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The Grand Am Experience, For Mazda Owners
Post #1Kim Banaszak (Cleveland, OH) wroteon January 29, 2009 at 6:00pm
The Grand Am Experience for Mazda Owners is shaping up to be an amazing experience for all who wish to come out and support the Grand Am Rolex and KONI series! Grand Am hopes to put on a truely unique experience for Mazda owners that love to spend their time at the track. Here are a few of the perks that are in the works for the 2009 season. Each race will be posted with full details, but here are some teasers!** 1. Parade Laps (at select tracks) 2. Hospitality tent or indoor facility when available 3. Tech Talks with KONI, Hoosier, Pirelli and Grand Am Officials 4. Driver Meet and Greets (private) 5. Track Tours 6. Pit Crew Challenge 7. Crew member for a day on a Mazda team ( by drawing) 8. Pace Car rides ( by drawing) 9. Swag from series sponsors 10. Eric Meyer or another driver-owner will do a Grand Am 101 11. Crew Chef Q & A where you can get some advice from the leading crew chiefs **Please note that all offers may not be included at every track or event. The organizers of each event will do their best to offer as many experiences as possible, however, not every even will offer the same things. All experiences are WHERE APPLICABLE and not 100% for every event. Please make sure you check back often for updates on what will be offered at what track. Please note we also have a Face Book Page that will have information on it as well. You can also sign up for the Grand Am Newsletter, which will have information as well. We hope to see as many of you as possible at events in your area or region |
Wicked cool
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Yeah let us know the plans.... My experiences at previous Grand Am races have been fantastic.
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sounds worth the drive :P
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where the heck was this at Daytona???
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^You missed it, cuz they had this going on there.
Marlon, good job getting this set up, looking forward to the next one. And I'll take you up on that "good word" to Eric Meyer since, it looks like I won't be crewing for ROAR this year. |
Originally Posted by Rotr8
(Post 2844897)
where the heck was this at Daytona???
This is going to be huge, we need to reach as many Mazda owners and forums as possible. We will be updating this post frequntly, as soon as we have additinal information. Can a moderator sticky this post or make it an announcement? I am sure Eric Meyer will be posting info as well... |
I printed and laminated my ticket but by the time I left my computer to actually travel to Daytona everything was up in the air and pretty much called off...
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Well as for Eric, his crew and drivers were more than polite and accomodating with info and synopsis of the teams success's and struggle(engine hunt) but as for Eric when I went to talk to he brushed me off and came off pretty damn rude, now in all due fairness he was searching for an engiene at the moment but he was the only one whom didnt seem excited or happy to see and talk to another Mazda owner...
I apologize if that sounds harsh but in all fairness thats just how he came off,,, |
Eric is a stand up guy, I can vouch for that. Most fans out at the track fail to realize that the race is our job first and foremost. Eric, being the owner/driver, he has alot more on his plate than most. Believe me nothing bothers me more when people come up wanting to BS when they can obviously see we, as in race/pit crews, are hard at work. Not saying that was the case with Rotr8, but I'm just saying this in general.
I'm sure you would be a little pissy if you had to find a motor and replace it within a few hours. Not to mention the hurt on the wallet to boot. |
Something for the South West people
As I stated in my introduction post, I plan Mazda corrals For Mazdaspeed Motorsports, well, we have partnered with Grand Am to bring you "The Grand Am Experience", presented by Mazda! Grand Am noticed how well our LRP events have progressed during the last two years, so they tracked me down and want to move forward, by using our template to host events across the country. I can tell you that a lot of exciting things will be taking effect for 2009! All of the ideas presented to date have been met with a lot of excitement, all of the Mazda teams are solidly behind the entire idea as well. Here is just a few of the highlights of our discussions. 1. Parade laps at all of the tracks (if permitted) 2. Tram transportattion for all corral atttendees (where possible) 3. Tech Talk with KONI, Hoosier, Pirelli and Grand Am Race Officals 4. Photoshoots with all Mazda teams, drivers, crew, etc 5. Hot Pit Tours 6. Pit Stop Challenge (corral members will be able to witness an actual pit stop from behind the pit stop wall. 7. Timing and scoring tours 8. Pace Car laps 9. Crew member for a day on a Mazda team (we will hold drawings) 10. Sponsor swag 11. Dedicated webspace on the Grand Am website, with information on upcoming events, ticket prices, etc. 12. Discount ticket prices Thse are just a few of the things we have on the table and Grand Am is excited at the possibilities. We will be finalizing a few things during Daytona , so stay tuned for more updates. This is going to finalized by Saturday morning, and we look to be holding our first full event @ Homestead Miami. Cory has agreed to work with me on this, as I am assembling teams across the country to volunteer and make this happen. Mazda was chosen as they've seen our corrals here in the Midwest and East. So, we are planning a huge event @ Miller Motorsports Park and we;ll have a large event @ Mazda raceway as well. You guys will have access to all of the Mazda teams, SpeedSource, (I am crewing for them @ Daytona), Racers Edge, Dempsey Racing ( Yes, Patrick will be there, he has become a good friend of ours), Freedom Motorsports, Team Sahlen, Meyer Motorsports, Pirate Racin and more. You will get to meet all of them one on one, no waiting in line, have tech talks with the drivers and crews, as well as the sponsors, KONI, Pirelli and more! I will keep you guys informed and if you know of any other Mazda boards, local, regional and national, please let me know and have them contact me so we can get huge numbers. Remember this, they came to the Mazda owner, not the Porsche owners, BMW owners, Pontiac, Corvette, etc, but us fo rthis program..if we make is successful, they may let the others come in, with out permission of course. UPDATE: Ok, guys and gals, here's the skinny on "The Grand Am Experience for Mazda Owners... Grand Am has agreed to everything that we've proposed. 1. Parade Laps 2. Hospitality tent or indoor facility when available 3. Tech Talks with KONI, Hoosier, Pirelli and Grand Am Officials 4. Driver Meet and Greets (private) 5. On site lunch or dinner at the Sahlen's food tent ( usually reserved for drivers, crews and special guests) 6. Track Tours 7. Pit Crew Challenge 8. Crew member for a day on a Mazda team ( by drawing) 9. Pace Car rides ( by drawing) 10. Swag from series sponsors 11. Eric Meyer or another driver-owner will do a Grand Am 101 12. Crew Chef Q & A where you can get some advice from the leading crew chiefs They are working on our dedicated web page, for registration, track info, etc.... We wil have access to the Toshiba informational hauler were we can print out schedules, have staff meetings and use as a staging area as well. there is lots more to come, as I just hit the main highlights of our program. Looks like the Miller Park and Laguna Seca is as close as we get to Vegas this year. May 15-17 for Laguna and September 18-19 for Miller in Utah. |
Originally Posted by Rotr8
(Post 2845072)
Well as for Eric, his crew and drivers were more than polite and accomodating with info and synopsis of the teams success's and struggle(engine hunt) but as for Eric when I went to talk to he brushed me off and came off pretty damn rude, now in all due fairness he was searching for an engiene at the moment but he was the only one whom didnt seem excited or happy to see and talk to another Mazda owner...
I apologize if that sounds harsh but in all fairness thats just how he came off,,, Eric, after the crisis was over, and it is a crisis when it cost $20,000 plus to run @ Daytona, that was just for the weekend, not including the test days...you can see why he was not a welcoming host..but that's racing and not meant to be personal attack or disrespecful to the fans. Eric, went out of his way for the fans that attended the event, he gave personal tours to the members that showed up, got usinto drivers meeting, let us use his headsets during practice and the race, arrange with Sahlen's to feed 25-30 people, that he may have even paid for out of his pocket. He cares about the fans and if you would have found us early enough, you would have seen that side of him. So don't base your opinion on a time where he had to get things done and there was little time to get it done. |
Originally Posted by msumlin
(Post 2845556)
First off, Eric had not only blown an engine but a transmission as well and time was a major factor in finding and getting replacements for both. You have to consider that Eric is responsible for running the entire team, that includes making arrangements for lodging, travel, etc. He has an obligation to his crew, the drivers as well as the fans.
Eric, after the crisis was over, and it is a crisis when it cost $20,000 plus to run @ Daytona, that was just for the weekend, not including the test days...you can see why he was not a welcoming host..but that's racing and not meant to be personal attack or disrespecful to the fans. Eric, went out of his way for the fans that attended the event, he gave personal tours to the members that showed up, got usinto drivers meeting, let us use his headsets during practice and the race, arrange with Sahlen's to feed 25-30 people, that he may have even paid for out of his pocket. He cares about the fans and if you would have found us early enough, you would have seen that side of him. So don't base your opinion on a time where he had to get things done and there was little time to get it done. None of this was brought up when I asked him and his crew about it,,,, I was even on your list ,,, In my mind organizing this at the last minute was the problem every one knew that Daytona was coming up and it seems this wheole even was organized at the last minute... |
Originally Posted by Rotr8
(Post 2845592)
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None of this was brought up when I asked him and his crew about it,,,, I was even on your list ,,, In my mind organizing this at the last minute was the problem every one knew that Daytona was coming up and it seems this wheole even was organized at the last minute... Sorry that you could not find us, since we have come to a meeting of the minds with Grand Corporate, Mazdaspeed Motorsports and all of the teams we can proceed. This may seem like an easy thing to do, but it isn't when you are dealing with several different entities. Ask some of the people who have attended Lime Rock and other corrals that I have put on, the amount of work is unbelievable, but we got it done. This undertaking is now become nationwide and we have created a system where you will have access, not only on the forums, but on a dedicated web page (it is being worked on) on the Grand Am site, on Face Book and we're looking into local media access as well. All in all, we are looking to give every Mazda owner a great experience, one that will be personal in nature. |
I can vouch for Marlon on this one. A TON of work goes into each of these events. Marlon, Lauri and Kim put in a ton of hours for each event. Even with a weeks notice for the Rolex race at MidOhio last year he was able to scrounge up an impromptu coral for us 8 owners. We got guided tours of multiple garages and even had one of the ROAR Racing cars parked with us in the infield.
Eric is a really nice guy and you probably just caught him at a really bad time. He and his crew are a great bunch of people and I can guarantee you that your experience is not the norm. |
Originally Posted by DeViLbOi
(Post 2845767)
I can vouch for Marlon on this one. A TON of work goes into each of these events. Marlon, Lauri and Kim put in a ton of hours for each event. Even with a weeks notice for the Rolex race at MidOhio last year he was able to scrounge up an impromptu coral for us 8 owners. We got guided tours of multiple garages and even had one of the ROAR Racing cars parked with us in the infield.
Eric is a really nice guy and you probably just caught him at a really bad time. He and his crew are a great bunch of people and I can guarantee you that your experience is not the norm. Im sure, Im just bitter after spending around $2k to take my dad down there and there was no phone number to call and seemed all but canceled or unfinalized til the last minute, I was on the list and would have loved to have been a part of it,,, I plan on going to the 6hrs @ the Glenn, NJ Motosports, and maybe even VIR so I hope to catch up with more rotorheads and if one of these events are held at any of those venues I will deffinately show up with my 8.... |
I might make it out to the Glenn the second time around...haven't decided for sure yet. Your experience at the Glenn will be much better I am sure. Daytona is just a pressure cooker and being the first race of the season I am sure didn't help Eric out.
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thats fine and to be expected....
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Originally Posted by Rotr8
(Post 2845935)
[/B]
Im sure, Im just bitter after spending around $2k to take my dad down there and there was no phone number to call and seemed all but canceled or unfinalized til the last minute, I was on the list and would have loved to have been a part of it,,, I plan on going to the 6hrs @ the Glenn, NJ Motosports, and maybe even VIR so I hope to catch up with more rotorheads and if one of these events are held at any of those venues I will deffinately show up with my 8.... |
Originally Posted by DOMINION
(Post 2845995)
$2k dam thats a lot of money. What did you spend that on? the trip or was it for the event?
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Sounds great Marlon. Keep me updated on VIR in April and if you need an extra pair of hands let me know.
Bob |
On top of what Marlon mentioned there were a lot of constraints put on the program by Daytona. We had to work around some of there hurdles to provide the schedule that was put together.
Overall with the time constraints and track difficulties we were able to pull together a pretty fun weekend. If you do come to VIR I would guarantee you would have a good time. |
well it sounds like I need to come to VIR then...
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Originally Posted by Rotr8
(Post 2846902)
well it sounds like I need to come to VIR then...
You won’t be disappointed if you go. Marlon is a great guy and puts on great events. We have to remember the he does this in addition to his job and personal time. So while we are getting ready to head to the race, so is Marlon in addition to organizing everything. I met Marlon and his wife last year and they are the best. We are lucky to have them representing Mazda owners at these events. Without Marlon’s corrals it would be just another race. Having a place to meet other Mazda owners, meet drivers and get granted access that other fans do not get, is a huge bonus that Marlon gets for us. Ok, rant over Bob |
Any plnas for a corral at New Jersey Motorsports Park, in May, thats the closest track to me and I could convince many of the tri-state rotary club to come out....
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