FerrariChat.com Interview #1: 2014 Daytona 24 - Jason Hart GTD #73

Name: Jason Hart

Team: Park Place Motorsports

Park Place Motorsports l Porsche Racing Support, Service & PerformancePark Place Motorsports

Car: Porsche 911 GT America GTD #73

Website: Jason Hart Racing

Bio: Currently a IMSA Tudor Championship competitor in GTD, Jason is also a series accredited driver coach. He has been a professional instructor and racer dating back to 1995. His racing roots extend to his childhood where his parents owned a Porsche racing business in Northern California. Over the years his experience working with top tier racing schools and automotive manufactures helped him to develop a comprehensive knowledge of vehicle dynamics. His diverse driving background includes wins in Sports Cars, Sprint Cars and even the 2011 BAJA 1000. While located in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Jason can regularly be found at tracks and driving events around the World. Whether on site working the latest production, coaching drivers of every level or behind the wheel of a racecar, you can rest assured Jason loves what he does.

FC: Since we’re a Ferrari community important things first , what experience have you had with Ferraris, any favorite models, thoughts about Ferraris?

JH: I have raced and won in both 360 and 430 models and been on track with 348, 355, 360, 430, 458, 599. Favorite models would for sure be 512BBLM, 250GTO and 288GTO. I really like where Ferrari is going with their late model examples, they really seem to have a great street and track balance while having just enough amenities. I always like to remind Ferrari owners that their wonderful cars are best experienced at the track, it should be a crime to own a Ferrari that is not taken to the track at least once a year!

FC: What are you currently thinking about the merger between Grand Am and ALMS?

JH: IMSA has a long way to go with the merger, but I do believe they are doing their best. In 2016-ish you will see the series change again and once we get to that point I am hopeful our fan base, racers and series management are all beginning to grow together. I honestly think the idea of “World Spec” cars is a good idea and am hopeful that is the direction the classes are headed. It is good for budgets, competition, diversity and fans in my opinion.

FC: With so many drivers on a 24 team, how much do you have to compromise your personal driving style and comfort?

JH: The biggest area of compromise is seat time. When you try to break up an hour and a half practice session with 4-5 drivers it is pretty much impossible. With “in” and “out” laps for adjustments and cautions that always happen with 50-60 cars on track you end up with only a few laps for each driver. In the last 3 day test at Daytona I only did 14 timed laps…let’s be honest, with a constantly changing car and the fact that those 14 laps are done 2-3 laps at a time in heavy traffic it is hard to get dialed in as a driver. Racing at this level is very challenging. To touch on vehicle settings all racers want pretty much the same thing, a well balanced racecar that does not have too much oversteer or understeer in any one corner. Once this balance is manageable for all the drivers it is more about the fine tuning within that window…as long as the car can do a fast lap time as well, if you are balanced and not able to do a fast lap that is when gray hairs are produced.

FC: For the 24 what setup items do you compromise over a shorter race?

JH: Daytona can be a bit tricky as the infield is very low grip and the straights are so long. On the infield you want all the mechanical grip and aero aid you can dial in, but this can cost you top end speed on the oval. Usually MPH on the oval trumps grip on the infield so this means that the kink (Turn 4) is always a little hairy and gets your “all hands on deck” attention every time through. We are in 5th gear around 135mph on entry to the kink and everyone has to do a little breathe of the throttle. It is almost comical what goes through you mind and what actually happens on data…Driver: “I only lifted like 10% for 2 car lengths” Data Analysis: “you lifted 64% for 150ft”. LOL.

FC: Do most pros accept the paid gentleman drivers as necessary for team funding and everyone has to equally deal with them on track or should they force pros only?

JH: Simply said without gentleman out there we would not be no racing. In my case where I coach a lot of gentleman drivers it is great to see someone go from their first race, first win, first championship and then graduate to Pro Racing. One of my favorite parts of my job is learning from these successful businessmen and women who many of which are self-made and have great success stories off the track, fascinating to be honest. I do believe the series needs to continue their efforts to work with series sponsors, TV deals and attracting more fans so we can continue and grow to attract greater marketing partners. That said, some of the gentleman drivers are very fast as well so they keep the pros on their toes.

FC: As a driver how does it impact you that most of a team’s budget is focused and used up the first two races of the year (Daytona & Sebring)?

JH: The budget is greatly affected by how many hours the car runs, the longer it runs the more tires, consumables and drivetrain maintenance is required. Yes, it requires a lot of budget to run these races, but on the flip side the Daytona 24hr and Sebring 12hr are such large international venues that it is actually a better ROI for our marketing partners so we really don’t complain too much about the extra cost.

FC: As a GT driver would you like these supercars to be unleashed to 700-800 HP or better racing as is?

JH: Any driver will always say they want more horsepower, I am certainly in the any driver category . I believe the series is wanting the DP’s to be under or at 200mph so this is where I believe everyone’s HP starts to get adjusted. My thoughts on this subject are that the Daytona 24hr should require a restrictor for all cars to keep the MPH in check, but outside of Daytona the restrictors should come off and the DP’s should have 700-800hp and all the other classes should also move up in power. Right now a GTD car is faster on top speed (185-ish) than both the GTLM’s and PC’s…this to me will likely lead to some Hail Mary passes during the 24hr…some will work and some will not. The extra HP in the races other than the 24hr would make for more tire degradation and overall better racing in all classes, plus the acceleration would be awesome to drive as well as watch for a fan!

FC: Favorite driver of all time?

JH: I think of Tony Stewart first every time…this might make most sports car guys turn their head like a dog to a whistle, but he has accomplished a great deal in his career. Fact is he has won in just about everything and he did compete in 5 Daytona 24hrs, once with Factory Ferrari co-driver Johnny Mowlem.

FC: Favorite driver no one has heard of?

JH: Since 1995 I have worked most US racing schools and for just about every automotive manufacture in the world. Over this time I have met a lot of great drivers that for whatever reason never got the chance or the break to show how good they are. A couple of guys that if they were given the chance would likely be big names today and are drivers that I have a lot of respect for are: AJ Alsup, Tom Daily, Dan Kraus, AJ Davis, Tony Hunt, Zac Anderson, Reed Miller, Spencer Sharp, Keith Watts…there are many more for sure.
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Jason is a little busy this week, but is a user, so we might be able to get him on here a little for any follow-up questions.

 

One of these days I will hire Jason to figure out how he can do 1:18's in my car.

 

I've asked Jason to come back and give us a debrief. Any other questions? I have a couple.

Jason, appears the first stints by everyone were the fastest laps, that's expected, but the drop off for all drivers was 2-4 seconds for later stints. Was something going on with the car or was this more a result of night and targeting a finish vs. podium?

Kevin started with the fresh car, but his pace was a second over the other pros. Is there really a one second spread between your skills and Kevin or mostly just being in a fresh car and starting race? I know it would be hard to admit another pro is faster and I would think real differences between pro drivers is more tenths of a second. I have seen you in action Jason, breaking Grand Am Cup lap records in an average car vs. great pro drivers. My basic question is Kevin really that good because I know personally how scary good you are?

Was it planned from the beginning for Mike just to get a short stint?

Any other thoughts about Daytona? Running the same team Sebring?

Thanks Jason, congrats on over 100 laps at Daytona!
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