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Team HLM will make its much anticipated debut at the 2007 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. The Crawford Race Cars, LLC GT Coupe is the only Nissan/Infiniti based car in the Rolex series this weekend. This brand new race car has been undergoing continued development to meet the new organization’s competition goals.
Drivers for the #45 Team HLM G35 GT car are Bryan Sellers, Centerville, OH, Rob Wilson, London, UK, John Lewis, Birmingham, AL and Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA, “We’ve developed some very strong business relationships over the year that will allow us to compete in this year’s race. The team has developed a close relationship with the Gilbran group, a specialist investment management group which focuses exclusively on the motor-trade sector of the European property markets,” said Team HLM co-owner Frank Howard.
The Dayton, Ohio-based team is supported at the track by Crawford Race Cars, LLC. and the Spirit of Daytona team. “We are really excited to see all of our hard work pay off. We would also like to thank Crawford Race Cars and the Spirit of Daytona for all of their help,” said Team HLM business development manager Alex Moore. Team HLM is registered as a Howard Motorsports entry.
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The excitement roared to Daytona for HLM’s first race for their G35’s career. The first race of the Grand American Road Racing series is a measure not of performance, and handling, but endurance. A race that test the reliability of the car, the driver’s physical ability, and the team’s persistence. That race is the 24 Hours at Daytona.
The winner of a 24-hour race is not the car that can out handle or out accelerate the others, but one that can out last the others. Making it to the end of this race is an accomplishment in itself. That being said, there is no shame in not finishing.
Team HLM seemed plagued from the start of the weekend. During a practice session, a timing chain tensioner broke, which caused catastrophic failure to the engine. A new engine was dropped in for qualifying. During qualifying, the radiator refused to stay cool, which caused that 2nd engine to go. Team HLM qualified last because of this.
Already low on power, due to a required change of intake manifold, the G35 was struggling to catch up to the rest of the pack from the beginning. The car was running flat on the top end. The problem was finally discovered to be the result of a bad lambda sensor. After changing out the sensor, the car seemed to be on its way catching up with the others. Lap times were consistent, and average lap speeds seemed to be on par or faster with other cars in the GT class. Things were beginning to look good....
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