One can find Junior's car and transporter in the pits because of the mob. The Corvette transporters are parked side by side, surrounded by three-foot metal barriers.There are members of the local constabulary, on both sides of the barrier, and outside the transporter door. Outside the 'fence', the general public lined up in a queue for the driver autograph session, which snaked across the paddock and down towards the track.
The Sonoma County Sheriff has off-duty deputies following his every step, and once qualifying was over and he wasn't required for the podium conference, the Sheriff's car drove inside the barriers, escorted him to the car and off they went. If one didn't know the drill, it would have appeared that he had been arrested and was on his way to booking.
Before he left, Earnhardt said "The car is real fast and I'm comfortable in the car. Corvette has done a lot of testing. They deserve it because there is a lot of hard work behind it. I am very fortunate just to be able to climb right in and go so fast. You know, I don't do this every weekend and to be here is a big honour for me to race against such a great group of competitors. I am just trying to earn respect and pay my dues out there and take my time and work my way up."
The LMP1 field was shortened by one car Friday afternoon after the test session, with the withdrawal of the Intersport Racing Lola B260 Judd by team owner, Jon Field. He was fourth in class and overall Friday, but said there had been handling problems for the past couple of races. A mishap in the pits this weekend brought out the potential cause. The right side of the car collapsed while up on jacks in pit lane and the jack came through the side of the car. That dated back to the crash here at Infineon last year, and now the team knows what the problem is. That's the good news.
The bad news is that the repairs will keep the team from racing this car this weekend and next week in Portland - at least with this car. Field is considering bringing out his old Riley & Scott for the PIR race.
![#38 Champion Audi on the pole [Pic credit: ALMS / Dan Boyd]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/101409.jpg)
