Oly Express Racing

Jaguar E-Type Motor

We were always pretty lucky because Hershel was always a good strong qualifier so he usually started near the front of the pack. Most of the time everybody gets through the first few laps pretty well. However, sometimes it seems like there is always one guy that wants to win the race on the first lap and causes an accident. That is usually more on the short tracks with the local guys not to much the Winston Cup races that was not the case, those guys knew that it was a long race and it was the last lap they wanted to lead not the first. Now it is up to the driver to get the car to the front as quickly as possible and stay out of trouble while making his passes, something Hershel did very well. After getting in to the lead now it is our job as the crew to make sure that he stays there. He does the job on the track, now we need to do our job in the pit area. The tire changers have to be flawless, gas needs to always be filled to the top, overflow cannot be permitted to hit the ground or we could be given a penalty, all tires needed to be aired properly and put on the right location during the stops. After the car leaves the pit, we all put everything back in to place at the ready for the next stop. The tire man looks at the tires that just came off the car to determine how the car is wearing the tires down, is it running properly or should there be a slight chassis adjustment to insure that we are getting the best we can out of the tires. We continually check in with the driver given him lap counts and time between him and the next closest competitor. This process is endless throughout he entire race, lap after lap pit stop after pit stop, everything must be perfect. The goal here is to win the race and if everybody does what they are scheduled to do that should be the end result. Sometimes it is and sometimes it’s not, just depends on how lucky we were that day and if we stayed out of trouble on the track. Racing can be a very gratifying sport or it can be a heart breaker. When racing with Hershel McGriff it usually ended up to be a very positive experience!

Text: Dick Pierson

Our racing experience at Le Mans Classic would not have been complete without all our fans. Some, like Marc and Martine Steinegger, flew in with their son from Switzerland just to see the Oly Express Charger race. Others drove all the way from Germany, like Tom and Harald in their 1968 Charger. Some decided that Le Mans Classic was the place to be that Sunday, even despite an invitation to the Soccer World Cup Final in Berlin. Many cheered at each of the Chargers passes in front of the grandstands. Some even bowed and chanted "Better than Lola, better than Lola" when we drove it through the pits. And best of all, fans of all ages got to take a seat in our genuine NASCAR racer! Thanks to all of you for being with us!

Our crew, all friends and family, did a stunning job throughout the Le Mans Classic week-end. Be it on the pitwall taking time or photos, be it in the pits repairing and maintaining the Charger, our crew performed with relentless dedication and creativity, resting only when the job was done. Thank you guys and gals: No driver ever had a better team ! Kevin detected a leaking axle bearing after our night session. His kwonledge of NASCAR technology and  helping volunteers, like Didier from the french Corvette Club, did wonders here. A sticking accelerator pedal was fixed thanks to creative use of sheetmetal from a construction sign, right on the garage floor! A few cans of Oly kept the spirits high ! When the job was done, they went to rest where they could. Pierrot slept right behing the car on a cardboard "matress". When the drivers came back at 6 AM, the Charger was all ready for another gruelsome round!

After month of work and preparation, we finally got to run our Charger on a racetrack. We got up early friday March 31st and headed down to Portland International Raceway with the Charger in Randy Knighton's trailer. Gary Bockman, PIR driving instructor, Silver State Classic racer and friend of the late Chuck Shafer, took the car first out for a few laps. Then it was my and Dick Pierson's turn. What a blast. This machine is all heavy but so much fun to drive. Forget about any sports or race car you have ever driven: scooting around a racetrack in a NASCAR stock car is like entering into another dimension!

Rich Truesdell, Don Cann and Davey Johnson both met us at Portland International Raceway to cover our Charger. Rich will provide both writing and photography to some of the best american and european car magazines, while Davey will feature the story in Jalopnik, one of the worldwide top three car-websites. TV coverage is also to come, since french channel FR3 will follow our progress during testing in France in the coming month, as well as cover Le Mans Classic extensively. Another french channel has also signaled strong interest to us. American TV will be at Le Mans Classic and there is no doubt that they will also rush to cover our unsual entry. It is great to note that media interest for our project keeps building up. This media recognition is a great morale booster to our team and brings many returns to our sponsors. By the way, there is still one spot left on our team shirts!

During our testing at PIR, team member Randy Knighton checked out NITRO magazine. Since 2003, when we started our project to re-create the Oly Epxress and to bring it back to Le Mans, NITRO has been a very motivating supporter. NITRO will feature a total of three full color reports on our car and team. The first six page report traced back the historics of the opriginal Oly Express and was published in NITRO's february 2006 issue, the coming one will be about our testing and preparation, while the final article will document our presence at Le Mans Classic. NITRO has also teamed up with us as a sponsor and their logo will be on our team shirts. More than enough reasons to subscribe to that great magazine!