Grand-Am Cup Team Grooming Engineers of Tomorrow

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 7, 2002) - In addition to providing a place for drivers to develop into the stars of tomorrow, the Grand-Am Cup Street Stock Series is also grooming some of the engineering leaders of the future. SpeedSource, the 2001 Grand-Am Cup Grand Sport II Triple Crown Champions (driver, team, and manufacturer championships), has taken a leading role in that direction as they provide the opportunity for engineering students to get hands-on experience with a professional race team.

SpeedSource Engineering owner Sylvain Tremblay is pleased with how the program has progressed since its inception. "For the engineering students this is a great opportunity," commented the 2001 GS II driver champion. "They have all the latest equipment and research, but they have no hands-on experience.

"We get to learn from them about the new technologies, but at the same time, they get to deal with everyday, high pressure situations that simply cannot be taught in a classroom."

Dave Wagner is one of the engineers that came to SpeedSource this season. Wagner is a graduate of the University of Florida and currently attends Clemson University where he is pursuing a degree in Motorsports Engineering.

"I started working with SpeedSource on their Grand-Am Cup effort in January of this year," said Wagner. "My main objective is to learn and gain experience with a professional race team. During this season I'm responsible for the tire management."

While being responsible for tires may not seem like a big job to someone not involved with a race effort, it is important to remember that SpeedSource campaigns anywhere from six to eight Porsches at each race. Tire management for those six to eight cars can include keeping track of nearly 100 tires a weekend.

"The job is fairly challenging on a professional team of that size and requires that you be organized," continued Wagner. "I evaluate tire wear and setups with each of the crew chiefs and make sure the cars have fresh rubber when required."

"For the engineering students, they get to be right in the action," explained crew chief and driver David Haskell. "Our engineering students actually get to go over the wall and perform in the actual pit stops during the race. That is as hands-on and high pressure of a situation as you can get."

"During pit stops I'm the jack man on the second team pit crew," explained Wagner of his role during the three-hour Grand-Am Cup races. "This is exhausting work, but it's great fun to be part of a high-class team and travel to new tracks.

"If all goes as planned I will graduate in December with a master's degree in mechanical engineering with an emphasis on motorsports."

While Grand-Am Cup has become a known proving ground for up-and-coming drivers, teams like SpeedSource are also molding the young engineers of today into the motorsports leaders of the future.

Additional information about the Grand-Am Cup Street Stock Series can be found online at www.grandamcup.com. SpeedSource travels with Grand-Am Cup next to Watkins Glen International for the Sports Car Grand Prix, June 21-23. Tickets are currently on sale for the event at www.theglen.com or by calling 607-535-2481.

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EDITORS NOTE:
Photos of SpeedSource's Porsche's are available on the Grand American media-specific website at www.grand-am.com/media.
Additional information may be requested from: Grand American Road Racing Association
Christie Hyde (386) 681-4182; email: CHyde@grand-am.com