#57 Stevenson Corvette Season Wrap Up
Attached is a season ending release from the #57 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette team that ran in the Grand American Road Racing Rolex Sports Car Series GT Class. The release is attached in .pdf format, and it appears below September 10, 2006 For Immediate Release: Stevenson Corvette Ends Tough First Season At Miller Motorsports Park 2006 was a year that team owner John Stevenson said was entered into to build the nucleus of a strong team that could challenge the GT competition in the Grand American Road Racing Rolex Sports Car Series. The challenges certainly came as this new team found the going to be at least as tough as they imagined it would be. When you choose a series as filled with accomplished veteran teams as is the Rolex Series, you simply have to accept that they will have the edge in terms of experience. But the committed personnel who make up the Stevenson Motorsports #57 Chevrolet Corvette squad also imagined a podium placing or two could possibly be in the cards, if the right breaks came their way. Alas a number of setbacks tested the team’s mettle this season, culminating in a very difficult 9-hour endurance race to end this, the first season for this newly assembled race team. Team owner John Stevenson feels that for a team running their first season in a very competitive series, the people who put the car on the track did an outstanding job. “I am extremely proud of the crew we put together this season. Not only did we all have to virtually start from scratch, bringing new people together with one purpose, we also had to hope we had managed to create a mix of talents that both complimented one another, and got the job done. I feel quite strongly that is exactly what we did do. We had the right people doing their respective jobs very well. I think the only reason we bounced back from the many issues that cropped up this season is because this team never quit. Look at the miracle job they did after our car was punted into a wall at Infineon! Through perseverance, long hours, resourceful thinking and sheer commitment, they got the badly damaged car repaired and ready in time for the race at Miller. “I am extremely proud of what we accomplished in only our first year of working as a team.” Team strategist and engineer Ron Ogletree had these comments on the long 9-hour season ending race at Miller Motorsports Park, in Toele, Utah. “It wasn’t the best way to wrap up a first season for us. We had several issues to deal with from a power steering problem to the hood lifting up and acting like a big air brake. The safety pin mount welded to the nose of the car came loose. We were able to make repairs and keep going but we lost time in the pits. “We also had a first time problem with the plug wires burning. Maybe it was the altitude combined with the heat of the engine; I really don’t know what the cause was. It never happened to us before. It was just one of those freak things you don’t expect to happen.” The competition in this series found the eventual GT champion winning TRG Pontiac GTO of Marc Bunting and Andy Lally fighting it out with the Tafel Racing Porsche of Robin Lidell and Wolf Henzler right down to the last hours of the last race. Ogletree wasn’t surprised that it came down to a last race shootout. “We weren’t surprised by the level of competition in this series. And the man we were always chasing was Tony Dowe (Tafel Racing Porsche team). He carries a history as far as car preparation and being ready to go into competition. I fully expected to see from him what we experienced. That is not to say we weren’t there nipping at his heels. We were, and he even acknowledged that. But this time around the Dowe prepared Porsche and the TRG Pontiac simply had the edge on us. We would like to turn the tables on both of them next season.” Vic Rice and Tommy Riggins were the primary pilots throughout the year in the #57 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette. For the grueling Miller endurance race, veteran Dominic Cicero II joined the driving squad. The team had a few near misses along the way in 2006 but fate wasn’t in the mood to reward veteran drivers on a somewhat rookie team. You can have a lot of experience to help guide you but experience isn’t spelled l-u-c-k. And luck just never seemed to take up residence in the Stevenson team paddock. But when the near misses did come, they served to show that this team is one to watch in 2007. After a long year of bumps, bangs, and near misses, the #57 Chevrolet Corvette has gone back home for some much needed R&R (restoration and repairs). Some decisions will be made in the coming months on how to best position the team for a run at the championship next year. Will the old #57 be up to the task? Ogletree: “The car is back at the shop in Jacksonville, North Carolina now. The car took a serious hit at Infineon (Sears Point) and we need to take a hard look at the chassis condition and see what work needs to be done.” The Stevenson Corvette ran in 12 of the 14 races on the 2006 Grand Am GT schedule. The team finished in 11th place overall, and drivers Vic Rice and Tommy Riggins finished 13th and 15th respectively in the GT drivers standings. For more information on the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series visit: http://grandamerican.com/Home.asp -- "A place for photos and words about sportscar racing and the people who make the cars go!"