I've got the last few hours of IMSA's Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona on in the background and I know for sure that it will come down to a nose-to-tail, wheel-to-wheel scrap to the finish in all four classes between cars of mostly vastly different designs and power units. How the IMSA power structure, led by my lifelong friend and fellow racer/enthusiast John Doonan, manages to do this is beyond me. But they do, and the amazing thing is that the finish, after 24 freaking hours of racing, pit stops, lucky and unlucky breaks, brilliant driving & brain farts is just about guaranteed to be closer than the finish of most 90-minute to 2-hour grands prix. It's worth a peek, I guarantee you will be entertained.

Meanwhile, I have been flogging away on my new, coffee-table "Lotus Love Affair" book and, as the project has progressed, it's grown in all directions, including concept, size, content, graphics and ambitions. So here's the latest poop:

1. Launch date is now planned for the big Vintage Meeting at Road America in July 17-20 (where, by happenstance as much as planning, all of my novels have debuted) followed by a "curtain call" at the big IMSA meeting at Road America two weeks later (July 31-August 3).
2. The book will be GORGEOUS! We have new graphics--some never seen before--from Classic Team Lotus in England, the REVs Institute in Naples, FL and some special Dan Gurney stuff courtesy of Evi Gurney & family (Dan and Evi were early boosters of my first book back when I was sitting in a garage full of book copies trying to decide if I should slit my wrists with a straight razor or an old-fashioned Swiss Army knife).
3. This has become a BIG & expensive project, and so we're looking for more advertisers and sponsors. The color section in the middle will be a "Big Ed, Buddy and Burt's Bucket List" of places (racetracks, auto museums, shops, prep & restoration services, event-convenient lodging & food options, etc.), plus events and organizations that would be interesting, attractive & appropriate for our readers.
4. You can also put a picture of your special car in the "gallery" section for $500 (subject to approval, of course, but there's not much we won't do for money) and it includes all the sponsorship crapola (I mean: "benefits") described below
5. BE A SPONSOR: Costs $250 Ca$h American, and you get your name (or somebody else's name you want to impress, surprise or horrify) listed on the "Sponsor Page" in the color section, a copy of the special Sponsor/Advertiser edition and a "Lotus Love Affair Sponsor/Sucker" driving cap that you will be proud to wear. I think.
   

End of sales pitch.

In other news:

Our kids came in for the holidays from California and, wouldn't you know it, everybody but me got rotten sick (there is no justice in this world). So instead of seeing friends they hadn't seen in years, they were mostly holed up in the basement coughing and hacking. Damn thing really hung on, too. They were almost fully better by the time they left for home, and arrived just in time for the big L.A. fires. Fortunately, they were out of the path of the blazes (Thank God!) but knew people and friends who lost their homes. Makes you realize how fortunate you are just to "keep on keeping on," as we used to say between tokes back in the sixties.

Apologies to all the folks who deserved but didn't get our "Finzio's Sinclair" Christmas Cards this year. It was a casualty of everybody being icky sick. Sorry.

More Anon. Got to work on the new book.

All the best,

Burt

ps: reach out to thinkfast@mindspring.com if you want more info on the ad & sponsorship opportunities.