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Written by:
Marshall Pruett
07/29/2007 - 07:00 PM
Oakland, CA
Grosse Ile, Michigan's Dane Moxlow. (Photo: Mark Weber) » More Photos
"Livin' the Dream." That the best way to describe Dane Moxlow's life and times as a teenage SPEED World Challenge GT driver.
Strapped inside his 500+ horsepower Pontiac GTO, Moxlow benefits from the efforts of his family-built racecar, and the mentorship from his team mate, the awesome veteran Stu Hayner.
For a young driver with aspirations to move up the racing ladder, Moxlow's on a perfect path to learn more about the engineering behind racing a successful car, the operations side of his AD team, and how to grow his racecraft from a championship-winning driver in a sister GTO.
While his on-track results are still growing, his off-track racing education is coming at a rapid-fire rate. As he improves and moves closer to the front of the grid, more camera time is guaranteed.
Isn't it odd, yet subtly amusing that anyone involved in racing is constantly running around like a chicken lacking a head? During a race week, even the weeks preceding the event seem like they never end. There certainly cannot be enough hours in a day for a racer. In fact, Dale Jr. once said in an interview about his personal life that he cant' even plan a dinner date in advance because he has no idea where he'll be when that night rolls around.
Not only do I have the incredible opportunity to drive a racecar professionally at nineteen, but I also grew up doing the less glamorous side of racing. I've spent years wrenching on the same cars that I drive today and more nights than I can count marketing the Autosport Development team and myself. This behind the scenes background gives me the upper hand in some situations, but it also makes weekends like that of the SPEED World Challenge GT Race Presented by Trenton Forging that much more interesting!
Prior to the race weekend I had been involved in putting together new t-shirt designs, hero cards, upgrading the look of both cars, and assembling a great new sponsorship opportunity. A company not too far from my home contacted the team about a marketing deal. Boss Products USA joined us in the venture to sell a product called MagnaFilter which is a screw-on adapter that fits in between your conventional oil filter and your engine block, magnetically filtering 98% of all harmful deposits.
Moxlow welcomed Magnafilter to his team at Mid-Ohio. (Photo: Mark Weber) » More Photos
The Pontiac GTO was paint matched to the MagnaFilter logo just days before we left home, and it just so happens that we do all of our own graphics in-house… uh-oh! After hard days and long nights we we're ready for Ohio, but first, a stop at PR Machine Works for a sponsor meet-and-greet on Tuesday. Even though being charming for hours is no easy task, Autosport and PR had a great turnout and retired with high hopes for the coming weekend.
Finally we ended up back at good ol' Mid-O and this time with backup. Stu Hayner would be joining me once again in the sister GTO. Thursday's promoter test was a bit interesting in the morning. It had been pouring rain and the track had just been re-paved. This was not a good combination by any means but we needed the time to test our power-steering system, which had ailed us weeks before in Toronto. Turns out the power steering did its job, but judging by the return of a muddy racecar, neither the rain tires nor I did so hot. I think we all know whom to blame! Oh, and watch out for the shiny patches at the apex. Whoops.
Friday turned out much better. We had broken our time from last year by seconds and had high spirits. That of course was short lived because everyone else had broken their time by just that little bit more. The two GTO sat a respectable, yet slightly disappointing 12th and 14th in the field after the morning practice. With a few tweaks and some welcomed advice from Stu, we thought we had only improved. I though, had a few tricks
The Saturday morning qualifying session started with a green flag at 7:50 AM! The air was cool and the track just began to dry up from the night's rain or the morning dew. Good thing I wasn't awake long enough to know the difference. Strapped to a rocket, waiting impatiently on false-grid, I was still yawning (my morning person hasn't come to visit yet). I was tired, but I was sure as ever ready!
Qualifying in SPEED World Challenge is almost as tough on the nerves as one of our incredible standing starts. Who goes where? Will he let me by? Can I hold him off? It all comes down to who can make themselves the widest and get a clean lap in.
First lap, 1.29.4. Second lap 1.29.00. "Ooohh baby," I'm thinking to myself, >i>"Just getting warmed up!"… I think I got a little ahead of myself this time. My times started to fall off and the tires weren't going to carry me much faster. Disappointed with myself and a little sad for the team I dragged my faithful steed back to the paddock by its reins. This might be a little hard to explain to the 350 guests that we had invited for Sunday. I always race better anyway, right? You know it.
Dane Moxlow enjoys the fruits of his SPEED GT Rookie of the Year campaign. (Photo: Mark Weber) » More Photos
Sunday morning, Stu and I rushed to the track to catch the Touring Car race. Honestly, in 5 years I have never seen that many people at a race track for one of our races (with the exception of Lowe's Motor Speedway) it was an incredible sight. When it takes you longer to get from the gate to the trailer than it does from the hotel to the track, you have a crowd!
Man was that a long day. Nothing screams anxiety like an 8-hour wait before a race. Luckily we had a great guest turnout and I kept myself busy with fans, family and friends. Being so new to the pro side of the sport, having 350 people support me for one event boosted my pride like you wouldn't believe. I had to keep my hat on all day long just to keep my head its normal size!
Finally pre-grid time arrived and I began my race preparations. Have some water, jump in my monkey suit and do a little stretching. I always visualize before a race. It helps me calm down and really focus on what I'm there for. My job is to drive at the limit for 50 minutes and bring it home in one piece, plain and simple.
When the lights went out, thoughts were removed and my brain instantly went into attack mode. Well maybe that happened after my stomach returned to its rightful place by avoiding the stalled car just feet in front of me but you get the point. By the end of the first lap I had advanced 5 positions and the hunt began. I knew there was more in the car and I could see myself reeling in the 3 cars in front of me each lap.
I was feeling too good; something had to go wrong, and it did. Two of the scariest things about racing are fire and the loss of brakes, not the speed or the walls. A few laps in and into the kink before the carousel the brake pedal sinks slowly to the floor. Don't be alarmed; they still worked, but barely. I was still bound and determined to finish the race… after a little grass and gravel excursion on the exit of turn 1 of course. (Mike, sorry about your camera!) I adapted to the height of the pedal and blipped the throttle with my heel instead of the ball of my foot. I moved my brake points back and held on for on helluva ride!
Yes, I finished the race, and yes, the car is in one piece. That's a small victory in my book. My finishing position was nothing to write home about, but it'll do. The fans loved it and the guests will always be coming back for more.
Until next time! See you at Mosport!
~Dane Moxlow
Click Here to learn more about Dane and the Autosport Development team.
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