The day began early with registration. Jacob and I were lucky to time our arrival at the very long registration line just as Jan Crawford and members of the Howard - Boss / Crawford race team were nearing the front of the line. Much time was saved by this good fortune.

Immediately upon entering the track we went for a quick stroll through the garage into the pit lane area. We were quickly greeted by RJ Valentine, the Maserati team, and others. We walked down to the AASCO pit, just getting set up. The #16 AASCO Porsche has a very similar paint livery like they had in Daytona, which I simply love. The orange / white / black really stands out. As we are standing in the pit area waiting for practice to start after a short fog delay, a team member next to the car gets Jacob's attention, only to point out Craig Stanton sitting in the car waving frantically at Jake! What a great welcome to what stands to be a great weekend.

During the day we were able to spend time around many teams and drivers around the garage area. Most of my observations are simply that. Most people were much too busy at this first day on the track to take too much time for questions and answers. At the end of the day we were able to spend quality time with SF/MoW, the Crawford teams, and especially Craig Stanton.

In both of the DP practice sessions we by chance were standing in the same grandstands as Elliott Forbes-Robinson. It should be noted EFR and Andy Wallace were at Crawford the first time Jacob and I ever went there last January (EFR & Andy have autographed the dashboard of Jacob's truck). Butch Leitzenger was shaking down Nigel, the #4 Howard-Boss DP. The car was not handling the way they wanted, so there were many stops and adjustments to be made. During the second practice, standing in the stands in the Esses, EFR again commented that the setups were not progressing as hoped. This was all later confirmed by the fact that both the #2 and #4 cars were being worked on in the garage late into the afternoon. I have not seen the practice times, but there hopes are still very high for those cars within the teams.

The #09 Spirit of Daytona took a very hard hit, into turn 6 I believe (where the track transitions away from the NASCAR circuit). I believe it was Doug Goad at the helm at the time. The Crawford drivers all help each other, and Andy Wallace was cordial in his comfort and advice to Doug about the handling of the Crawford race cars. It was true team effort and sportsmanship by all involved. The damage was pretty severe, but apparently Doug was in good condition physically, but his ego was damaged to have been the significant DP incident of the day. There is a small piece of the 09 bodywork in Jacob's pocket as a souvenir.

The new Mears DP is much more handsome. It is a great looking car and without doubt much quicker. I don't know much about their team, but it was clear they were lighter on their toes and quicker on their feet than some other teams nearby.

On the GA-Cup front, our point of interest is the Toyota Supra on Ron Pauley. Jacob the Toyota lover first met Ron Pauley (with Bob Henderson co-driving) at the Motorola cup race at V.I.R. several years ago. The car now bears the # 55, which Ron wanted years ago, but only recently became available. Ron now has his favorite number (along with a hopeful change in luck)!

One of the more fun moments of the days took place in the SF/MoW trailer. After practice the #33 Maserati and #34 Ferrari 360GT drivers were winding down, comparing notes and computer mapping results. Nick Longhi stops in and is asked "Which color is he wearing - the blue or the red?". There's some friendly ribbing about the blue Maserati versus the red Ferrari teams. Great fun all around. Again, don't underestimate the Ferrari Challenge drivers in the 360GT. These guys are working and studying hard to do their best. I hope the perform well during this opportunity presented to them.

During the GA-Cup practice apparently someone lost an engine in the second session, and two cars crashed hard into the guard rail, around the boot area. I don't know what cars were involved, but I hope everyone is okay, as there was an extended red flag for repairs of the guard rail. Later, Craig Stanton discussed there were a couple places on the track that had leftover oil and / or oil dry, that caused some slippery driving. It is still a very large GA-Cup field of 60 cars, which is just great. The diversity of cars out there racing is so cool to watch and listen too. It makes for a very interesting weekend indeed.

All the major signs within Watkins Glen International still refer to the NASCAR "Winston" cup. There is still some work to be done to get the track and signs ready for the NEXTEL events.

The number of people here camping for the weekend was growing throughout the afternoon. Even as we were leaving there were more and more campers coming in. I can not prove it by numbers, but from appearance, my guess is there are already more people and campers here at WGI than there were at Daytona. People came from all around the region to enjoy the weekend. These northerners obviously have lots of experience camping out at WGI for long weekends.

The #33 Maserati drivers signed the model Macerate Quattroporte Jacob purchased at the dealership yesterday. The newest driver Joao Barbosa listened intently to my Jacob story. The 2004 LeMans Rookie of the Year is a great addition to the team.

(Ed: Look for more from Sput throughout the weekend! -TB)

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