I am A.C. Guillermo, and I’m a Grand-Am Writer.
What is going on here? The Rolex 24 was (as expected) the greatest sports car race in the history of the world, yet all I hear about are conspiracy theories claiming the Brumos team received a tainted victory because of a NASCAR conspiracy.
So what if the winning car is owned by a member of the France family, who also happens to own the track and the series. And so what if there were numerous yellows for invisible debris. So what if a few cars were allowed to make up some laps during the five hours of caution laps. And who cares if the winning Riley was a dozen pounds too light. Come on, a win is a win.
Lee Harvey Oswald and the grassy knoll all over again. Here are some of the silly rumors on the internet… Chip Ganassi was given a Rolex to shut up… The car was really 38 lbs. underweight but they changed it to 12 so people would assume it didn’t really matter… Andy Evans was in the tower calling the shots … The Spirit of Daytona had a secret trap door to release debris on the track as needed to create fake yellows … 9/11 never happened … Kyle Petty was paid to say good things about Grand-Am during the TV broadcast … what a bunch of crap.
Would a company as reputable as NASCAR ever do anything to manipulate the finish of a race? Hell no. They always play by the rules. There is no contrived racing in NASCAR. Well, OK, Richard Petty leading the first few laps of his last race at Daytona was a little fakey.
The ALMS is really stupid. They actually disqualify cars for cheating! How un-American! What is a few pounds here and there?
I was watching the TV coverage of the race today and I saw no evidence of any cheating, aside from all those male enhancement product commercials (that stuff doesn’t work, trust me). However, the guy going in circles with that jet ski on Lake Lloyd cheated. It was actually radio-controlled and he was napping most of the last few hours.
The 2009 Rolex 24 was the best road race I have seen in a long time. Too bad the crowd decided not to show up. I am really disappointed in you guys. I was counting on you Grand-Am supporters. Other than a few hundred drunk teenagers (obviously bused in from Sebring, the only REAL conspiracy of the weekend), the place was empty. I never even had to wait to get on the Ferris wheel. I suppose the economy is a factor, but you better get on the bandwagon soon or Jim F. and Roger E. just might run next year’s Rolex 24 entirely on the oval.
So to all you conspiracy theory buffs out there: GET A LIFE. The Brumos car won fair and almost square. The Warren Report will exonerate them.