What's up?Posted by Anders Krohn Wed, June 16, 2010 10:36AMI'm back with a recap from Mosport International Raceway and how the Liberty Motorsports crew fared with their drivers Cole Morgan, Bobby Caldwell and Zach Craigo.
The first two test sessions were held in the dry, and Cole impressed many by being P1 in his first ever visit to the daunting Canadian track. Bobby did a good job reaquainting himself with the place, while Zach was unfortunate and hit the wall hard in Turn 8 (The fastest corner on the track). The crew worked hard all night long though, and would have his car ready for Qualifying Saturday morning.
It was a damp, yet drying track for Qualifying, and everything was a bit of a gamble with the set-ups. We went out on slicks, just like everybody else. Both Cole and Zach were very unfortunate on their outlaps, as Cole went off in Turn 4 and destroyed his rear wing, and Zach spun in T5 and didn't manage to restart his car. Cole's car was taped/tie wrapped/bolted halfway back together, and he got two flyers right at the end, with no diffusor. His second flyer was good enough for 5th!!! Bobby meanwhile, avoided the drama and qualified 12th, with Zach all the way down in 22nd.
By the time Race 1 came around, we were all on wets. Cole made a great jump at the start and got up to 3rd, only to spin exiting T2 and fell back to 15th. He made an impressive drive through the field though, and came back to finish 3rd! Bobby was driving a consistent race when he was taken out by an opponent in T2, which ended in a rather big crash with the outside wall. Zach, never having driven in the rain before, learned a bunch and drove outstanding to finish 13th.
Qualifying for Race 2 was held on a bone dry track, which was a relief after numerous spring, camber and wing changes with the changing conditions. Cole qualified P2 in what was a first undramatic session of the weekend. Bobby followed up by placing 9th and Zach in 14th.
The race was a very exciting one. Cole managed to keep his 2nd place from start to finish, with Bobby gaining a spot to finish 8th. Zach made his biggest improvement yet, and came home 12th after doing lap times in the mid 1.23 bracket towards the end of the race.
A lot of stuff going on as you might have figured out by now. The crew worked their tails off all weekend, and we managed to put good race cars on the ground every day.
I'm now off to Iowa Speedway for Round 5 of the Star Mazda Championship. Iowa is an awesome track, and with average speeds of 145 mph, it's a fast one too. Be sure to check out my live Twitter-updates from the track at www.anderskrohn.com
Wish me luck!
Anders
What's up?Posted by Anders Krohn Thu, June 10, 2010 02:24AMAs I'm getting ready to leave for Mosport International Raceway (At 5am in the morning!), I thought it would be the right time to update my blog. This weekend I will be coaching the Liberty Motorsports F2000 team, and that should be a lot of fun. But that's not what this blog is about, I'll tell you about that after the weekend. This blog is about people... Allow me to explain:
The past few weeks have been extremely busy, and my entire summer will be filled with lots of on and off track activities. However, none of this would happen unless I was surrounded by people, backing me up at all times.
Rewind the clock a couple of weeks and we are back at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, where all the guys at Andersen Racing and myself are fighting for every hundreth of a second like our lives depended on it. All the hard work and preparation the guys put down, really only comes down to 45 minutes of racing... This time we finished 2nd, our first podium of the year which we have to be happy about.
Monday morning after the race I flew to Chicago where I was picked up by the Lessick family (ZAT Graphics) and spent a few days there. ZAT Graphics have been supporters of mine since 2008 and all of the decals you see on my car, as well as embroidery on my suit, shirts, hats etc., EVERYTHING has been done there. They are a real family business, a family that is not afraid of working their butts off all the time!
Two days later and I find myself in Indianapolis, with Larry and LeeAnne Nash (Nash Performance Group). I got to know Larry in April last year when he joined my current team on their Oval efforts. We ended up winning on our first time out at the Milwaukee Mile, and that's a partnership kicked off on the right foot :) Later on, I also got to know LeeAnne and have since enjoyed lots of marketing/media advice from her. It should also be mentioned that she makes some awesome home made food!
I'm back with Andersen Racing again for the Indianapolis race, and we end up a somewhat disappointing 5th after starting 10th following a qualifying penalty. Regardless of this particular result, the team keeps impressing me time after time, and I know there's something good just around the corner for us.
After what felt like just a couple of hours after touching down in Houston, I was off to hold a speech for one of my main sponsors, Norse Cutting & Abandonment, at their U.S. Headquarters. Getting to meet and get to know the people there was a great experience, and I can't wait to go back and meet up with the guys again.
A few days after the race in Indy, I'm hosting an event for my partners, called Race Night Cafè. The event was held at Rioja, a Spanish Tapas Restaurant that has joined my growing team of partners for this year. It was great getting to finally show my appreciation for what these guys do for me, and I was glad to see that everybody enjoyed it.
This past weekend I took the trip to Eagles Canyon Raceway, where they hosted their first 24 Hours of LeMons race. The racing was a lot of fun, but the best part for me when I get up there, is just hanging out with the guys. They are a fantastic bunch of guys that have helped me out a lot, and being invited to come up there is as good as it gets.
A couple of days ago I took the trip up to the Bring Logistics US Inc, HQ and got a chance to meet the rest of the hard working crew. They really are a hard working bunch of guys, and I KNOW they will grow to become very very big in the U.S.
PEOPLE... Can you see what I mean? I practically had to write a novel just to sum up my last 2-3 weeks and the people that have been involved in all of the activities. I must be the luckiest guy on earth to be associated with so many fantastic people and organizations. It sure does feel like a fairy tale, and I'm loving every minute of it!
I'd like to send a MASSIVE thank you to everybody that have supported me for such a long time. It would take another novel to mention all of them here (see AndersKrohn.com bio page) , but I would like to mention some: Trallfa, NCA, Colosseum, Andersen Racing, Bring Logistics US Inc, SR Transport, ZAT Graphics, Nash Performance, Eagles Canyon Raceway, KNA, Rioja, Motorakademiet, Bell Racing, OMP Racing, Restart Communications and Racing for Kids. WHAT A MASSIVE LIST, THANK YOU SO MUCH GUYS!
Oh and I almost forgot to tell you, I HAVE A SECRET :)
The secret will be revealed in not too long, and yes I do believe it will blow some minds...
Anders
What's up?Posted by Anders Krohn Tue, May 18, 2010 11:23PMMade it to California! Man, I love this place. This is only my second time here, but it's just awesome. Add to that one of the best road courses on the schedule, and you've got yourself a winner.
But before heading to California, we celebrated the Norwegian Independence day (May 17th). On Sunday, lots of Norwegians gathered in the Sea Men's church just outside Houston, and celebrated Norway's birthday. It was very special to hear all the different Norwegian accents in the U.S., and it was also very cool to meet up with some of my partners and friends in the Houston-area.
This morning (Tuesday), I flew from Houston to San Jose. Shortly upon arrival, the whole team gathered together. We then headed to our team manager's (Geoff Fickling) favorite Cali-restaurant, called Wahoo's Fish Taco. The food was excellent, but extremely spicy. After a chilled out lunch we drove to the hotel, which is in the middle of Monterey, just a few minutes from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Big D (Dennis Watley) and I then took off to get some groceries, which proved to be an exciting time to say the least. We suddenly found ourselves in a street market, but got ourselves out of there alright.
Tomorrow is set up day at the track, and then testing starts on Thursday. Qualifying will be held on Saturday morning, with the race slated for Sunday morning, California time.
As usual, you can count on live updates from the paddock. Just make your way to www.anderskrohn.com and you will be updated on everything that's going on.
That's all I've got for now, hope you will all have a good week.
Wish me luck!!!
Anders
