2002 SEASON :::

If you remember back to early in the season, I spoke about a friend of mine Norm Koury. Totally cool guy that I go way back with. Anyway, 2002 was the “Year of the Norm” and I was informed that it would be a great year for us at team Corvette. And man was it ever.

The one race that I wanted this season…more than any other, was Petit. It was the one that Ron and I were missing, and after all of my previous tries, thought that it was going to be the one that I would never get. I knew that it was not going to be easy this year as the Pro-drive Ferrari is so strong, and also has a great driver line-up. But rest assured everyone on the three car was motivated, and were eager for battle.

For me, Petit is the busiest race of the year. Being my local track, I have lots of appearances to make, and then lots of work to do with my auction and some other charity things I have going on. Kelly Collins and his girlfriend Maria stay with us during the week, which is nice as when away from the track we can all relax a little and hang out. I did relax a bit on Wednesday night when Norm and a friend came over the house and made us dinner. Now Norm and I both like playing video games, and the one we play against each other is NHL hockey on playstation. I have to give him credit as this year he really challenged me…but once again….it was a dominating performance by the home team. I know…it was rude behavior to beat him after he was making dinner and all, but I was totally in the zone !!! Anyway, should you know Norm, and see him…let him know that I will again give him a rematch next year…and that he will again get a major butt whooping !!!!

Getting to the race, it from the start looked like it was going to be a long day. We had to make sure that Ron got in 26 laps to win the drivers championship, and then after that we were going to go to work. Things were looking a bit grim when I got in the car as we had fallen a lap behind the Ferrari due to bad luck with the pace car during a full course caution, and there was a lot of time that we would have to make up. From the first time I was in the car, it was total kill mode, pushing each lap as hard as possible. For the first half of a stint the car would be great, and we could make time on the Ferrari and others. But then the tires would go off, and man it was hard to just stay on the island much less make up time. Still, with each lap, Ron, Oliver and myself kept pushing.

With some hard driving, and misfortune of others, we found ourselves in 2nd with several hours to go. We changed our driver rotation towards the end so that I would get most laps in the car and succure second place in the championship, and the plan was that I would do the last 1 hour and 45 minutes. But then it was figured out that I would be in the car for too long to get points, and with 45 minutes to go, we did a stop and Ron got back in.

It was looking like a 2nd place finish for us, when all of a sudden the Ferrari pitted with a suspension problem. That allowed us to get the lead, and we were all totally jazzed. Then to make the race more exciting, Ron got a puncture and had to pit for new tires…during which the Ferrari retook the lead. Now you often hear about how teamwork wins races, and this was one of those cases. When Ron came in, the boys put on some tires that were a bit of a gamble as they were quite soft. We knew they would be quick…real quick…but did not know how long they would last. Anyway, Ron put his head down, and quickly started catching the Ferrari whom all day long we could not run down. They must have been totally flipping out in their pits as they realized that we were catching them.

Thomas Enge, their driver, was laying down some great laps, but still being caught. Bad luck hit him as he caught traffic at a bid spot and had to make the decision to try a pass….or not and get passed by Ron. He did what I think we all would have done and went for it, and unfortunately for him had contact that gave him a flat tire. Ron cruised on by….as we all in the pits were yelling and screaming….and we won the race. It was an amazing win and a great end to an amazing year. I think that every year from now on should be the “Year of the Norm” !!!!

The one thing…that if someone asked me how did we win the race…that I would say…is that we won it because no one ever gave up. Everyone on the team pushed as hard as they could, every second, and attacked attacked attacked. That never say die attitude, that everyone at Pratt and Miller has, once again showed itself, and as a driver, you are so proud to be associated with such a great group of men.

Finally, to those of you that attended the auction on Friday…thank you so much. The auction raised over $25,000 for the “guest house” and Alzheimers Association. With that and some other things I had going with Road Atlanta, we will have raised almost $36,000. It was again great fun for me, and I hope everyone that was there also had a great time.

I’ll keep posting things on the site over the winter so that you can keep abreast of what Team Corvette is up to. Thanks to everyone that has helped make this a great year, and a huge congratulations to my friend…that oversized Canadian…Ron Fellows. We certainly have enjoyed a lot of success together, and I know that we will both be pushing as hard as ever next season.

Johnny O