Welcome to garra-fans.com, the official Website of the Cognoscenti! We are supporters of the Grand American Road Racing Association. This is where you will find Grand American news and race reports from a different perspective (for the fans, by the fans), stories and information from the members of the Cognoscenti, photos, and much, much more.
December 14th, 2004 - First, here is Derek's interview with Planet Earth Motorsports, and here is an editorial from RaycerX.
November 15th, 2004 - I'd like to welcome our new sponsor, GTP Activewear! I need to say a huge thank you to Steve for sponsoring the site this year...as well as providing the t-shirts that were sold to pay for the site last year. If you need t-shirts, hats, or any other clothing screen printed, please see Steve...he does great work!
November 12th, 2004 - RobinsonRacer took the win in both the last race and the season for GAFL! Here is the results from Fontana, and the 2004 Season Final Results. Congrats! razor was second, and Sput was third. Good job, guys! Sorry for the delay in getting these out...things should be getting back to normal here soon. There's a lot of work to be done on the site...as well as off-season Steak Nights to plan!
November 5th, 2004 - Here's the first of John Thompson's photos from California...these are from the Grand Am Cup.
October 22nd, 2004 - There's some great news in Derek's latest interview, this time with Mike Shank. It's a good read...
October 21st, 2004 - Here's a cog exclusive, Derek's interview with Leh Keen from the Autometrics team. BTW, did you know that Derek's a new dad? CONGRATS! Some more goodies today are Sputs' photos from the VIR 400 and Barber Motorsports Park.
October 20th, 2004 - Here's a quickie update, an interview with the Rolex Series DP championship leaders...and a great article from Brent Jackson here. Dan (Sput) has some pics that I need to post, that will hopefully happen tomorrow, hopefully. :)
October 14th, 2004 - I finally have the fantasy results up from Barber here…(and here's the 6 pick). RobinsonRacer has come through in the clutch and is keeping a consistent 14 point lead going into the finale! Sput took second back from razor, but only by a point. Sput won the week over RobinsonRacer, then razor…so it was our top three going at it hard! The finale will be interesting. Also, here's the transcript from Grand American's teleconference with Boris Said and Bill Auberlin. Look for a Brolzy's Notebook soon; as my inbox has around 60 PR's in it…
October 5th, 2004 - First, Dan Dodge has his car-by-car notes from the VIR 400 in Sput's Notes. Also, here's the results from the GAFL from the VIR 400, as well as the current 6 Pick standings. The top 3 has shuffled in the season long championship, with RobinsonRacer now taking the lead back, razor moved to second, and Sput dropped to third. DATSUN510 and Brolzy won the week, followed by PatB and RobinsonRacer.
September 30th, 2004 - I've gotten back into writing! Check out my new column with news and notes from VIR here...
September 29th, 2004 - Here is Grand American's Pre-Event Package...I'm trying something new with PR's. If you can't read the file, let me know. I'm posting less of them due to time contraints, but I'll try to post the ones you would want to read, like this one.
September 23rd, 2004 - Want to know who has to do what to win the Rolex Series title? Ray Brandt calculates it all out in his column "What If?" The man knows his stuff, as he's currently third in the GAFL standings!
September 21st, 2004 - Here is the updated Results and 6 Pick Standings after Homestead this weekend. We have a new leader...SPUT! It's a tight points battle with 3 races left! Razor won the week followed by PatB and DMeluzio32. For more information on our league, click here...
September 11th, 2004 - Oh my gosh, an update!! Well, here's some news...
August 17th, 2004 - The GAFL results from this past weekend are in the League section, plus my gallery from my trip to Fabcar. BTW, we now have a tie for the points lead! Check it out... Also, check out JD Ellis's photos as his site, http://jdellis.smugmug.com. There are a ton there, and some incredible garage shots. This might be about if for updates for a week or two, as my surgery is tomorrow.
August 9th, 2004 - The results have been calculated for the GAFL from Mid-Ohio...congrats to Sput for winning the week, and RobinsonRacer for keeping up his consistent streak in the points lead! Check them out here, at the bottom of the page. Also, I've been posting team and driver news in the News Area here, as well as other Grand American stuff just in The News Area. Photos and stuff will be popping up daily this week, so stay tuned!
August 7th, 2004 - I've been posting team and driver news in the News Area here, and here is the qualifying results from Friday. Don't forget that the race is on SPEED at 8pm EST, tape delayed. I think there might be some Cog's in the chatroom or the board, if you're around. Also, we should have photos and stuff from Ray Brandt (razor) and his brother, as well as J.D. Ellis coming up next week. It's kill'n me not being there! Oh, one more thing before I go to bed...I'll have my photos from my trip to Fabcar in May next week (I know, it's about time!!).
July 20, 2004 - Here is the transcript from the interview with Scott Pruett, Max Papis, Wayne Taylor, and Max Angelelli. Warning, it's long, but a great read. Everyone had some interesting things to say.
July 16, 2004 - Derek has his latest in "Cog-zio's Tidbits: Ferrari of Washington," and check out above...we have another Steak Night coming up! This time with Chris Hall! I also added a link to the Spirit of Daytona team's website in the links section.
July 9, 2004 - I took a bit of a break from coding after the Watkins Glen marathon of posting...so here's what's new. We celebrated our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY on June 28th, and Brent wrote about it. Also, we have pictures from the Paul Revere 250 from Mark Sangster, pictures of "T-Bone" from Jan Crawford to Jacob Dodge, the updated fantasy league rules and standings in the Fantasy section, and an update on the GA Mod in the Sim section. Man, that's a lot to digest for one update... :)
June 25, 2004 - The final update from the Glen. THANK HEAVENS!!
June 23, 2004 - Here's more photos from the weekend...and not all Grand American! I still have more to come tomorrow, too. BTW, 5 more days until our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSERY!!
June 21, 2004 - Boy, is there a lot today...with a TON of photos... My 2 favorite galleries are Bill's #4, and Mark's #3.
June 20, 2004 - Here's Dan Dodge's Saturday update from Watkins Glen...
June 19, 2004 - Dan Dodge has sent in update #2 for the weekend...this time from Friday. Read it here...
June 18, 2004 - First, I have to brag on a Cog...Jacob Dodge won the annual Grand American kart race by Watkins Glen last night!! CONGRATS!! Also, we have Sput's first update from the Glen in his first article for us. Thanks Dan!
June 16, 2004 - Here's the start of a new section here at garra-fans.com, the Simulation section. Team SSM is creating a Mod for EA Sport's F1 Challenge game, and we're going to have some updates, including this one...it's a picture of Mont Tremblant being built. Also, in between Dr. appointments, I've been working on updating the cars section (it's going to be cool, but it's not uploaded yet...hehe), and I added some more links that Derek sent in.
June 1, 2004 - Here is my article about my Trip to Fabcar. It was fun! Also, I'm still working on the Cars section...I have quite a bit of coding to do.
May 26, 2004 - Here is the transcript from our chat with Mark Raffauf...It was excellent, as all the Steak Night's have been so far. The next one will be in June sometime, hopefully. Also I'm still working on pages around here...look for more updates as the week progresses. Derek has done an AWESOME job getting more information for the Cars section...when we're done I hope you'll be impressed with the work he's putting in. It's not going to be just a chassis listing anymore...
May 25, 2004 - Welcome to our new look! I hope you like it. If you have any issues, please e-mail me here. With the debut of our new look, we'll be updating things such as the Cars section (it's getting re-worked, even) and the Links section, as well as adding some more pictures from Derek's Rennsport adventure. I might even write something soon, who knows! Don't forget to be coming up with your questions for Mark Raffauf tonight!
May 18, 2004 - Hold on tight, as Brent Jackson has sent in his latest Average Fan's View, "Sideways Perspectives Part III."
May 17, 2004 - Derek Meluzio sent set #2 of his Rennsport pictures, this time the focus is on the 956/962's. Also, I have the threads up to make your picks for the fantasy league, too.
May 14, 2004 - We have to delay our chat with Mark Raffauf for 1 week due to some computer issues he's having (and he's on the road), so he will be joining us in the CogCafe for Steak Night on May 25 @ 9:00PM EST now. That might give us even more to talk about after Mont Tremblant, anyway. :)
May 11, 2004 - Mark Raffauf will be joining us in the CogCafe for Steak Night next week (see above). Also, I updated the links section with some new sites for Chip Ganassi Racing, Kodak Racing / Bell Motorsports, and Feeds The Need Racing.
May 10, 2004 - News DIRECTLY from Sylvain Tremblay, owner of SpeedSource:
"SpeedSource is not displeased with Multimatic in any way, shape or form. On the contrary Larry Holt and the entire staff at MTC has been great since the beginning. The cars are extremely well built and engineered and in no doubt will be at the front very soon."
Hopefully that will put some rumors to rest.
May 4, 2004 - Derek was down at the Rennsport Reunion at Daytona, and here's his first collection of pics...the 911's. Look for more soon!
April 15, 2004 - Here is the rest of John Thompson's collection from Phoenix...his Saturday pictures. PAGE 1 is here, PAGE 2 is here. Good work, John!
April 13, 2004 - Here is part 2 of John Thompson's collection from Phoenix...and his Saturday pictures will follow this week. Also, I've updated The News Area with Grand American, Orbit, Shane Lewis, AASCO, Bell, Terry Borchellor, SFoW and Daytona PR's...
April 12, 2004 - Here is part 1 of John Thompson's collection from Phoenix. More will come this week from him, and I'll update the News Area one of these days...
March 25, 2004 (update #2) - Here's Derek Meluzio's Kyle Petty article...
March 25, 2004 - Well, I'm tired of this thing looking dormant, so here's an update! WooHoo! First, here's an article from Brent from over a month ago, and here's a current article from Derek about the HART GT effort. Mark and I have been updating The News Area all this time, too, so go check out the latest PR's there.
March 1, 2004 - There is a TON of new stuff in The News Area, including some great post race quotes provided by both Grand American and the teams (check out Doran-Lista's report...). If you are wondering why this site suddenly slowed down on updates, check out my message on the message board.
February 24, 2004 - Kodak announced their sponsorship with Bell Motorsports today (with a rendering of the livery!), and there's some other new stuff in The News Area, too.
February 20, 2004 - Okay, so disregard the message about the fantasy league below...the Grand Prix of Miami is NEXT weekend. Sorry about that! Here's some new stuff today...Derek's interview with Andy Lally in Cog-zio's Tidbits, and there's some new stuff in The News Area, too. There's an article from SFoW about their second Homestead entry, and 2 Grand American releases.
February 18, 2004 - Make your picks for the Fantasy League now! The Grand Prix of Miami is this weekend, so don't miss out on a chance to get more points! Go here to make your picks.
February 5, 2004 - UPDATE: Here's Patrick Brown's photos from Daytona. David Seibert from SFoW Maserati sent me some pictures from the Rolex...they are here (including 2 with Jacob Dodge). Also, I updated The News Area last night with PR's, including Michael Shank's new drivers. Speaking of drivers, Autosport.com is reporting the Tony Stewart will drive in 2 more Grand American races in 2004...Watkins Glen and Daytona.
February 4, 2004 - Here is the last of the photos from Brett Peterson, and also some worked up photos by Group44. I'll have some PR's to post tomorrow...I'm a little behind.
January 31, 2004 - Here's Brett's photos from Saturday of the Rolex 24. Also, here's a special action sequence he captured...The Racers Group Spin. Good stuff, Brett! There's also a bunch of team and DIS updates in The News Area.
January 30, 2004 - Okay, so this is update #4, but I thought it should be up top, because Brett has given us some ROCKING pictures. Here's his shots of Friday's action. He also took a group shot of some of the people who hang out here at garra-fans.com...that's right here.
January 30, 2004 - Here are the first round of pictures from the Rolex 24 weekend at Daytona by Brett Peterson. We'll be enjoying his shots all weekend! Also, for qualifying results and reactions from Daytona, check out The News Area for the latest. I'll be posting stuff there all day.
Update #2 - Here's Thursday pictures from Group44!
Update #3 - There's more results and reactions in The News Area, including results from the Grand-Am Cup race won by Craig Stanton and Terry Borchellor, results from Happy Hour (led by Tony Stewart), and much more! Keep checking there and the message board for more info and results, as I'll be posting stuff there. There should be more pictures later tonight, so stay tuned.
January 27, 2004 - First, if you have a question for someone in Daytona this weekend, go over to Racingfanantics.com for their Q&A, as Ken's going to seek your answers. Look for them both there and possibly here. Ken will be providing us with some coverage, too and we have some other stuff planned, such as pictures (same day, hopefully!) as well as some other reports when people get back home.
Lots of news came in again today, too! Kyle Petty and Paul Newman will team with Michael Brockman and Gunnar Jeanette in Gunnar Racing's FABCAR sponsored by Disney/Pixar's new movie "Cars." Here's the article, and here's the pictures. Craig Stanton will be running Grand-Am Cup for TheRaceSite.com Racing (also running for AASCO Motorsports in the Rolex Series.). Also, Jimmy Morales will join Chip Ganassi Racing for the Rolex 24, CITGO Announces Major Sponsorship in Rolex Series with Latin Driver Milka Duno and Stewart, Earnhardt Jr., Gordon set to drive for Team CITGO at Rolex 24, and here's a Daytona Preview from Terry Borcheller.January 26, 2004 - Lots of news came in today. Lista is going to give away the pit cart that will be used by the SPEED pit reports (see the article on how to enter the contest). There's also an update on The Racer's Group's transporter fire (with a link to pictures...I hope they are able to get to Daytona and be competitive after this!), Robby Gordon will be driving the Spirit of Daytona Crawford for the Rolex 24 (see article here), and a preview of Orbit's Rolex 24 plans, along with pictures.
January 25, 2004 - Here's the transcript from Thursday night's Steak Night chat with J.J. O'Malley...THANKS AGAIN J.J.!
January 20, 2004 - Okay, so I've been just chill'n lately. Well, here's a small website update...we have a new chatroom that should work MUCH better than the old one, and as seen above, GAFL is starting up soon. Check out the fantasy button for more information!
January 14, 2004 - Here's Derek's latest "Cog-zio's Tidbits: Rolex Reflections," this time showcasing the Porsche 935's. Also, we will be having another Steak Night next Thursday, January 22 @ 9 p.m. EST (8 p.m. CST). This month's guest will be J.J. O'Malley, and we'll be previewing the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Look for more info on that by the end of this week...we should be using a new chat area! One more thing...The GAFL will be starting up VERY SOON, so start thinking about your picks for the fantasy league. There will end-of-the-year prizes!
January 13, 2004 - Group 44 (Mark) sent in some classic pics from Daytona, many of which are GT and GTO cars. Also, in The News Area I added the story about Christian Fittipaldi joining Terry Borcheller, Forest Barber and Andy Pilgrim in the Bell Motorsports Chevrolet Doran JE-4 at the Rolex 24 (click here to seee the whole release). I also added links for Auto Assets, Darren Law, and Shane Lewis to the Links section.
January 8, 2004 - Part 2 of Derek's "Rolex Reflections" are here in Cog-zio's Tidbits, and in The News Area, SPEED will have over 15 hours of coverage for the Rolex 24 with Bob Varsha hosting, Leigh Diffey doing play-by-play, and Dorsey Schroeder and David Hobbs working the color commentary. Chris Neville, Calvin Fish and Brian Till will in the pits. (More info is HERE.) There is also an update from Shane Lewis on the progress of the BMW FABCAR in The News Area. I also re-worked the Articles area, and added GTO Racing to the Links section.
January 7, 2004 - Here's some cool cog only stuff for today...Derek interviewed Darren Law about how testing went this past weekend in Cog-zio's Tidbits, and Group44 shared these classic Rolex WSC pics here.
January 6, 2004 - Today we have pictures from Monday's Grand American test session at Daytona International Speedway, and more news in The News Area. We have the final combined testing results from all three days, team updates from Bell Motorsports and Doran-Lista, more news and notes from Grand American, and Stand 21 announced a new racer program
January 5, 2004 (Update #2)- Here is Derek Meluzio's Cog-zio's Tidbits, which will be a month long series leading to the 24, and another Average Fan's View from Brent Jackson.
January 5, 2004 - Happy New Year! There's no better way to start the year than some testing fun...and we have pictures from the Grand American testing at Daytona from Group44, and Grand American's shots from Saturday and Sunday. There's also gobs of news in The News Area on the board, such as NASCAR drivers Johnson, Stewart, and Earnhardt Jr. testing DP's, testing news and notes from Grand American (including times), updates from Orbit and AASCO Motorsports, and much, much more in The News Room. There's quite a few driver announcements in there, too, that I received over the holidays.
