Racing season got off to an, um, interesting start with the Valentine's 300 held at VIR.  Dan and Harry were teamed for this 3.5 hour endurance race.   Unfortunately, Dan wrecked.

Saturday featured absolutely miserable weather.   Heavy snowfall from a few days earlier left snow in shady places even as a torrential downpour further saturated the ground.  For cars that went off the track, the odds were pretty good that the thick mud would keep you there.  Even rescue vehicles were being pulled out by tractor.  Using some new rain tire, Dan qualified the eVisory/Factory Five Cobra in the number 5 spot.

Sunday dried out just enough to let the track be dry, but the grass was still soaked.  In fact, the nearby Dan River has flooded and threatened to halt the race if it came up just another 5-10 feet closer.  Dan and Harry agreed on a conservative strategy of running the car cautiously and waiting for people to make mistakes during the long race.  On the start, Dan made a typical power move to the inside and threatened to take first place until the pole sitting BMW squeezed him into the grass (and almost the starter stand).  The second place car got loose on just the second turn giving Dan second.  Exactly one lap later the BMW lost it and Dan took over first place for the entire field of cars.

A blazingly quick Corvette passed the #66 Spec Cobra, but mechanical difficulties put him behind the wall a few laps later and Dan regained the lead.  From there it was nice smooth driving as Dan displayed his finest driving to date.  By the time the race was half over, Dan had built a lead of more than two full laps over the entire field - and was pulling away as he made plans to turn the car over to Harry in the pit stop.  Dan's aggressive pace had caused him to smash the Factory Five track record repeatedly.

Just as Dan came down the hill to come into the pits, the BMW gained on him and cut off his exit to pit row.  In what can only be described as a 'bone headed' move, Dan promptly went after the BMW.  Since Dan was up by about 6 laps on the BMW, he had absolutely no business getting into a race, but Dan and the BMW traded the lead an incredible four times on just that one lap.   Unfortunately, when Dan should have been preparing to slow down and enter the pits, he was still at the top of the hill racing the BMW.  The result?  He went 'off line' and into the wet grass.

From there it was a long, fast ride into the tire wall where Dan hit with a lot of energy.  The impact caused the battery to break loose and fly out of the car.  The body was smashed and the door flew off.   Amazingly, Dan ended up with only minor bruises and the Factory Five Cobra sustained no frame damage.

Dan's dumb driving cost his team the race and proved to be a stinging (and expensive) lesson.  Great driving is all fine and good - but you still have to finish the race and know when to back off.

This race didn't count for points, but the car has sustained significant damage.  It'll be a race to see if Team Elam can get the car ready in time to start the season!