place to get hurt and that I did on many occasions. Before you know it, I had a garage full of parts and peds that I would buy, fix up, and sell. Most of the town guys that I hung out with were getting into cars and drag racing. So it was off to the racetrack again. The car of choice was a 71 to 74 Toyota corolla, it really didn't matter the body style, just that you had duals, cam, Msd, headers, and a love to get dirty. Those things would break down almost every weekend. We were cheep and would do anything to go faster without paying money. And as the story goes, I bought a car to go play too. Well that one wasn't enough and before you know it, now I had a street full of cars and a garage full of peds. None of which worth anything but stuff to play with. Eventually got down to the 13's in one of the cars and 17's on the moped (this was many years later). The fastest moped in Hawaii ran a 14.56 Quarter Mile!! That same night the track officials said mopeds where going to fast so they passed a rule stating they could only run 1/8 mile.
My first job was at Bob Sato's Auto Repair as a *Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored* boy. Started by cleaning the shop and running errands. I stuck it out and moved up to mechanic after a while. Bob Sato got me into SCCA racing. He was one of the first on the island to purchase a formula ford. That wasn't enough for him and we ended up converting it from a 1.6 to a 2.0 motor. Turned it into a very fast little car but also made it very unreliable. He didn't finish many races but was sure interesting to watch. As the story goes, I see racing, I must race. So I converted my drag car into a road racing car. Spent way too much money on it and still haven't played back my mom for the loan (thanks mom!). At the time it was $250 to run wheel to wheel in SCCA. Not sure if it changed much but damn did it hurt the wallet. This was from someone who was making a whopping $350 a week. Of coarse I had help from Bob, he donated his old race suit and some parts to see me go at it with the boys. There wasn't much of a race there because no one had the same type of car or ran the same speeds. The track is also extremely short with not many turns. Bob really help me with my driving. He would give me some pointers and things to try. A few times after work I would race him to his house to get some practice in. I never beat him but always tried. By this time the mopeds where a hobby and my cars were the interest. The boys would get together every night during the summer. We would just hang out or play football in the parking lots but the fun would come as we got into drifting. Everyone had a corolla of some kind and we would go up to Tantalus to play around. I don't know how we found it but someone got his hands on an Option video. There it was, Keichi and drift contests. My first look into the outside world. Started to watch racing on TV whenever I was actually home and remember seeing portions of the Dayton 24 hour race one night, thinking one day I want to try that.
Anyway back to the story. After about a year at Sato's, it was time to move on. Got a job at a local speed shop, SpeedTech. Learned a lot about how the aftermarket industry worked and got back into drag racing again, just this time I would build other people's cars so they could go racing. Speedtech was interesting, they had a big VW following and ran a 12 second turbo rabbit. You have to remember this was still before anyone would even consider a Honda for performance. 12 seconds was about as fast as anyone could go in an import car. The other thing that was interesting at speedtech was they raced go-karts and ran at the local autocross. They were one of the main suppliers for go-kart parts on the island. So as the story goes, Alex sees, Alex must do. So I get a deal from my boss on an old kart and put a new motor in it. I really wasn't expecting it to be as hard to drive as it was. Raced for about a season in the go-kart and autocross until I was bored with speedtech and it was time to move on. During the time at speedtech, I meet a lot of the different clubs and groups on the island. Everyone at the time would go to Tantalus to play. I was now well seasoned at Tantalus and spent most of my time there. That was my escape. When I was up there, nothing else seemed to matter. Many nights driving threw the mountain by myself, I would think, "Do I have what it takes?” So I just kept going around and around trying to drift and become as fast as I could. I had to run the mountain no matter what. Almost everyday after work I would do a lap before I went home. About this time is when I started to gain a reputation as a drifter on the mountain. It was a fun time, not like how the mountain is now with all the cops. Back then you could hang out all night with nothing to worry about. People would let me try their cars to watch their pride a joy go sideways around the turns. I would drive anything I could get my hands on. Some of the guys at speedtech also rode dirt bikes. So as the story goes, Alex sees, Alex must do. I found a decently priced dirt bike and went out with the guys. Damn they hurt me good. Think I'm going to stay with 4 wheels from now on.

[AlexPfeiffer]

Ok, back to the story, after speedtech I ended up at a gas station, Niu Valley Union to be exact. There I worked as the second mechanic under Ronny. Ronny was another interesting and fun guy to work with. He was one of those guys who have done it all. The owner of the station, Gail, was also a big drag racer. We sold race gas out of the drum and had a door slammer (pro stock) car in the back room. I never saw it run but heard some funny stories about the look in Gail's eyes when he gets in that thing. 7 something was its fastest time down the quarter. Ronny at the time wanted to get back in the game and wanted to put his son in the drivers seat. So he put a car together and I got to learn about big blocks. Back into drag racing I went but this time on the other side of the paddock. By this time I was getting tired, well tired of the island. I did everything I could and still needed more. Now 21 and looking for a way out. Looked into UTI, MMI, and some other schools but I didn't really want to go to school. That was until I found an add from Russell Racing School in the back of the Sportscar magazine. It said they have a mechanics training coarse. So I called and found out some info in it. Ok, the deal was you pay them to work on the school cars and they will teach you the ins and outs of racing. Well, cool. I can do that. The deal with my parents was that they would pay for any "school" after high school, if I choose to go. I talked to them about it and since it was a “school”, they had to support me. Now I found my ticket out and I didn’t have to worry about money, at least for a little while. I enroll in this "school"; sell off most of my belongings, and off I went to Sears Point Raceway to live my dream as a driver (remember the little kid days). Leaving Hawaii was probably the hardest thing I ever did. Good friends, good times, good food, and the best weather.
Got a room with a few guys going to the school. What a culture shock. “Why is this place so cold all the time?” It was kind of like a frat house. We would work all day and drink all night, well except for my roommate who happened to be a MIT grad, second in his class. He would study the books when we would be looking for something to do. Well a couple months there and I realized that Russell Racing School was a scam. Like I said, you pay them to work on their cars. Russell was supposed to teach us about the racing industry. Well that part was a big fat lie!!! We would work from sun up to sun down to keep their school going. No time was spent to help teach the students anything more than what was needed to keep their cars running. One cool thing though came from the school. Part of your "learning" was to do their driving schools. Both where 3 day classes. One school in a formula ford and one school in a formula Mazda. This was what I was still there to do. I had to prove to myself that I could drive. Now it was time to see if it was all worth it. First day of the school was kind of weak but gave good pointers. Mainly brake and downshifting exercises and a couple short runs on track. Second day was better. They taught us the line around the track and let us run the track in segments. Kind of like an autocross. End of the day and the track was in full motion for one session. First time on a real track and I’m thinking to myself, "Wow this is bad *Censored**Censored**Censored*". Next day was all about driving and they would time your laps. Ok now lets see what I can do. First session was just waking up. Second session, now I'm awake and trying to get up to speed. Third session, "This is fun. Hey, I'm getting the hang of this". By the end of the third session I was almost 10 seconds a lap faster than anyone else in my school group. They had to take a look at the car to make sure I wasn't pulling out the rev cut or something. The fourth session I was 2 seconds off of the "track record" set by one of the instructors. After that, I was happy I made the trip and was hooked. It really didn't care what happened, but now I had to stay to see how well I could do in the formula Mazda's. A couple months go by and it was time again to get back in the drivers seat. This time in a much faster car. The deal with Russell was that you had to pay for the car if you damaged or crashed it. In my head I knew I was going to leave after the school, but the idea of having to pay for the car really scared me. Of coarse with no job and only my parents for income I had to take it easy with the car. So I take it easy with the car and still managed to learn a lot in the 3 days. The car reminded me of my go-kart, really quick responsive car that took certain flair to drive. I did well but didn't take the top honors (one guy was faster). Still managed to hit 1.47’s on the old sears point which was more than fast enough for me.
Anyway, back to the story. I'm now fed up with Russell and leave. Go home that night and start drinking, trying to figure out my next move. “Should I move back to Hawaii or take my chances?” One of my fellow classmates was supposed to meet me that night to celebrate leaving Russell. Well he didn’t show but called me late that night. Told me there was a Porsche race this weekend and he was helping out The Racer's Group build up a car. He went on to tell me that they needed help for the weekend and that he spoke to the mechanics about me. I show up there in the morning with this big hangover and they put me to work. I look at these Porsche and had no idea what I was getting into. The motor is on the wrong side! How come it’s flat like that? We plugged away threw the week to get the cars ready. Comes time for the weekend races and I was surprised. This was a club event but had more money in the paddock than fort knocks. I didn’t know people had this kind of money. Started to realize that I was a smaller fish in the pond that I thought. King of Tantalus but a nobody in the real world. At the end of the weekend they offer me a full time position at $450 a week. I accepted because I had nothing to loose and wanted to learn more. At the time I started, the company was gearing up for Daytona. Hmm, I saw that on TV once. Mark was our crew chief and main fabricator. He is well known for his exhaust system developments. Gary was the second in command, and then there I was picking up the slack. Before you know it, they realized that I knew what I was doing and started to teach me the finer points to custom fabrication. Young and still eager to get my hands dirty, I would do anything they would put in front of me. Off to Daytona we went after many hard weeks of car building. I still didn't grasp the concept of where the money for this comes from. At a couple hundred thousand a car plus that in spares? Well I found out. Kevin, owner of the Racer's Group rents the cars out for the races in Sportscar and American Le Mans then uses them as write offs for the company. The company also develops their own product line of Porsche parts and builds custom racecars in their in house fabrication area. We get to Daytona and I start to learn the game. Kevin brings in the part time crew. Mainly all volunteer workers who just want to be part of the action. Now we have a team. The hardest part was since I was still the *Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored* boy, I was the one who loaded the 40-foot transporter with the cars and equipment and was also the only one who knew where everything was. Spent the weekend making sure people had what they needed to keep the cars going and everything was in the right place at the right time. All in all things went well, the main car broke the transmission while the second car got hit during the race. In a thrash we got the cars back together and back out on track. The second car finished the race but in the middle of the field. The Racer's Group taught me the ins and outs of racing and brought me up to the next level.