Woohoo, I Survived Petit LeMans Weekend!
October 7, 2015
Article: Vickie Miller | Photo Credit: Michael Goodwin

The last race of the season for International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is held at Road Atlanta and is the old ALMS event known was Petit LeMans. The weekend is filled with racing from Mazda MX 5 Cup, Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda (Lites), Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Series (LBST), Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge (CTSC), and TUDOR United SportsCar Championship (TUDOR).

My 2015 trip to Road Atlanta for Petit LeMans was my first time camping for this event. The week started when the Goodwin Motorsports crew (Michael, Abby, and myself) arrived at the track Tuesday afternoon to get the “queue” for the mad dash into the track to claim a camping spot, with reserved spots not an option. Upon arrival we set up camp for the night outside the track in the parking lot, with the camping gates scheduled to open Wednesday morning at 7am and we were number 57 in line. The crew quickly made friends with others in line and held a campsite team meeting with recreational vehicle number 41 in line, who would be our camping neighbor.

Using data from my past track experiences and reviewing the line in front of us, I estimated an 8am campsite arrival. So imagine my shock when our RV moved through the gates at 7:19am! Road Atlanta was efficient in having two lines go through the main gate, and keep things moving. Score one for Road Atlanta!

Once parked on the back stretch between turn 9 and 10a, Michael “Mike” Goodwin (RV driver and CEO) quickly went to work to set up the “main house” and a “summer cottage” area which would be our home until Sunday. Anticipating the pending weather, Mike placed plastic tarp under the AstroTurf rug alongside the RV so our tables, chairs, feet, and grill would remain dry. A tip which was not followed by our neighbor!

The “summer cottage” was an EZ-up tent equipped with chairs, table, and aluminum ladder scaffolding for picture taking next to the track fence. As the weekend went on, the chairs were soak, table blew down, river grew wider between road and cottage, but nothing would stop Mike from climbing on his perch to get “big boy camera” photos, like the one on this article. Yes, there was rain…day and night. We made the best of it, and had fun “buzzing” the paddock in our golf cart, at all hours of the day and into the night. Friday night when we made a trip past the haulers, the Michael Shank Racing (MSR) crew could be found still working. Unable to know how to help, we delivered them a variety bag of snacks. The crew was unable to make qualifying but with the help of the DeltaWing shop, Ozz went out for Saturday warm-up and encountered an issue which again was fixed and ready to start the race but sadly unable to finish.

While many in the racing family had broken hearts for the MSR team, what I saw Thursday night is exactly what I have witnessed from this crew several times before…. Never giving up and doing what it takes. The MSR crew are like elves. They go about their tasks, basically working and knowing what needs to be done and just do it. I am so proud of these guys! The Falken team and others had a long night too. Sorry, we only had one bag of snacks.

There was mud everywhere and, once parked, cars would slide about as the ground underneath them turned to mud. Even with all the water and mess, the Road Atlanta track trash crew would make their way through the camping area and empty the trash cans and put in new bags. Only once did I see the cans fill up to flowing before emptied. I have seen cans at other tracks just overflowing with trash everywhere around the can and people adding more. Score two for Road Atlanta!