There are people who do not believe that race car drivers are athletes. Those people are wrong by a lot. Why? Watch this video and see what Jules Gounon does behind the wheel and tell me that there is no “athletic” ability. From the wild footwork of decelerating the car, heel-toe shifting, and then the work of catching the machine as it was in a high speed slide, Gounon is certainly a wheelman and certainly an athlete.
The “bus stop” at Daytona is basically a big chicane that is designed to break up the high speed portion of the road course that uses the oval’s famously big banks. We’re not sure if Gounon’s Corvette is a big or small block car but we do know that it hauls ass. That thing was making some big speed when he approached said bus stop and he carried a load of it through there.
Driving at this level, yes even at this level in vintage style of racing is an intrinsic art form. You have to know the car, know its abilities, and then know your self and your abilities. When both of the parties come to an agreement on those parameters you’ll see stuff like is contained in the video below. The man and the machine in perfect unison.
