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A Day at the Races

copyright Roger Bourke White Jr., April 2010

Life is full of surprises. A big surprise came to me when I was invited to spend a few days at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah for the Ferrari Challenge races. How neat!

Here is a photo journey of what I experienced.

Roger and Ferrari Truck

The first day I got my track pass.

Hey! I'm Team Ferrari!

This is too much fun!

empty Speedway parking lot

This is Wednesday and things are starting slowly. There was a big snow storm Monday, and most of the Ferrari Challenge trucks were delayed by avalanches in Parley's Canyon.

 

Ferrari trucks arrive

On Thursday the party begins. Here come the trucks and the pavilion setup begins.

One of the first things I noticed was how clean these trucks were. They had just come through a blizzard, but they were now sparkling clean, as well as colorful.

Cleanliness is part of Ferrari Challenge.

This...

 

...becomes this.

There were a half dozen pavilions set up in the parking lot.

   

 

Mommy, where do race cars come from?

"Daddy, where do race cars come from?"

"Not from cabbage patches, that's for sure!"

Race cars and motorcycles, Oh My!

 

wheelless race car

This is the condition of the race cars most of the time: tireless and on jacks.

Note again, how clean everything is.

Cart with tires

Tires got a lot of attention. Technicians were constantly moving them around and constantly inspecting them.

 

   

 

This is the business end of the speedway, the pit area. The three story part is for timers and other technicians who monitor the cars while they are racing.

Monitoring is a central activity to racing. These days the race cars have more on-board monitoring than NASA satellites.

 

A bit of tradition in this modern age of high-speed telemetry. This is the platform where the flags are waved at the racers.

 

pit stop

A pit stop with more checking out than usual. This was during the shakeout runs.

In the background is the main spectator gallery.

 

pit stop

Ready to roll.

 

On the move.

 

On the track

On the track.

One of the neat features of Miller Motorsports Park is that you can see the whole track from the main gallery. This is unusual for this kind of race course.

As an added benefit, you have the wonderful mountain scenery as a backdrop.

 

spectators

Spectators watching the shakeout runs.

 

Roger and Antonello

And here I am with my host, Antonello Coletta, head of the Course Clienti division of Ferrari.

Whoof! Can't get much neater than this!

I'm trying on his race-side communicator.

kicking tires

But... I'm still wondering...

How am I supposed to kick a tire on this model?

beddy bye time for the cars

And now it's beddy-bye time for the cars. They've been thoroughly checked out, so they are ready for the big day tomorrow.

These particular cars are part of the 599XX races, which are for exhibition, not competition. These race in between the Ferrari Challenge heats.

   

 

-- The End --

 

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