Long Beach Grand Prix: Into the Viper Pit

Posted on May 19, 2010 by RLD

Earlier this month we were fortunate enough to get behind the scenes at the 36th annual Long Beach Grand Prix. We attended as special guests of the Woodhouse Performance Team and let us just say: we [expletive deleted] love our jobs. We got to log some serious time inside the Viper pit and were lucky enough to do a little bonding with Kuno Wittmer, Jeff Courtney, Bob Woodhouse , and even the CEO himself, Ralph Gilles. We even got to squeeze in a few minutes with the legends behind DR Racing, Jason Daskalos and Fred Roberts.

Although technically with the Dodge team, we still consider ourselves fans more than anything else. Every time we hopped on the tug or stood on the grid, we couldn’t shake this ominous feeling that we were only a glance from an observant race official away from being thrown out. A few friendly slaps on the back from Woodhouse, Kuno, and Courtney went a long way towards dissolving our pre-race jitters, but the excitement of sitting on the same stack of tires as the Woodhouse Performance pit crew chief, Rick Maxwell, still jump-started our nerves.

Despite the constant rumbling from the track and the tension emanating from the pits whose teams weren’t slaughtering the competition, the aura in the Viper pit itself was pretty low-key. Lap times and pole positions were constantly updated and downloaded ensuring there wasn’t a single holstered Blackberry in sight. Outside the pit the air was charged with anxious energy and every time Kuno or Courtney hurtled by the chain link fence, the Woodhouse Performance crew would rush to the far wall to cheer him on. Kuno managed to lead the race for all 40 laps, which lead to a relatively relaxed atmosphere (well, more relaxed than whatever was going down in the Volvo pit, at least). The only moments that probably weren’t suitable for children under the age of 13 came when Chevy team driver Ron Fellows blew an engine, covering the track in a thick, smoky cloud of burning oil. A yellow flag would have given the racers trailing close behind Kuno a prime opportunity to muscle him out of first place, so when the caution failed to drop there was a palpable ease of tension that blanketed the pit box. Kuno managed to keep a death grip on the lead for the duration of the race, but there was still an audible sigh of relief (followed immediately by raucous cheering) when he finally crossed that finish line.

Unfortunately, Daskalos’ run-in with Fellows wasn’t nearly as tame. Chevy’s main man Fellows bumped him, breaking off the Viper’s diffuser. Fortunately, the skirmish didn’t affect Daskalos’ overall performance and Jason finished out the race with Optima Batteries’ Best Standing Start for his outstanding lead-in. Daskalos’ teammate, Roberts, also managed to end the LBGP on a high note, maintaining his stance as Rookie of the Year. Overall, it was an extremely successful race for Dodge (to put it mildly) and everyone from the crew to Gilles was lost in the celebratory fervor. At some point during the ruckus, there may have even been some fist pumping (though we can neither confirm nor deny).

When we weren’t dodging the crossfire, ogling the chicks on skates or asking Kuno to autograph just one last t-shirt, we managed to snap a metric ton of exclusive photos and video footage, some of which you may have already caught on our Facebook page. The rest we combed through, cropped to remove shots of our, uh, “less-flattering” angles, and included here exclusively for you.

If the photo gold just isn’t enough to sate your Viper appetite, be sure to check out both Viper teams tearing up the track at the World Challenge at Mosport International Raceway in Ontario, Canada May 21-23, 2010.