throughout most of the weekend, you seemed to be quite a bit slower than Kyle," said Jerry, turning to the driver who took the winning car to the checkered flag. "Yet in the race, you were able to hunt down the Nissans after the restart and pass them. What brought about the sudden turn of speed?" "Well, during practice and qualifying, I was never able to get up to speed with the setup that Kyle was using," Balto responded. "The car wasn't really to my liking initially. The only solution was to find some kind of balance between the two. I know it may have hampered Kyle early on during his stint, but it really helped when I got behind the wheel." "Yes," Kyle added, "it was a bit of a struggle for me at first, but as my stint progressed, I got used to the compromised setup. That, plus the fact that our car wasn't being so hard on the tires, are why I was able to get on terms with the Nissans." "Balto, talk us through that pass for the win. What was your mindset at the time, and how did you manage to pull off such a brilliant overtaking move?" Jerry asked. "Yeah, I know it was a little desperate," Balto responded. "But it was the last lap and the last possible overtaking area under braking. I wasn't sure if getting the better run out of West Bend coming down through Diving Turn toward the finish line was gonna be good enough. If I hadn't gone for that move, I wouldn't be standing right here. Of course, the biggest downfall was getting this scratch on my nose." Balto showed Jerry what happened after his "hazing" by Geoff Brabham and Chip Robinson. "Is that from when Chip and Geoff threw you out of the car?" asked Dr. Punch. "Yes, it is," Balto replied. "What, did the camera see that?" "Actually, it did," Jerry answered. "Well, they've got nothing to complain about after Geoff got me off in the dirt going through the Esses at Road Atlanta, costing me a shot at winning that race," Balto retorted. "And that one was much earlier in the race than the move I made today." "Would what you just did be payback for that incident at Road Atlanta?" asked Jerry. "I don't know for sure, maybe indirectly," Balto answered. "Some might see it that way, and I can respect that. But normally, I wouldn't have waited this long to get back at him. I just never had the opportunity to do so until today. I heard that they still finished on the lead lap and didn't lose a lot of ground, anyway, so they definitely have no business complaining. I'm tired of hearing that the only competitive teams in this series are the factory teams. If what we (Fox/Ridgemount), Dyson, and Busby have been able to achieve is any indication, privateers can be competitive." The interview concluded with Balto and Kyle thanking the sponsors and the team, along with all others responsible, as is customary in a post-race interview. Once done, they rejoined the celebration, which went until long after the race broadcast has ended.   The mood was sky high in the Fox/Ridgemount Racing hauler and motor home that evening as they headed out of Lime Rock Park. Clearly, the joy and elation of the win were still fresh in their minds even hours after the checkered flag had been waved. Balto himself was hardly ever without a smile on his face for the trip that evening. Ditto for Kyle, Stan and the rest of the team. But they wouldn't be heading back to the team's headquarters in Monterey, as the next race, at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, near the town of Lexington, was just six days away. It wouldn't make much sense to head back to California only to have to turn around and head back out again. Even Jenna seemed to be enjoying herself that night. Seeing Balto happy made her happy, too. "So, how does it feel to win again?" she asked Balto. "Great," he replied. "But the best part was that you were here with me." "I wouldn't have missed it for anything," put in Jenna. With that, she smiled and gave Balto a peck on the lips. Balto then smiled back and gave Jenna a long kiss in return. By now, Balto's nose had been bandaged up. It had stopped bleeding a while ago at least, but it was still sore, especially when he inhaled through it. But that didn't matter much to him right now, as things were really looking up for him. Eight days earlier, Balto's Le Mans team, Joest Racing, scored a victory in an FIA World Sportscar Championship race at Dijon-Prenois in France. Balto had called Rhinehold Joest to congratulate him on the victory. But he was left wondering if he would ever get such a call from him ever since he agreed to drive for Joest at Le Mans. He almost blew his chance to drive with the garage altercation at the West Palm Beach Grand Prix. Thankfully, Joest knew what Balto was going through then, as did Kyle and Stan. "You sure did manage to sock it to 'em in that interview about how some don't think privateer teams can be competitive anymore," Jenna added. "Well, if what I had to say," said Balto, "or what I did out there on that track proves anything, it's that we independent teams can cut it in this series." The original vision for GTP enabled both factory and independent teams a fair shot at winning races. Privateer teams running chassis from Lola and March were the championship-winning teams in 1982 and 1983, the first two years of GTP, and in 1984. In 1984, when the Porsche 962 made its debut, it became the car to beat, winning the title from 1985 to 1987, although it in GTP it was run mostly by privateers, as Porsche AG, the factory team, competed in the World Sportscar Championship. But beginning with last year, the works Nissans from Electromotive Engineering became the cars to beat. And it was no different this year, even though they still faced stiff opposition from the likes of Jaguar, Porsche and Toyota. On the GT side of the fence, the Audi 90s run by Audi of America were among the cars to beat thanks to their sophisticated all-wheel drive system. But they also faced stiff competition from the likes of Roush Racing's Cougar XR-7s and Cunningham Racing's Nissan 300ZXs. Audi missed the Daytona and Sebring races, and would eventually have two races in which neither of their two cars finished, which would eventually cost them the driver's title (for Hans-Joachim Stuck) and the manufacturer's title.   Chapter 6: Mid-Ohio Madness   After an overnight rest at a truck stop, the Fox/Ridgemount hauler and motor home arrived at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course the next day. This race weekend would have both the prototypes and the GTs on the track, but not at the same time, as they did not race together at the shorter races. Only at the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring did prototypes and GTs race simultaneously. The prototype race was set to be 500 kilometers in length around the 2.4 mile road course, while the distance for the GT race was set at 200 kilometers. In events with a set distance like this weekend's races, the first car to complete the scheduled race distance is the winner. The GT-only Mosport race at Mosport Park near Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, and the prototype-only Road America 500 at the Road America circuit near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, were two such examples on the IMSA calendar that year. Track activities didn't begin until Thursday, which usually consisted of first-round practice. Early Tuesday afternoon, Balto did get the congratulatory call from Rhinehold Joest on his Lime Rock win. Even seat mate Bob Wollek congratulated him, too. Also mentioned in that call was that Joest Racing was interested in forming a technical alliance with Fox/Ridgemount Racing, which really got Balto excited. The matter would be discussed between the two teams between the Mid-Ohio race and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Following that call, Balto was hardly ever without a smile on his face whenever he was out of the race car. But once in the car, he was 100% focused on the task at hand, which was getting the maximum potential out of the Fox/Ridgemount Porsche 962. A lap of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course began with a medium-length pit straight, followed by a medium-speed 90 degree left-hand sweeper. That led down a longer straightaway, which led into a right-left-right chicane, which was followed by a 180-degree hairpin right known as the Keyhole. After that came the long backstraight, including a slight kink at turn 5. It ended at the Esses, where passing can occur in the braking zone for. It is the best overtaking opportunity on the whole track. One unusual feature about the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is that the start line is not in the same place as the finish line. For rolling starts, also known as Indianapolis starts, the start line is positioned at the kink at turn 5 in the interest of safety. For standing starts, the normal finish line is used as the starting line. All restarts take place at that line as well. The entry to the Esses is downhill, after which the cars head right and uphill. After cresting the rise, the track turns left and goes back downhill before entering a 90-degree right-hander. After heading under a bridge, the track wound through an uphill left-right Ess. A short straight was next, followed by a downhill, 90-degree right-hander. Another short straightaway followed, after which the cars entered a quick right-left jog. This led into a long, 180-degree right known as the Carousel. A slight left followed, which led back onto the start/finish straight. The twisty back section offered virtually no serious place for passing, and the faster classes (GTP & GTO) had to be especially careful when lapping cars in the slower classes (GTP Lights & GTU) through here. Balto's results in two previous starts in GTP produced less-than-stellar results. He had a spin in his

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