"that’s called team work"

Hi there, Nic Jonsson here. Well, the Rolex season is over and it has been a really frustrating and tough year for us at Krohn Racing. As you all know, we started out running our new chassis, the Proto Auto LOLA at Homestead this year with a lot of hopes. The car has been very good and solid as far as reliability which has given us the chance to focus on the developing the car. We’ve had great runs and two podium finishes but typically something has always gone wrong in the end. We are disappointed in our results but very optimistic and positive looking to the future with the development of the car. The Krohn engineers, as well as LOLA, have done a very good job in getting the car faster throughout the year. In addition, we have a lot of new things to try over the winter break.

We had a 5th place finish in the race last weekend. Now, we have to go back home and really work hard to come back better prepared for the 09’ season. The really positive thing from this past weekend was the pole position that we managed to take for the first time this year. Obviously the first time a Proto Auto LOLA car has sat on pole in a Grand-Am sanctioned event, we are very happy about that.

We were also battling a few other issues at the track this weekend…the flu. It was amazing how many people that got sick this weekend, me being one of them. It felt like someone hit me upside the head when this cold came on Thursday afternoon along with fever and a sore throat. We had a lot of visitors to the Krohn truck since we have a doctor on staff. We were in good hands and ready to go when it was time. I think this just goes to show how important every single crew member is…whether you’re a doctor, driver, crew chief or whoever, we all have a purpose to fill…that’s called TEAM WORK baby! I firmly believe that is the key word to all success in sports as well as any work, family and life in general.

Also this weekend, I had double duty with the KONI Challenge Series running on Sunday. Started from my qualifying 5th position but was soon up to second in the race. I had a good run going with my co-driver, Glenn Bocchino. Unfortunately, about 40 minutes in to the race I got hit and had to come into the pits. This really took us out of contention to have a good finish although we still managed to get back out and work our way back up to a 16th place finish.

This week is going to be pretty busy and intense for me since I’m leaving for Sweden to go “home” to race on Swedish soil for the first time since 1992. I’ve been invited as a guest driver in the “SKANDINAVIAN CAMARO CUP” on one of my home tacks about 1 hour from where I grow up. This will be a lot of fun to see a lot of old racing friends and get to drive at the track where I built the foundation to my first championship in Formula 3 in 1990. It’s hard to believe that so many years have gone by. This is also the track where my Dad and Uncle first put me in a race car at age six…NO not driving but it was crazy enough. A good friend of my Dad’s had been a successful racer and raced a Honda civic. My Dad thought it would be good for me to get a ride but there was just one problem…no passenger seat. They came up with this really clever solution to put me on the floor in the back of the car and strap me to the roll cage with regular tie down straps. They put one around my chest and one around each arm sounds like torture but as a 6 year old, I thought it was awesome! That is until my Mom got a call from the school nurse wondering about my bruises (my gym teacher discovered during gym class) and they asked my Mom if everything was ok at home. Dad sure got an ear full about what a crazy idea this was but neither my Dad nor I ever understood what the big deal was. We had a blast and I think this was the first seed planted to where I am today. Well I could tell you a lot of foolish stories growing up but I will leave that to another time.

Have a great week and I will be back with a report from a cold and hopefully race filled week in Sweden. Thank you for all the support so far this year. Without you guys this would not be possible for me to do.

Your friend, Nic.