First race of the year: The 1/2-3/98 ABLS 24 Hours of Moroso.
The Team: Phoenix Autosport and its Nissan 300ZX.
The Sponsors: Savasort and Joe Racer Gear.
The Goal: To finish!
 Savasort driver Neil Crilly joined team owner Doug Pirrotta and Phoenix Autosport's effort at this pro season warm up event attended by almost sixty teams with talented club and pro drivers. Crilly and Pirrotta were joined on driving by Jeff Altenburg, long time Improved Touring class drivers Mark Dana and Elliott Harvey, and David Kicak. Qualifying went well for the team with the car planted 4th in class out of 11 and near the front overall by Mark Dana. Crilly started the race with new tires and difficult unbedded brake pads but managed to make some progress by the end of the first stint, rising to 2nd in class. Strong driving by other drivers proceeded until 5 p.m., when Engine #1 blew.  This kicked off a major work session for Crew Chief Mark Lott and the other crew members who worked very hard, short staffed, to get the engine changed and the car back out. From there, various brake problems and a serious rear axle repair cropped up, but the team made reasonable progress until that dreaded puff of smoke into Turn 9 signaled the death of Engine #2 at 11:00 a.m. Saturday. Result: DNF, which was by no means a true measure of the 110% effort put out by all those involved. Still, a weekend spent racing with new friends is always fun, no matter what happens. Even Car Owner Doug and Crew Chief Mark were happy at the end despite the difficulties. |
