Brandon Davis is scheduled to begin his sophomore year at the University of Denver early next month, and he has spent the past week looking for an apartment near campus.
Saturday, at the Grand Prix of Denver, he’ll look for a good finish in the SCCA Speed World Challenge Touring Car race to solidify himself as the circuit’s top rookie.
“I was looking for an apartment two days ago, and now I have to focus on the race,” said Davis, 19, a native of Huntington Beach, Calif., who has been competing in touring cars for three years. “We have a lot of friends coming to this one and we’re enjoying the ride so far. We’ll just try to pull out the best finish we can.”
The SCCA is one of three support circuits that will make up five races Saturday and Sunday.
The other series include the Toyota Atlantic Championship, the primary feeder series to the Champ Car World Series; and fellow Champ Car-owned Trans-Am Tour. The Formula BMW USA Championship also is on the card.
Cody’s cause
Disabled teenager Cody Unser, daughter of 1990 and 1994 Champ Car champion Al Unser Jr., will be the honorary starter for Sunday’s Atlantic race. Cody’s brother Al – aka Just Al – is scheduled to compete.
Cody, 18, suffers from transverse myelitis and his been paralyzed since age 12. She hopes to create awareness at the Grand Prix for the Cody Unser First Step Foundation (www.codysfirststep.org).
Cody’s mother, Shelley Unser, said her daughter broke her leg Friday by wrestling on the couch with a friend.
“You lose bone density when you’re paralyzed, and the weight of her friend just snapped her bone in half,” Shelley said. “She had surgery and they put a rod down her hip and leg. The first thing she said to the doctor was, ‘Can I still attend the Grand Prix?’ She got permission and we’re coming (today).
“She’s such a trouper.”
Cody is preparing for college at the University of Southern California.
Footnotes
What happens if it rains during Sunday’s Champ Car race?
“We typically run in the rain, unless it becomes dramatically dangerous,” race general manger Jim Freudenberg said. “Lightning would stop it for a bit, but we definitely run in the rain, and we have three sump pump trucks on site, so if there are delays, they don’t last long.” …
Fort Collins native Dave Reuter is the outside rear-tire changer and front-end mechanic for defending Grand Prix winner and series champion Sebastien Bourdais. Reuter, 33, interviewed with Newman/Haas Racing in 2000 and landed his job at the beginning of the 2001 season – despite zero experience in auto racing. He came from a motocross background.
“It’s been a great opportunity to work with people who have a great deal of experience with auto racing, which I never had,” said Reuter, who has a mohawk haircut.
