Cog-zio's Tidbits: Planet Earth Motorsports

By Derek Meluzio

Q: What was the highlight of your 2004 season?
With over sixty entries in the Grand Am Cup and Grand Am Rolex, our team had so many high points, that it is hard to pick just one. But the high point had to be the last lap of the last race at California. Until David made it around for the final lap of that race, we hadn't won the Championship. We needed the last lap to pass one more car and give Craig enough points to win the title. It felt very satisfying to repeat our 2003 Grand Am Cup Grand Sport Championshp and prove that no matter what competition comes along we can be a factor.

Another great high point had to be winning two races in the Rolex SGS class. We have won in every class we have competed in and it was great to get our first win in Rolex in our first year of competition in the series. Our win at Mid Ohio got nominated to the five great moments of the Rolex Season. They played those clips several times at the year end banquet in Vegas and it was quite a thrill. To get to see those clips played in front of not only the entire Rolex contingent but also the France family was pretty amazing.

Q: What was the low point to the 2005 season?
The low point came at Mid Ohio. We had several things go wrong in succession during the race and the end result was a poor finish. I think our best finish of all four cars was out of the top ten. This all came the day after we won our second consecutive Rolex race. At that point I wasn't sure we were going to be able to win the Grand Am Cup Team or Driver Championship. However in our last four seasons we have come from behind to win a Championship in all four, so our team has a lot of experience of working under pressure and they pulled it off again this season.

Q: What changes need to be made to the cars in order to conform to the 2005 GT rules?
Actually the cars could run in the 2005 GT class with no modifications done to them at all. However, there are some intereting things that will be allowed to enhance the performance. We are going to be getting a front splitter for the car and we are allowed to replace bodywork with carbon fiber pieces. Last year we were the first team to adopt the Crawford rear wing, and no one really paid much attention to it. As soon as our times dropped and we were a contender, everyone seemed to start paying attention to it and Crawford sold quite a few more wings. I don't think that will happen next season as I believe everyone will adopt the splitter from the start. There is relatively little that can be done to the Porsche compared to other vehicles so it should help keep our development costs down. Outside of bodywork and the front splitter, our car will run almost the same way it ran in 2004.

Q: Any idea on a driver line-up for the 2005 Rolex 24?
We will have Nonnamakers driving our cars at the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona. Beyond that, I can't say what our plans will be. We have been in discussions with many different drivers and we expect to be making announcements shortly. As always the silly season is fast paced and exciting. We are finalizing everything, but we still have some spots left for funded drivers looking to pursue their dreams.

Q: Will you be fielding cars in GS next season to go along with the GT class cars?
Absolutely. Our team has fielded cars in the Grand Am Cup, or its predecesors, for over twenty years. We won the Championship last year and we wouldn't pass up the opportunity to go for a fifth one in a row. There are some amazing competitors in that class and the racing is great. Talented drivers, well run teams, and street cars! It really is a great show all unto itself.

Q: Any future plans in the DP ranks?
We have looked long and hard at the concept. Right now we are heavily into the Porsches with eight of them in our shop, so for the short term future that is where we will be. The Porsches are great machines and so much fun to drive.

We are very happy with the Grand Am series. They have developed a relatively affordable series and last year they had one of the best shows in racing. Now this year, with the show in place, I think they will be able to promote it even better to grow the audience. The DP ranks are interesting and we have looked seriously at them. We will continue to watch how the class evolves but for now we have a full 2005 season to prepare for.

We are rebuilding all eight of our cars so they are fresh and ready to go for Daytona. There is development that can still take place in both series for us and we are pursuing that.

Thanks for the time and thanks to everyone at GARRA-FANS.com for support of the Grand Am Series. Keep up the good work.


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