After looking around, we spotted an old familiar face, Chris Kneifel, a former driver for team Corvette and now Chief Stewart for Champ Car World Series. We immediately asked him to please sign the hood of our 53 Commemorative Edition Corvette:
After that it was off to round up the new drivers and have them all sign the car. First there was Olivier Berretta:
Then we found Max Papis who really seemed to like the car:
Who, after being told all about the conversion by Buzz:
.. proceeded to add his signature and "Mad Max":
After that it was on to find the third of the new drivers, Jan Magnussen so he could have his turn:
As you can see, the hood is well represented by Corvette people:
Buzz even persuaded all the drivers to sign a hat or two to be auctioned off to support the National Corvette Museum.
Harry Turner, Road Racing Group Manager, gave a few words of wisdom to Olivier along with I'm sure a "Welcome" to the team:
We were then off to check out the cars, drivers, crew and all the great things for the upcoming year. This is the new hood design:
A brief look at the #4 car from the front:
.. can you see any new aerodynamics? The new drivers of #4:
.. along with Oliver at the wheel:
These are the new Michelin tires on the #3 car:
How about the NCM logos on the 2004 cars?
Really Cool! Last but not least I thought you all would enjoy the brand new 2004 starter for the cars:
Please don't let this information out to any competitors. However after the initial start they do fly!
Just so you don't think we only think Corvettes, here is a shot of Andy Wallace & James Weaver:
.. from the Dyson Racing Team, Inc. #16 LMP675 going over information, as they were testing the same day. All in all it was another unforgettable day.
They wanted to have some extra time on the track and brought Ron Fellows, Johnny O'Connell and Max Papis to get some more seat time. As you can see, Johnny O wasted no time in getting into his Florida mode:
.. then decided to talk with Jackie:
.. and contemplate his next move:
Mad Max laid his helmet and gear out on the wall:
Johnny's helmet was next to Max's:
while Ron's was on his head:
Here is the new "Michelin Man" hard at work deciding which tire should be tried next:
Ron listening to the crew:
having Jackie tell him where to go:
.. and then relaying all the necessary information to Max:
It's now Johnny's turn to get his words:
.. and then he gets to talk to Max about the day:
Meanwhile the crew does its best to show all how it's done:
Then it's off to do another stint:
.. all the while under the watchful eyes of Jim Miller from Pratt-Miller: