NIC JONSSON REFLECTS ON THE 2008 RACE SEASON
December 8,2008
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After an eventful race season in 2008, I have finally had some time to wind down and reflect on the past year. It was a very interesting year in many ways for me. I had a 6 month old son back home in the beginning of the season that I had to get used to leaving so I could do my job. All you who are parents know how hard that is. That aside, we at Krohn Racing decided to take the bull by the horns and develop a Daytona prototype in conjunction with LOLA cars in the UK. This creation is called the Proto Auto LOLA. Since the car was developed, there was a lot of up and downs, especially in the beginning since there wasn't much testing other than the Grand-Am test days. That basically left us with the race weekends which made it very difficult to develop a new car. Every race weekend was a new learning experience for us since we had to create our data from scratch. Fortunately for us, the car has shown to be very reliable. This allowed us to focus on gaining speed in the car. The car has been very fast at some tracks and vice versa at others. We understand the reason for this and are trying to fix it for the 09' season. All in all, we had some really great results and ran very competitive in many of the races but it seemed like we always had some sort of mishap. Either we were hit, ran over something and blew a tire…you name it! But as all car enthusiasts know, that's racing! You just have to keep going and dig deeper to make it work.
A few highlights of the Grand-Am race season have to be the 3rd place finish in Mexico City along with the other podium at the July race in Daytona. The last race of the year in Salt Lake City at Miller Motorsports Park was also a favorite because we scored pole position. Even though we were in a position to win several races and had the pace having a new car under development takes its time but I am very satisfied with the progress we have made and I expect great results for 2009 in Grand-Am. Throughout the 2008 season, we raced with a Pontiac engine. For the 09' season, we decided to switch it up and go to the Ford power. We believe this is the right move for us and hopefully we will prove to be a solid contender for the Championship.
I am very blessed in that I have the great fortune to be racing with a man that has a true passion for this business. Krohn Racing owner and co-driver, Tracy Krohn not only enjoys the excitement of racing in the Grand-Am series but also has an affinity for European style racing. One thing that I always been impressed of by Tracy is that he's not just want to race, he also wants to be competitive and is not hesitant to go out there and rub wheels with the most seasoned drivers on the circuit. Tracy has invited me over the last few years to also co-pilot the Ferrari 430 GT2 car in the American Le Mans series races he done over the past years as well as heading back to France for the largest race in the World, the 24 Heures du Mans with our 3rd driver, Eric van de Poele. Tracy and I raced four races in the Ferrari 430 GT2 car campaigned by Risi Competizione out of Houston, Texas. Our highlights were a 3rd place finish in the 12 hours of Sebring and a 4th place finish at Petit Le Mans. Unfortunately we did not have much luck at Le Mans this year but we will be back next year to try again.
My own company, Kinetic Speed Shop and our racing segment, Kinetic Motorsports had our share of successes and development as well. Kinetic's is a race and aftermarket shop I co-own with my partner, Russell Smith. Our shop located in Buford, GA (outside of Atlanta) consist of 42,000 square feet of everything ranging from Engine development to paint and body work. Kinetic Motorsports won its first KONI Challenge race this year at the famous street race in Trois- Rivieres. We were all so proud as this had been a long time coming since we had been running in the lead at several races but just couldn't seem to pull off a win. It was a pure team effort; I'm very proud of our crew and want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. Russell and I have always believed in our guys and we finally got to prove that to the rest of the world.
Currently, we are building a new BMW M3 V8 KONI Challenge car for the upcoming 09' season. This car will be debut in a few weeks at the PRI show in Orlando, FL then make its track debut at the 24 hours of Daytona. We can't wait to see this car perform!
Another really exciting event for me this year was getting invited back to my home country Sweden to race there for the first time in 16 years. It had been a long time and really brought back memories for me of my start in racing and how long ago that actually was. My friend Tony Bryntesson runs 4 cars in the Camaro Cup at Mantorp Park and I had the honor of racing in the "guest car" which is typically a Swedish celebrity or race car drivers. It was very special because Mantorp Park is considered my home track about an hour north from where I grew up. I won many races there when I ran for the Scandinavian Championship many years ago. It was great to come home, see many of my old friends and be able to help my team win the Championship with my 3rd place finish. It was lots of fun and a big thank you to Bryntesson Motorsports for allowing me to be part of the team.
I would also like to take this opportunity to also say a big THANK YOU to all my fans and everyone who has supported me and our great sport. It means the world to me when I receive emails, calls or even a quick "hello" at the track. Without the fan participation and support, our jobs as drivers wouldn't exist. Please stop by and visit if you are at the race. And keep the emails coming; I love to hear from you even if it is asking for a hero card. Again, thank you again for your continued support and I hope to see you all in the winner's circle during the 09' season.
Finally, have a great Holiday season and be thoughtful and take care of each other. We can always make a difference in just reaching out and offering a helping hand.
Visit Race Schedule to view Nic's busy 2009 schedule. For more information on teams, please visit www.kssmotorsports.com and www.krohnracing.net
For more information about Nic, visit www.nicjonsson.com or email media@nicjonsson.com
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