Racing Diary

Jennifer and the WGGT

by Jennifer Tumminelli

Jen and Lyn

Once the announcements started going out I was a news hound trying to seek out as much information on the series and drivers as I could to prepare myself. I wasted no time in signing up for the series but unfortunately my Fax to sign up for both lapping days before the try-outs failed. I didn't know that my fax transmission didn't go through.

Before I had a chance to re-fax it back to the Panoz Racing School I found out that the school was completely booked. I panicked! Luckily I found out that they had a lapping day on January 16th. That gave me five days to make travel plans and get my laundry done. Ugh!

Homework..Homework..Homework! I had lots to do. First I got my sponsorship taken care of. I knew that the series may be fully funded or perhaps not. I didn't take any chances. Selling the idea to obtain sponsorship on the lapping day and try-out was thankfully an easy one..getting the check and signed off was another story (receiving it hours before I got on the plane).

Jen and Don and Lyn

I did the company store shopping thing and picked out a couple of hats, a jacket and sponsor shirts and dress shirts to wear to represent my sponsor and made copies of my media kit just in case. It paid off, Mrs. Panoz complimented me on how well dressed I was.

I sent off my press release and checked my email (almost every 15 minutes) for an email answer from Butch Leitzinger who was off testing his Worlds Sports Car for the Daytona 24 Hours. The email came..gosh that was a sigh of relief. I knew the competition was going to be tough and since I had never driven the Panoz cars or been to Road Atlanta I needed every bit of help I could get. I printed the email and headed for Atlanta. Did I have everything? Nope. I forgot my toothbrush!

The lapping day went very well. I was kind of glad that I was getting my lapping day over and done with a week before the try-outs. I thought to myself...no pressure. Nobody will be watching and nobody will be there. Wrong! Panic enters...Linda Sharp! The fastest columnist I have ever met. We shared a car and boy could this women drive. I come to find out that she is a former instructor at Road Atlanta and she was trying out for the Women's Global GT and also writing a column for Car & Driver Magazine.

My response...Linda, why are you writing a column about us? You are the story. All I could keep thinking was...how am I possibly going to beat this women. Determination set in! I pulled out my "trump card" - THE EMAIL. I had the notes from Butch Leitzinger on how to drive the track. Butch had won at this track in his World's Sports Car many times.

When I returned to California from Atlanta I focused on the physical fitness aspect. I worked out everyday and worked on the endurance aspect of my work outs. I had a feeling that the Human Performance Institute would probably test us on endurance. I worked on every aspect of my upper body with weights and holding weights in the driving position to gain more endurance.

It worked! I was able to hold my half-full Frito bag up in the air much longer than ever before. This was quite an accomplishment.

During my downtime I had to set up two birthday parties for my daughter who turned 13 the day before I left for the Women's Global GT try-outs. We typically have a big celebration in our family. I survived 12 teenage girls sleeping over my house. If I can survive that try-out then the Women's Global GT has to be a shoe-in!

I arrived at the track at 7am on Wednesday for the first scheduled try-outs at Road Atlanta. My scheduled try-out day was Thursday but I showed up to "spy" a day early. I carefully watched and timed all 25 drivers during their practice and qualifier. The competition was tough. I had a great time talking to many of the drivers and listened to them as they shared their experiences with me on how their try-outs went.

I saw a couple of Thunder Valley drivers, Caroline Wright, Allison Duncan, Lauren Fix. For the most part the try-outs kept the drivers busy in different sessions throughout the day.

Now it was my turn. I showed up at 7am for my class on Thursday. Ugh. Nervousness set in..ok I'll admit it. This was the first time I had ever run against so many women in a car and track that was foreign to me and so all I kept thinking was...go fast and drive smart.

Well sounds easy enough. We did the drive around and low and behold another Thunder Valley Racer jumped in the van - Lisa Devlin-Arken. I swear the Thunder Valley Racers are multiplying rapidly. I was the second one after Margie Smith Haas two years ago. Lots of new faces - very cool.

Our drive around instructor was "Beau". Just the name can tell you what he looked like. It was good to have a second instructor's input around the track. I learned a lot more off of the same instruction but for some reason it just made more sense. I felt more confident. Thanks, Beau.

My first session was the grueling mental test. This was quite comical because looking around the room everyone was studying the number puzzle before we were asked to get started. The Human Performance Instructor had us all fooled. He asked us to turn the paper over and do that number puzzle, shish. We were asked to focus on finding 00-99 in order in three minutes. I liked this kind of stuff and I finished first in my class with a little more than one minute to spare before the rest of the class. I impressed the instructor! Wow, I was on a roll. Now I was ready for my sit ups - NOT!

I finished my second set of the written test before the rest of the class. I think the PowerBar I ate really helped. The class moved upstairs into the Physical Fitness aspect of the session. About 12 women were either doing sit-ups, push-ups, getting their fat content measured or walking in stride to some type of Barney/Romper Room music. Other's were working on the strength and endurance computerized tests.

Me, I was busy talking to all the girls and realized a half an hour had gone by and that more than half of the girls were already half way done with their session. I hadn't even started.

I did the strength test first. This was not easy. I have small hands and I was asked to grip a large piece of iron and squeeze. My results...I wasn't impressed - go figure - I was squeezing iron. Next! I went on to do my push-ups. This was my weakest skill and I was afraid I would only be able to do 1 (no kidding!). I was able to pull off 15 of those darn military style push-ups. I guess that was average.

Later I went to torture myself with getting my fat content measured, get weighed and have my height measured. Yikes, here I was thinking I was 5'5 and come to find out that I am 5'4. Ok, so I'm on a losing streak here. So I continued to talk to the girls instead of doing what I was supposed to be doing. But then again, lots of the girls were talking.

I waited till I was nearly the last one for the sit-ups and Sherri from Lyn St. James told me it was my turn. I easily did the max of sit-ups we could do - 150. Don't ask me how I did it. I am surprised I did that many as well. Then we were tested for our heart-rate and were asked to walk up and down a couple of steps for several minutes. I passed that test. Then I went back to talking with the girls and watching from the windows the girls doing their qualifiers out on the track.

Jen straps in

Now was the moment of truth -- the qualifier. 1.44.9 was the fastest time for both days. Linda Pobst, Margie Eatwell (both on the PPG Pace Car team) had posted 1.45 times and Allison Duncan, Caroline Wright and Sara Senske had posted low 1.46 times. THE PRESSURE!!!!!

I got in my car and buckled myself in and was all ready to go out. I was waved to go do my run when all of a sudden I pushed in my clutch and my seat went flying back. PANIC!! We got that fixed and I took a deep breath and got into focus and got out on the track for my 15 minutes of testing.

No problem. I was going way too fast on my first lap and decided at the last minute to change my turn 1 entrance when all of a sudden my helmet pushed down over my eyes. DANGER, I'M OUT OF CONTROL! I was already passed my breaking and shifting points. I quickly hit the brakes in a nice calmly-but- panicked manner and downshifted into fourth and got right back on the gas before the apex.

Good so far. The car had a bit of a wiggle and I corrected it by getting on the gas but then I made the mistake by overcorrecting the car by pushing on the gas a little too hard and it swung me around and now I was going backwards, up-hill and rapidly aiming towards an ugly hard concrete wall that had my name all over it.

No way (in nice words)as I pumped the brakes and turned the steering wheel. I was determined not to write a check to the Panoz race school. I got the car to halt inches from hitting the wall and got right back on the gas and whipped the car around and kept going. I was black flagged and I got the chance to talk to "Beau the instructor" before I was waved back out. Lucky me!

I went back out and concentrated on driving a smooth, fast line and each lap was getting better. No errors and I felt comfortable in the car. I felt almost "too" comfortable in the car which was kind of an odd feeling but of course that often means you are turning your fastest laps. I was. I turned a 1.46.20 and had consistent laps that put me in the 103% and unofficially posted the 12th fastest race lap out of 58 women.

the group

Allison Duncan beat me with her 1.46.00 (she posted the 11th fastest race lap) but I was happy with my time and performance. The key was that I got my spin over with and didn't make any further mistakes and my qualifier was near flawless (I hope) and I drove a fast line consistently.

All in all, the Thunder Valley Racers, Allison Duncan (#11), me (#12) and Caroline Wright (#14) all posted in the top 15 and we all had a great time at the try-outs.

I stuck around for the last day of try-outs and watched Giovanna Amata of Italy (fastest European racer) nearly the last driver go blasting out of the hotpits. She was practically in fourth gear by turn one on to the track so I knew this was going to be interesting. She posted a 1.44.60 but she also missed three black flags and spun four times and also caught up to another driver who was at the opposite end of the track.

I knick-named her the "Paul Tracy" of the Women's Global GT. Allison Duncan and I had fun watching her. She is very fast but she basically blew out all the rules so we don't know if her time will be valid. She didn't speak much English and she had that look of determination on her face that could cut through cement. She wanted to be No. 1 and by golly she got it.

I flew over to Daytona Beach to watch the Rolex Daytona 24 Hours for the first time. Lyn St. James introduced me to Butch Leitzinger who I had been corresponding to by email and whom had given me driving tips on Road Atlanta. I thanked Butch and wished him good luck. Butch later went on to take his #20 WSC Dyson car to the winner circle as the overall winner of the Daytona 24 Hours.

That was a fun race to watch. I also cheered on my friend, Caroline Wright as drove and finished very well at the Daytona 24 Hours in a Porsche 944.

So now its a matter of waiting to find out if I made the cut for the Women's Global GT Series. February 4th we will receive packets in the mail. Good luck to all the Thunder Valley Racers.

--Jennifer

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