2002 SEASON :::
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10/01/02 Car Update: Good news. I called the team today, and the boys already have the number three car put back together. So that you know what that entailed, it meant taking the car completely apart, and then rebuilding it with new bits. Now I knew that they would get it done… its just the way those guys are, but I do admit to being surprised at how quickly they did it. I’ve said it before, but all of the guys at Pratt and Miller are amazing. When drivers are lucky enough to win a race, and stand on top of the podium, and then thank the crew, it is always heart felt. They are every bit as responsible for a win as the drivers, and it is in situations like we had at Laguna that you really see the hard work and dedication that they put in. No one works harder for wins then the guys working on the cars, and we are lucky in that we have great guys working on our Corvettes.
Johnny O's Laguna Seca Report
Every now and then, you have a bad day at the office. Happens to everyone. One bad thing about having a job like mine and Ron’s is that when you do have one, a whole lot of people see it !!! We were both really excited about running Laguna this year. We knew that both the Ferrari and Saleen would be at their strongest that we have seen all year long, and were looking forward to a hard battle. In every session, we were at or near the top of the time sheets. So things looked good for us going into qualifying.
By now, everyone knows that Ron is an excellent qualifier. Always fast, so we always start near the front. Now I know that he was bummed about not getting a good lap in, but there were a lot of things that made it difficult for him at Laguna. In the session before qualifying we had both brake and handling problems that I don’t think were totally sorted when he hopped in for qualifying. He got some bad luck when he first drove into the Cork-screw hard and locked up a tire. I’m sure that flat-spotted a tire, and then on his flier ( which from watching on the monitor was a great lap ) he got pushed off at the exit of turn 9 by one of the vipers. I know that it was not intentional by the viper, they just didn’t know he was coming so hard. Anyway, with the flat spot and driving off course to avoid the Viper, the tires got trashed. The rules are that if you change them, you have to start at the back of the pack. So we did that, but still woke up Sunday morning thinking our chances were good.
Ron made a great start, but was so far back that getting to the front was going to take more than just one stint. He was going quick, running about 12 seconds behind the 4 car who was in third, when he got punted. I saw the whole thing on the monitor in the pits. He had just turned in for turn 4 when a very very late move was put on him by one of the Cadillacs…one of those moves that you know is not going to work out. They didn’t catch it on tv, but I could tell by the dirt flying up on the inside of the corner that the Caddy was putting wheels in the dirt trying to avoid hitting Ron, but it was definitely to late. Ron got major league whacked, and we were all disappointed to see him get stuck in the gravel. It took a few laps to get him out, at which point we did a driver change.
Now when I got in the car, I could not see any damage on it as it was on the other side of the car. Driving around slow behind the pace car the car felt fine, and I was totally motivated to push really hard. The Saleen was in front of me, the Ferrari behind me, and then Kelly behind him. I knew that we would be long shots to win after losing some laps, but still thought that maybe I could wear down both the Ferrari and the Saleen to give Kelly and Andy a better shot at winning. That said, when we went green again, I began pushing hard….Who knew I wouldn’t even get a lap in.!!
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Images courtesy of Dr. Brian Mitchell |
I had been told over the radio before the green to look out for smoke as there was some damage from the accident. I assumed that they meant tire smoke from a rubbing tire. Thus I was not that worried when I first went through turn four and got a bunch of smoke from the right side….just a little tire rub I thought !!! Anyway, its my first lap, I’m getting my rhythm together, when all of a sudden while braking for the corkscrew, a wave of fire cruises into the cockpit and over my arm. Ahhh….so this is what they meant !!!! Now its funny how you think when you are on fire. Initially there is the thought that maybe this will go out ….but that never happens. Then you think, OK…where to stop. I knew that at the exit of the corkscrew on the left it was open and safe for me to jump out, as I would be away from traffic. Then you have to think about getting the car stopped, the engine turned off, left in gear so that it doesn’t role down the hill, and then to hit the fire extinguisher. Now to help me out, I had our crew chief Bill de Long on the radio talk to me. What he said was pretty much like this…and delivered with no emotion:
Bill: “ Johnny… your on fire”
Johnny: “ Duh… no kidding ?”
Bill: “ Johnny… get out”
Johnny: “duh… no kidding !!”
Bill: “ hit the fire extinguisher”
Well by then I was already out.
Now once again, I have to hand it to the boys on the Pratt and Miller team. Back in 1995, when I was driving for Nissan, I caught on fire like four times that season. Each time I pulled the fire bottle lever, it broke off in my hand, and thus did not work !!! I’m pretty certain that it worked on the Corvette, although I was getting my ass out of there before I could be sure !! It did get very hot inside, and was kind of wild having waves of fire running over you. Makes you appreciate all that expensive equipment we wear. Money well spent.
OK. So now I am out of the car. I start to look for a corner marshall or fire extinguisher to get the fire out. I look back at the car and am amazed at how fast she is burning. A corner worker comes up with an extinguisher, and from 20 yards away tries to put the fire out…from the wrong side of the car. If I wasn’t so pissed off I would have laughed. Anyway, I grabbed it from him, got close, and then moved to the side with the fire and tried to get it out. While over there, the fire came up behind me, which was a bit spooky, at the same time the extinguisher ran out. I breathed in a lot of the chemicals in getting away, and then ran to look for another extinguisher. Luckily by this time the fire/safety guys who go to all of our races , were on the scene. They are the best group of guys…that you never want to see during a race !!! Anyway, they went flying to the car and got it out real quick. A big thanks to them for their awesome work.
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Images courtesy of Adam Larnach Jr.,
all of his Laguna pics are here |
So it was game over for us. The car is bad…but Bill De Long, Gary Young, Dave Albright and David James…our regular crew, are the best. I have no doubts that by Petit our girl will be not only be back together, but ready to win the one race that Ron and I are missing in our resume. But before then, we have Miami. We are going to run the same car that we won Le Mans with, and lord knows that she loves winning races. It sure would be nice to send her into the off season with a win….and know….especially after this past week-end, that Ron and I are going to be pushing for that win.
Johnny O
Webmasters Note: To all those I contacted regarding their photos, thank you for your timely responses. Specifically, thanks to Malcolm at DailySportscar, Dr. Brian Mitchell, Mike Veglia at MotorsportsVisions and Adam Larnach Jr., his pics are here. We really appreciate your assistance in this report.
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