(Words – Mike Merrill) – Most years, the Sebring 14-hour event has brought with it rainy conditions. Friday during setup and registration, with torrential rain falling, most teams were probably thinking about how wet the conditions would be for race day. But just to prove you just can’t always predict the weather, the race started with wet track conditions but only a mist falling from the sky. Once the first drivers had dried the track, this race was dry, even with the constant threat of storms visible on the horizon.
Sebring is tough on cars and this race was no exception., the pits saw plenty of repair work; engine rebuilds, transmission swaps, the works. I spoke with one team after they retired that just threw in the towel after their second transmission failed. My team as well fell victim to a failed transmission at the 9 hour mark of the race. One notable bit of wrenching was Team J.B. Bugs Racing who swapped an engine early in the race but did this on pit road in a matter of about 20 minutes, then went on to finish the race.
The top 10 finishers covered several different makes of cars, with the top spot going to Flatout Racing2 in a Lexus SC300. The rest of the top 10 included several Miatas, BMW E30s, one E36, a MR2, a VW Rabbit, and finnaly an Infiniti.
Through the 4-hour mark of the race, Flatout Racing had control of the top two spots with their Lexus and 300ZX, and both cars had posted lap times well below the 2:40 mark. At this point , Turn 1 Trailer Trash was outside the top 10 in 11th position and began to move up. Racing Strong had an extended pit stop for a shift cable repair that cost them 5 minutes in the pits and a few on course spins that took away their top 3 finishing hopes. Other teams were threatening the top 10 positions like the Shockers and the Cone Crushers but would fall back during the race.
Major storms slid south of the track, allowing the remaining teams to race through the night for the checked flag with good track conditions. The final finishing order for the Sebring 14-hour race was as follows:
- Flatout Racing2
- East Side Motorsports
- Turn 1 Trailer Trash
- Racing Strong
- ISC Racing
- Rabbit Racing
- Schulz N Co
- Panzer Racing
- Condor/OMP
- Team Infiniti
I’d like to see articles covering this or LeMons. I think there are a lot of good stories in the teams battling to keep their cars running at whatever cost. These are real people, working on real production cars (not fiberglass bodied, space frame “street cars”). They’re bolting on parts that the average gearhead can afford and doing real thrashes to keep in the race – seeking out a car in a field across the state for parts, not waiting on a FedEx truck.
I went to Sebring to watch the Optima Battery ultimate street car challenge, which was a blast to watch. I had no idea they were running the chump cars as well. Grass roots racing at its best, could walk anywhere on pit row, got to talk to guys as they were swapping a head mid race. If you want a good laugh, I’d recommend reading the chumpcar rule book ( first thing I did when I got home ).