Day two at the Daytona International Speedway was full indeed. The dense fog of Friday morning new that the magnanimous Magnus momentum was a force to be reckoned with; so the skies were clear as we entered the track locked, loaded, and ready to fire into action. The first practice ran fairly (“fairly” means it wasn’t perfect but we’ll lie for the website) smoothly that our crew worked out with effortless precision; but overall the drivers spent their time becoming even more comfortable with the cars and track. When asked how things were going, Ron Yarab gave a smile, a thumbs up, and said that he was “livin’ the dream.” Ron also sets his expectations fairly low.
The second and third practices were pretty routine. Seriously, it couldn’t be more dull to write about.
Keeping the mood light, the fellas managed to somehow drag themselves in front of a camera – we all know how much racecar drivers hate to be thrown into the spotlight – to take their annual team headshots. Hilarity ensued as Andy Lally and John Potter were given carte blanche for a moment to choose their own poses; Ryan Eversley, Justin Bell, Daniel Graeff and Ron Yarab all threw out their best blue steel poses; and we tried to get the quiet newcomer Rene Rast to frown, but the corners of his mouth just kept turning up. When asked if he has a genetic predisposition to being generally being pleasant, the young German surprised us all with a comeback reminiscent of the Madagascar penguins… “It’s not that; it’s just easier to smile and nod because I don’t know what you crazy people are talking about.”
The day was upbeat and sunny; but when the sun went down it was a Night on Bald Mountain as the energy crescendo came to its peak. There were a few nasty incidents that caused black flag delays; but the racing gods were with us as our cars were not only unaffected, but our drivers never lost momentum and managed to keep level heads and clear minds. It was an old west poker game out there on the track; and even though we managed to play our hand close to the vest while still achieving the goal of becoming one mind, with one goal, and the will and skill to achieve it, our final run of the day ended with both cars finishing within fractions of a second of the leaders. Tomorrow is another day to roar a little bit more.
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More information about Magnus Racing can be found at www.magnusracing.com. Any organization interested in learning more about how to be involved with one of the most unique and visible teams in sports car racing can e-mail info@magnusracing.com. All press inquiries can be directed to press@magnusracing.com.