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<body> <Table Width="550" border="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" cellpadding="0"><TR><TD Width="35"><IMG SRC="//www.totalmotorsport.com/images/spacer.gif" WIDTH="35" HEIGHT="1"></td><td> <CENTER><Table border="0" width="100%"> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="5">GRAND AMERICAN ROAD RACING ASSOCIATION</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2">26/01/2004</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="4">Racer Group Transporter Fire</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="3">Transporter Sustains Heavy Fire Damage</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><img border="1" src="Storage/racergroupfire04.jpg"></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="1">  </FONT></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2"><B>Rolex 24 Defending Champion's Transporter Sustains Heavy Fire Damage</B><BR> <BR> The Racer's Group 53-foot race transporter, en route from Sonoma, California, to Daytona in Florida for the 2004 Rolex 24 At Daytona, sustained heavy fire and smoke damage when an axle failed in the rear of the transporter, causing a suspected electrical or tire fire. The driver, Jerry Cowans, was unhurt in the incident. Crewmembers converged on the accident site to assess damage and begin transferring salvageable equipment from the damaged trailer to a new one.<BR> <BR> Team owner Kevin Buckler's team has won the Rolex 24 At Daytona twice. "When we found out late Friday night, our first reaction was disbelief, then relief when it became apparent that Jerry wasn't hurt," said Buckler. "As he stood on the side of the road in the middle of the desert in Arizona, he let us know that the No. 66 and No. 67 cars were heavily smoke damaged, but appeared to be mechanically unharmed."<BR> <BR> The immediate problem facing the team was getting the undamaged equipment to Florida in time for this weekend's race. Buckler started placing phone calls to acquaintances and business contacts around the country, and within a few hours had arranged for the purchase and pick up of a new race trailer.<BR> <BR> At 2 a.m. PT on Saturday morning, the deal was completed. Several crewmembers flew from Los Angeles, Denver and Sacramento to Phoenix, where they discovered that the hydraulic systems in the trailer were not functioning, preventing the crew from removing the cars from the trailer.<BR> <BR> Simultaneously, a leased tractor and The Racer's Group new trailer were en route from Los Angeles to Arizona to begin the process of transferring equipment from one rig to the other.<BR> <BR> "The thing that stands out for me from this whole event is the response of my crew to our emergency," said Buckler. "They had all just packed up the old trailer and sent it down the road to Daytona. All the bins were closed, all the tools were in place, and every sticker on the cars was perfect. They had all gone back to their homes for one last weekend of rest before the season started. But every last one of them has the same determination I have - to deal with adversity, handle the situation like professionals, and just put their heads down and go to work. There's no way on earth that I would bet against my crew getting us to Daytona in time. Anybody can ride the ship when it's just cruising along, but when something like this happens you really find out what your team is made of. My guys reacted just as I expected."<BR> </FONT></TD></TR> </TABLE><BR> </CENTER> <BR><CENTER><font size="1" color="#808080" face="Tahoma">Copyright ©2000-©2023 TotalMotorSport</font></CENTER> </td> </tr> </table> </body>