Not sure. So far it hasn't turned any laps. The GS 350Z's are turning some very quick lap times.

 

I'm relatively new to following the 24 hour races, but a quarter of the cars in the Rolex series have no time reported. Is it primarily because qualifying position is not paramount in the GT class? I would think the teams would still want the track time. Good luck #29 in the 24 hour race, and #33, and #35 in the Grand Am race!

uwaeve

 

What the heck happened. I got to the race about an hour late and never saw any of the Z's. Looked all over the pits also. The only thing I can think of is that they were on the far end of the Busch garage as I wasn't able to get over there. They were filling up the gas station and they had a few stalls roped off. I did see the Mustang Playboy cars and also got a sneak at the Vonage Playboy DP entries. Ate dinner in a booth next to Paul Tracy. MAAAN his wife or girlfriend has been AUGMENTED to say the least. Those were the biggest ***** on a little girl I have ever seen. Also got to actually shake Max Papis' hand and took some pics of the whole Target Team. Saw Allen McKnish and way to many others I could go on and on. But I'll put pics up on monday after the 24 is over.

 

also no Playboy trailer that I could find. I will extend my search for the bunnies tomorrow.

 

The two "Playboy" Zs retired. One had an axle break and the other engine blew.

I have pics of the GT Z that is going to run in the 24hour, but I have no way of getting them from my camera to the laptop..sorry. However, I don't think this car has turned a lap and they were VERY rushed this afternoon trying to get it through tech by Grand Am. Anyway, the car looks pretty much like a stock Z, but they might be using some carbon body work. Nothing like the JGTC 350z...too bad, eh??

24hour is going to be awesome! BJ (dwnshft) is in the 78 Ford Doran and is 4th OVERALL for the start!! Stay tuned

 

Were was the GT Z in the Pits?

 

Ha, you know, I never saw it in the pits or garage...only at the GA tech Area. I still haven't seen it on the track though. Maybe it didn't pass tech??

 

HMMM. I will keep my eyes peeled.

 

Oh and if you have a program I'm in it. I'm on page 11 the picture of the fire is me and my buddies. Thought it was pretty funny when I opened the program.

 

That sucks that the two 350s are out. One year I will make it to one of these...

 

Here are some bunnies:

 

And here's a Z, before it went away.

 

The broken axle was a result of being hit by a Mustang during the exit of the International Horseshoe. Z was slightly wide, and the Mustang dove inside, but really didn't have the room needed, and basically pushed the Z out further, tangling pretty good in the process. Unfortunately, I was right there to watch it happen...
The other Z blew up just before the approach to the horseshoe.

 

The GT 350Z didn't make the race.

 

That's a shame that both 350Zs won't be racing this weekend. No need to set the DVR to record the race now.

I'm really looking forward to seeing these cars in action. Their qualifying times were very competitive, and Grand-Am has some good competition for them. I'll be rooting for them next round...

 

The Grand Am Cup Playboy Zs in the GS class ran the race, but did not finish. There was 1 Z that was going to run GT class in the 24 hour...that is the one that did not race. I'd still set your DVR

 

To my knowledge the JGTC 350Z isn't really a Z per se. In other words, it's not a production based Z. It's a purpose built racecar with a body that resembles the Z - sort of like Nascar only less fake looking.

However, the Z's that have raced in Grand Am have been real production based Z's.

edit: fixed spelling

 

The JGTC Z is a silouette car... tube frame chassis with body panels. In the GAC GT class, it's a standard chassis with a tube frame fore and aft of the cabin. The GS class is the production class with OE body panels and standard chassis.

 

I got to talk to a mechanic on the one GT Z team. Pretty much they finished the car wednesday night. The car was still in paint monday and into tuesday. They used a salvage Z to build the car. I got to see the before and after pictures of the car and they had to come a long way to get to where they were. The mechanic said the engine is made from Nismo parts in its entirety. Thats pretty much as far as I got with him.