Welcome to the first edition of my newly re-titled column! I have felt the urge to start writing again after a long, well needed lay-off (I was still burned out from my sprint car days…). The focus of this column will be 2 things, to get you some news and notes before the races, and for me to spout off on a topic in an editorial. Let the fun begin!

Notes

Another Maserati - The 2 time champion SFoW Maserati team is rolling out a second Maserati Trofeo Light GT at the VIR 400 this weekend. The #34 will be driven by Jeff Segal and Darius Grala (of Cegwa), and sponsored by Algar Maserati and Putnam Leasing.

“This is another significant step toward our 2005 program,” explained Glenn Marquis, SFoW Team Manager. “Maserati Corse has incorporated everything we’ve learned into the new car, and having two cars is a major assist to our development program. I also think the fans are going to enjoy the sounds of two of these exceptional V8s on the track.” Info courtesy SFoW.

Same ole, same ole - Terry Borcheller leads the Grand-Am Cup driver championship by 10 points, and he and his co-driver, Devon Powell, will keep doing the same things that got them the lead in the No. 11 Powell Motorsport Cadillac CTS-V for the race at VIR.

"I don't really have any pressure going into VIR because there are still three races left," Borcheller explained. "I usually don't get nervous about it until the last race. I'm thinking about it, for sure, but the Powell team and I aren't going to change our strategy. We're going to do the same thing that we've been doing, and I'm going to drive the same." Info courtesy Sylvia Proudfoot.

Stanton Joins G&W - Craig Stanton will be doubling up again this weekend, this time driving the #86 G&W Porsche in the SGS class in addition to his normal Grand Am Cup duties.

“I’m looking forward to this weekend. It is very, very exciting to be joining G&W at their home track. When they asked me to run the #86 Porsche with Mae it didn’t take me long to say ‘yes’" Said the Porsche expert, Stanton. "The team does a lot of testing here and Mae has many, many miles around the VIR course. I think this combination is a great one. I have never raced VIR before but I have tested here so I feel good about it. This is a great track and I’m really looking forward to getting back into the Rolex Series in a Porsche.” Info courtesy Craig Stanton Racing.

Daytona Prototype Points Tighten - Co-points leaders Max Papis and Scott Pruett lost ground in the points fight at Homestead with a tenth place finish, with their margin over the second finishing Wayne Taylor just 8 points. Andy Wallace's win helped close him to within 3 points of Taylor, and 11 away from the CGR #01 drivers. His co-driver Milka Duno rounds out the top five in points.

GT Points - Both Prototype Technology Group BMWs had problems at Homestead, but Bill Auberlin held onto the lead by a point over teammate Boris Said. Now that the two drivers are in different cars, the GT points race has gotten interesting! Chris Gleason, Ian James and RJ Valentine finish off the top five, all 21 points behind the BMWs.

TPC SGS - TPC is having an amazing season in SGS, with four drivers in the top five. Co-leaders and drivers Andy Lally and Marc Bunting lead, with teammate Michael Levitas 16 points away, and fellow TPC driver John Littlechild is fourth. Wayne Nonnamaker is the first non-TPC driver in fifth spot. Notice all 5 cars are Porsches…

Lots of cars! - The race at VIR features a great entry list, including the Chase and Picchio DP's, the second SFoW Maserati, and a third PTG BMW in 2005 GT specs, with the younger Tom Milner as one of the co-divers. All this, plus a race at one of my favorite tracks…I CAN'T WAIT!!

VIR should be a great show…and hopefully everyone will come out of it in one piece for Barber next week. Sput and Jacob will be at VIR, and we have a bunch of Cog going to Barber. So, if you haven't been on the message board, look them up! I won't be (stupid thyroid!), but I'll be glued to the tube.

Well, I was going to write a scathing editorial about how my view has changed recently, there can be only one in sports car racing, and Grand America will be it, but I've run out of time. I'll leave you with that tidbit to dwell on for next time. Thanks for reading!