Jay Leno and Carrera GT at Talledega

[kevfla]

From the Birmingham, Alabama paper:

Leno sets speed mark in Porsche at Talladega
Friday, September 02, 2005
MIKE BOLTON
News staff write

TALLADEGA - You knew Jay Leno was quick with a quip.

Thursday, the "Tonight Show" host set three world speed records for
production cars at Talladega Superspeedway, but not before giving
Porsche officials and himself quite a scare.

Leno, an avid car enthusiast, drove a stock Porsche Carrera GT to a
speed of 156.603 to establish the world record for the fastest lap ever
run from a standing start on a closed course by a production vehicle. He
also set records for the fastest mile (128.14) and fastest kilometer
(110.478) for a production car from a standing start.

The records runs were sanctioned by the Grand American Racing Series.

Two hours prior to the record runs, Leno was testing at speed when he
lost control in the speedway's tri-oval. Leno had just passed the timing
light at more than 182 mph when he drifted high in the tri-oval and got
caught up in debris near the wall.

The 605-horsepower, $450,000 vehicle spun five times on Talladega's
front stretch but never hit the wall. The car suffered only minor damage
after hitting a cone located in the grass in the tri-oval. Leno was
wearing a helmet and seat belts, but the car had no roll cage.

A shaken Leno managed to laugh off the incident.

"NBC thinks I'm at the go-kart track in Malibu," he quipped.

Asked if 182 mph was the fastest that he had ever been in a car, Leno
managed a laugh. "No, he said, "but that's definitely the fastest I've
ever been backwards."

Leno, who has a collection of 85 antique automobiles and race cars,
loves to go fast. He has driven a jet car 278 mph on the dry lake bed at
El Mirage, Calif., and once drove a pre-production race car more than
200 mph in Spain. He has also driven the pace car at the Indy 500 and
Daytona 500.

Danny Donahue, the son of the late Mark Donahue, also set three world
records Thursday. He did so on the track where his father set the world
speed record of 221.160 for a closed course in 1975. Donahue died 10
days later after that record run in a crash in Australia.

Driving the same car as Leno, Donahue set records for the fastest lap
ever in a production vehicle in a flying start (195.145) and records for
the mile (198.971) and kilometer (195.755) in the same category.

Leno said the car, provided by Porsche but identical to the one he owns,
was a little nerve-racking at such speeds.

"It was a little scary, actually very scary," Leno said. "Only an idiot
wouldn't be a little afraid out there.

"I'm used to driving on the streets so it's amazing to me how at these
speeds a quarter-pound or half-pound of tire pressure can make such a
difference. You can run over a dime on this track and tell if it's heads
or tails."

Leno received instructions and driving tips from Porsche officials and
Donahue much of the morning before making the record runs in the
afternoons.

"Danny tells me this morning to stay off the painted stripes in turns
one and two because its turns are in the shade and there's still some
dew on them," he said. "How would I know something like that? All I know
how to do when I'm driving is to look out for black ice."

Leno arrived in Alabama late Wednesday and took a few quick laps around
Barber Motorsports Park in a Porsche before visiting the Barber Vintage
Museum.

"I believe it's the greatest museum in the United States," Leno said.
"The focus is on the machinery and not anything else. I think every
motor sports fan in the U.S. needs to come see it. Most museums I've
been to are an ego thing to the owner but this one is all about the
vehicles. It was nice, relaxing, fun place to go."

C 2005 The Birmingham News
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