Slipstream - March 2012

The 50th Rolex 24 At Daytona
By Alan Bambina
Photos by Joel Nannis
Hey Alan,
you
need to
join me at the
24 hours race in
Daytona!” That’s
what started this
entire adventure.
Joel Nannis blurted out this invite
at the Maverick Region’s Holiday
Party in December. It took a few
days and some looking into the
cost of flights for me to finally
call him back and say “I’m in”.
Next I get an email from Joel with
yet another surprise invite. Joel’s
time-share near Daytona will also
be housing Maverick members Lori
Mauthe and her husband Peter.
Now Lori and Peter have some
connections as they are customers
of Brumos Porsche in Jacksonville,
Florida, and Brumos is fielding
a car for the race. Brumos is also
sponsoring a suite in the timing
tower which is perhaps the finest
location for viewing the entire
race course, as well as supplying
cold water, soft drinks and most
importantly, clean bathrooms! So
here I am, expecting to stand out
in the warm Florida weather for 24
hours straight watching the titans
of endurance auto racing do battle,
and now I have a warm bed to sleep
in and a comfortable, quiet suite
from which to watch the race. Life
doesn’t get much better than this!
This was my first visit to this
amazing facility in Daytona, and it
soon became a feast for the senses.
From the parking lot, you can hear
the cars. From the tunnel, you can
smell the rubber and hot brakes.
And from the stands, you can FEEL
the vibration deep in your chest
as engines of all configurations
pass by. The Daytona Prototype
cars were mostly V8s, as were the
Camaros and Corvettes in the GT
class. You’ll soon realize that if
you listen carefully, you’ll hear a
twin scream from these enormous
displacement engines. There’s
the high pitched whine of the
L to R: Joel Nannis, Alan Bambina, Peter Mauthe, Lori Mauthe, Michael Schutz, Dave, and Chris
(friends of Michael). Peter Schutz, CEO of Porsche AG from 1981 to 1988, is Lori’s and Michael’s father.
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