The Racer's Group 53-foot race transporter, en route from Sonoma, Calif., to Daytona, Fla., 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, Gila Bend, Ariz., to assess damage and begin transferring salvageable equipment from the damaged trailer to a new one.
Team owner Kevin Buckler's team has won the Rolex 24 At Daytona twice. "Whenwe found out late Friday night, our first reaction was disbelief, thenrelief when it became apparent that Jerry wasn't hurt," said Buckler. "Ashe stood on the side of the road in the middle of the desert in Arizona, helet us know that the No. 66 and No. 67 cars were heavily smoke damaged, butappeared to be mechanically unharmed."
The immediate problem facing the team was getting the undamaged equipment toFlorida in time for this weekend's race. Buckler started placing phonecalls to acquaintances and business contacts around the country, and withina few hours had arranged for the purchase and pick up of a new race trailer.
At 2 a.m. PT on Saturday morning, the deal was completed. Severalcrewmembers flew from Los Angeles, Denver and Sacramento to Phoenix, wherethey discovered that the hydraulic systems in the trailer were notfunctioning, preventing the crew from removing the cars from the trailer.
Simultaneously, a leased tractor and The Racer's Group new trailer were enroute from Los Angeles, Calif. to Arizona to begin the process oftransferring equipment from one rig to the other.
"The thing that stands out for me from this whole event is the response ofmy crew to our emergency," said Buckler. "They had all just packed up theold 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. Theyhad all gone back to their homes for one last weekend of rest before theseason started. But every last one of them has the same determination Ihave - to deal with adversity, handle the situation like professionals, andjust put their heads down and go to work. There's no way on earth that Iwould bet against my crew getting us to Daytona in time. Anybody can ridethe ship when it's just cruising along, but when something like this happensyou really find out what your team is made of. My guys reacted just as Iexpected."
Pictures of the incident and the most recent developments can be seen attheracersgroup.com/team/daytona_04.htm
The Racer's Group race car can be seen in the 42nd Anniversary of the Rolex24 At Daytona that will be held January 29 - February 1. Tickets arecurrently on sale and can be purchased online atdaytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 386-253-RACE.
