12 Days of the Surreal, Part 2: Post-Sebring

It’s only a partial pun on the 12 Hours of Sebring, but in reality, the period since March 14 until this evening has been the most surreal period for me personally and for us as a company since Las Vegas, last year. A recap of part 2 of the whirlwind is below, and here's part 1:

TUESDAY, MARCH 20

It became official Tuesday morning – RACER was no longer a subsidiary of the Haymarket Publishing empire, as it had been since 2001. Instead, the keys had been turned over to our original founder, Paul Pfanner, with other new colleagues also in play. Big, big news for us going forward.

Change can be scary, but it can also spur you to great heights – and that’s what this organization needed. I think this provides us a bit of both. We’ve been given a fresh start, set to fill a lot of holes, and begin our relaunch and rebranding for our 20th anniversary, for our next issue. Many of Mr. Pfanner’s ideas are nothing short of magnificent, and quite frankly, he was the only person suitable for this new role as the company takes on a rebirth. It's about us, though, as the people on staff, to reach those heights.

The goal for us now is making and implementing the changes we need to, and more importantly, to put it out in the market that we’re back.

FRIDAY, MARCH 23

With the shockwaves of the previous few days behind, it was off to Auto Club Speedway, formerly California Speedway, to cover the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series weekend.

I tweeted it a couple days ago, but honestly, sometimes it takes going to another type of an event and seeing how it runs to appreciate not having to go to it on a regular basis. While certainly, NASCAR is the 800-lb gorilla in racing, it’s not without its decline; and if someone who had never covered a race of any type before showed up at one of these things, they’d have been in for a rude awakening.

The ACS staff wasn’t the problem, as they were friendly and helpful throughout. I look forward to going back to the track for the IndyCar race in September to make sure that remains the case.

Instead, the issue I had came from was the iron hand of the sanctioning body – who implored the security guards present that, firmly, this is our house. Access is incredibly limited to both the garage and the teams and drivers, even with the right credentials. Now my only having a “cold” pit/garage pass didn’t help matters any, but the point stands – you’re not going to be given the top credential as a newcomer and it takes years of working to make it deeper in the secret garden. Poor word choice there, perhaps...

Anyway, trying to navigate and get everything done was a bit of a maze. A lot of, “You can’t go there from here,” “You can’t go here at this time, but you can go here at that time,” “You can go up this bridge but not up these stairs,” etc., etc.

Even trying to be respectful in asking of the security guards, you might be amazed at how someone gets a huge power trip once given even the slightest degree of it. At one stage I went to go back up a staircase which I had just come down not even 5 minutes earlier, but the person wanted to deny me!

There's also the issue of driver access and accessibility. Sometimes you get last minute requests for things you have to do. I've been able to get away with it in IndyCar and sports cars, but not so in NASCAR - and learning from others, sometimes requests go unfulfilled for months. Even if an answer may only require five minutes. Again, culture shock.

I get that people think because I’m young, I don’t have a clue of what I’m doing, but the fact is I’ve been working incredibly hard for the last seven years learning how to navigate tracks, get where I need to go and stay out of the way. It can be frustrating when you face the obstacles when trying to get work done.

Especially compared to the much more accessible paddocks of IndyCar and sports car, I was floored at how different and rigid a NASCAR garage and weekend operates.

One other postscript on the day – Danica Patrick’s PR rep, Haley, is about as tough as nails when trying to manage fans and also as pleasant as can be when you’re having a conversation with her. She has a thankless job and does it admirably, I think.

Danica herself? Well, my record of far-from-spotless run-ins with her continued as I was merely trying to say “hi” and ask whether it was weird not being at St. Pete. Our chat this weekend? Danica: “Hey, when did I see you last?” Me, somberly: “Vegas.” Danica: “This past Vegas or, uh, October?” Me: “October. Weird not being at St. Pete?” Danica: “Meh.”

So much for trying to get that world exclusive. At least give me a courtesy “you know,” you know?

Suffice to say I didn’t shed a tear when on Saturday her motor went Ke$haaaa (that thanks to international superstar Shane Rogers, @shagers on Twitter) and she finished 35th in her last race in her 20s, before turning 30 on Sunday.

SATURDAY, MARCH 24

Didn’t have too much time to enjoy it as had all four IndyCar-related stories on the day from St. Pete, via whatever Internet method I could, and the Nationwide recap. Plus other interviews. Typical 10-hour day.

The worst part of the day, bar none, was physically seeing Bruce Jenner’s face. Some things, you just can’t unsee. I didn't take a picture because the last thing I needed was a constant visual reminder of the world's worst stretch job.

I do have to give a shoutout – and I never thought I’d say this – to Rutledge Wood, who was actually a nice, cool guy when meeting him in person. Guessing he plays it up for TV a bit. Meeting Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth, albeit briefly for both, was also a highlight.

SUNDAY, MARCH 25

Never has doing nothing felt so glorious. I hoped to go to sleep, then get up early and cram in the F1 race before the IndyCar race. Plans didn’t materialize as anticipated.

The sleep part didn’t happen so instead it turned into an all-nighter watching F1 from Malaysia. Did it suck Sergio Perez didn’t win? Yes, but hopefully, the kid will have more opportunities going forward – granted, not likely in a Sauber ever again. The fact he’s F1’s first podium finisher born in the 1990s makes me feel old.

Five hours later and the IndyCar race happened. Far from the most exciting race I’d ever seen, yet for some reason, a dullish, largely clean, and most importantly, safe race was about everything I was hoping for from St. Pete. I’m not afraid to admit I lost it during the Dan tribute at the start of the show – about the best thing ABC did all day. That brought back the horror of October 16 all over again, but did so in a way that didn’t make it eery – instead, it was tasteful and tactful. Weird to say, but there you go.

I think I’ll have more thoughts later on all the opinions coming out of the day, but for now, calling it a night considering I only got a few hours of sleep. It’s been a crazy enough 12-day period, and now we head into the next week with even more to do. Sunday night ended the third day this month (March 3, 4) not traveling or in the office. Out for now, cheers.

12 Days of the Surreal, Part 1: Sebring

It’s only a partial pun on the 12 Hours of Sebring, but in reality, the period since March 14 until Sunday evening has been the most surreal period for me personally and for us as a company since Las Vegas, last year. A recap of part 1 of the whirlwind is below:

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14

The inside joke here is that the cross country jaunt from Orange County, Calif. to Sebring, Fla. would take as long as the race itself. I called it, in a play off the official race title of: “Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida,” the “Twelve Hours of Getting to Sebring Fueled by American Airlines.”

The flights were the easy part, going through Dallas and then landing in Orlando. No issues on the rental car, or obscene charges. Still, the issue sprouted up about 7:45 p.m. ET – about 10 hours after starting the day – in that it took nearly two hours to go some 20+ miles from one of America’s least favorite airports, MCO, to the State Route 27 connection with Interstate 4. The culprit was a massive pileup that caused a 10-mile, roughly hour-plus delay outside 27, on I-4, which shut down I-4 both directions and caused massive headache.

One of the things I get when I tell people I get to travel for a living is that, “oh, it’s so glamorous.” Well, yes, a lot of it is – but travel days such as this one are far from it – and it’s those moments that really test your patience when you’re drained, at night, in a rental car, in some remote location. I’d considered crashing at a hotel near the I-4/27 interchange but most were sold out, so the ride continued. A 12:30 a.m. ET arrival time then occurred at surprise number two of the evening, the Sebring Inn (RIGHT).

Without going into too many specifics, the easiest way to describe this place is that it makes the Motel 6 in Buttonwillow, Calif. look like the Ritz-Carlton by comparison. And, as your typical roadside, bare bones hotel available only when things are done last minute, it was what it was.

Bottom line, when all was said and done, it took longer to get to the hotel after a door-to-door journey than the race would be on Saturday.

THURSDAY, MARCH 15

The DeltaWing made its official public debut. Anything and everything else was secondary. This car has the potential to revolutionize motorsport in a way unseen by any other model or car in decades, even if people remain divided on its appearance. Certainly the night practice session was the other highlight, although a number of incidents made the day a little longer, nearly to 10 p.m. at the track.

FRIDAY, MARCH 16

I got a hot lap in a Corvette ZR1, thanks to Mobil 1. Sometimes you get one of those surreal messages in your inbox, like, “Would you be interested in a hot lap in a ZR1?” I didn’t respond back, “Do I have a pulse?” although I was tempted to.

SATURDAY, MARCH 17

Ah, race day. The joy of attempting to follow nine – nine! – classes at once while also monitoring whatever crazy stories popped up. Here’s more on the class insanity and thoughts about the politics of the thing, although I’ll touch on part of that directly in a few paragraphs.

First crazy race moment? The Team Falken Tire Porsche team, led by team manager Derrick Walker, barely even made the start. An engine issue struck the team at the tail end of the morning warm-up, and an hour and a half thrash by the crew – and constant social media updates from the team’s newly acquired PR ace Kelly – led to everyone cheering when Wolf Henzler made the grid literally at the last possible second. The German Porsche factory driver rolled to pit lane at the end of the second warm-up lap, but caught up before losing any time.

Not so lucky was a fellow German Porsche factory driver, former GT class champ Jorg Bergmeister, who was speared by Dominik Farnbacher in a Ferrari 458 right before the green flag. The Lizards were already screwed before the thing even started.

Eventually, the race ran its course, largely trouble-free although there were a few coming-togethers.

About 2 p.m., a handful of us were shuttled off to a meeting with top FIA and ACO officials. That included me, trying to not look too hideous in my one-off borrowed firesuit thanks to Dyson Racing (RIGHT).

Anyway, we got a chance to meet with a group of five led by FIA President Jean Todt. Now, the fan in me here wanted to punch him in the face for making a joke out of F1 for about half a decade in the early part of the 2000s with Ferrari and Schumacher, but my brain was able to kick in and avoid me going postal. That probably would have got me kicked out of media centers for the rest of my life, if not out of racing altogether, but I would have had a hell of a story…

As it turned out, Todt wound up in a verbal spat with a journalist who had the gall – some would say bravery or simply common sense – to question why the timing of schedule finalization was so late for several FIA World Championships. Something might have got lost in translation, but Todt basically turned the question around, claiming we should be “not criticizing, but thanking” the FIA for getting a calendar sorted so quickly. No one has ever officially accused the “A” of standing in FIA for “arrogance,” but I could have sworn I’ve seen “French Insisting on Arrogance” as one of the re-created monikers in the wake of the 2005 USGP at Indy…

Needless to say, the media briefing didn’t go quite to plan. It was a crazy moment that only has hit in magnitude several days after the fact, that about 20 of us were in a room with some of the most powerful people in motorsport and had the chance to go toe-to-toe on certain issues. It’s a chance I don’t know if I’ll ever have again.

The last bit of craziness came at the finish. The outright GT lead, I guess would be the best way to call it, came down to a battle between Joey Hand (BMW) and Olivier Beretta (Ferrari). Hand edged passed Beretta with a few minutes remaining, but on the final lap, a Ferrari which everyone thought was Beretta contacted Hand, nudging the American off the course and ending his win chances.

Not so. Hand then edged past this same Ferrari through the final corner. Turns out we were all wrong, Hand included, as to which Ferrari it was – it was actually the sister car driven by Gianmaria Bruni, more than 100 laps down.

Rather stupidly, it turns out both Hand and Beretta had won, as they had won the ALMS GT and WEC GTE Pro classes, respectively. But nobody thought of it that way, although technically that was how it was.

SUNDAY, MARCH 18

The day going back from Sebring is always a haul. You’ve usually been up til about 2 or 3 am, at least, the night before. Depending on your flight, you either can sleep in late and make your drive ahead of schedule for a mid-afternoon departure, or, if you’re stuck on an early morning one, get a brief nap in and then hit the road in pitch darkness.

Fortunately I had the former option, and a last-minute dart off I-4 onto a toll road (417) saved another near headache of backups and delays. Still, it took a little over 2 hours for the commute back.

To me, Sebring had a weirder vibe to it this year compared to the last two years. Maybe it was the late arrival at the track (Thursday versus Monday) where I felt like I was already behind, maybe it was not being able to stay at the nice hotel, maybe it was the FIA’s influence. Or maybe it was the brewing of things I’d heard in cryptic messages that bore themselves out when I resumed in the office…