Detailed Event Schedule for 3D Racing with TV Times

Crew Chief’s Corner = Watkins Glen

After a long winter build 3D Racing officially threw its hat into the ring.  Grand Am’s Koni Challenge Series saw the Orange and Green BMW 330 make its first run at the historic Watkins Glen International.  Used to the lower budget world of SCCA racing, the rigs and equipment even at this level of pro racing were astounding!  A big thank you to all the Grand Am officials and teams for their help and welcome as we learned all the procedures and changes that go with a new car and series.  Everyone was incredibly friendly and generous with their time and knowledge to help make it a very successful weekend for 3D Racing.

The weekend started Thursday morning as everyone parked and got situated in the paddock.  3D crew and drivers immediately went to work getting organized and learning the ropes.  The car had some minor issues through its first Tech Session, as expected with a brand new car in a brand new series.  The crew worked feverishly to get everything in order and still made it out for a few laps in the first test session.  Brandon ran the first laps of the weekend and the car ran great!  David stepped in for the afternoon session and again the car ran wonderfully.  The drivers ran some very good times and we were getting excited for the possibilities that the weekend held.  The goal was set for a top 15 finish!

Friday morning comes and again the weather was phenomenal!  The first practice session went very well and 3D was ready for our first qualifying of our Grand AM career.  David qualified the car with a 2:14.005.  The car had made it into the low 13s in practice with both drivers, but that was still good enough to land up 18^th in class, and 37^th overall.  A great start as a new team, especially considering the lower budget by comparison to the other teams there.  The sun continued to shine and 3D was in high spirits as race time approached.

As the afternoon approached, cloud cover rolled in and there was a threat of rain.  Greg and Dan made the call to stick with a 1 stop, all dry tire strategy and roll the dice.  That decision proved to be the right one!  The rains never came through at full force, but did spit here and there through the race, never raining hard enough to warrant a switch to rain tires.  David started the race in the car on new tires and a full tank of fuel.  The track went green, and David went to work.  He slowly worked his way up the field with a fastest lap of 2:11.8!  There were several yellow flags throughout the early laps that aided David in moving up the field.  Through some great driving and some pit stop rotations David ran as high as 4^th in class!  About the midway point out came another yellow and the call was made to make our first pit stop and driver change.  The crew did a great job getting the driver change and tires done before the fueling was finished and Brandon went out to start his stint in 19^th position.  The rains continued to spit here and there and Brandon navigated his way through traffic.  He moved through traffic at a pace consistent with that of co-driver David.  Brandon had a fastest lap in the low 12s and was picking up spots at a steady pace.  As clock wound down, 3D found themselves already well ahead of their goal of a 15^th place finish!  In the last minutes Brandon past a Fenton Civic and managed to hold him off for the last few laps.  TOP 10!  In our first race 3D Racing finished 10^th in class, 21^st overall- a tremendous feat for a first race in a new series with a newly built car.  A big thank you needs to go out to everyone involved: Crew Chiefs- Dan Maynard, Greg Deems Drivers- David Maynard, Brandon Bogart, Team Managers- Deb Maynard, Tanya Maynard , Jody Fisher and Crew- Chris Bogart, Jon Lee, Derek Peterson, Lois Widi, and Dan Lucas.  It takes a lot of people working together and everyone did a great job.  A successful and fun first race, with many more to come!