As Agent 47 builds its NASA involvement, Andy Bowman has been one of the company's most loyal customers. Based near Agent 47's headquarters in Southern California, Andy worked his way through full American Iron seasons for three years.
Andy's black SN-95 Cobra is a fixture at West Coast AI contests, and while the IRS car and his relative lack of experience caused the usual mid-year malaise, the combination has gelled recently.
"This year, I'm driving solely for Agent 47 as a test and race driver. Corey Webber and I have briefly discussed the national event. If he needs me to race at the Nationals, I most likely will. My car is fully prepared with the Agent 47 SLA suspension systems, 'cage and chassis setup, and it has been winning races and breaking track records. The car is working so well now-it's almost too easy.
If we're lucky enough to see Andy at the Nationals, he will be a newly confident racer stepping up to nationwide competition.
"We're certainly going," said last year's AI runner-up Robin Burnett when asked if he would return to Mid-Ohio this fall. The perpetual front-runner in the Ohio-Indiana region enjoys home-track advantage at the Nationals and has been adding new tracks to his bag of experience this year. Why? After winning the NASA regional championship back-to-back, "this year is all about having fun." Thus, he's forgoing the regional championship and traveling to Road Atlanta, Watkins Glen, and Road America for some variety instead.
Robin still wants to climb one step higher on the Nationals podium this year. He'll be using the same '05 GT with a Steeda suspension. He has been a Steeda man since he raced American Sedan in the SCCA. "We try to run as a flagship Steeda car, so there's nothing too outrageous, nothing too fabricated. It's just a catalog car that anyone could build." The stiff S197 chassis helps here, as the rigid new chassis requires the least race prep to be competitive.
This year, however, the prep will include tightening the front sway-bar end links. Last year, one unthreaded while Robin lead the championship race, quickly moving him to second before a merciful finish under a yellow flag.
Finally, Robin may need to freshen his Three-Valve engine. Normally it dynos at 355 hp in the almost 3,400-pound car, but lately it's been posting 340 hp. Robin runs 15 pounds of lead ballast and extra fuel, so he can remove some weight or dive underhood to regain the power.
Last year's Southeast AI regional champion Chris DeSalvo had a good run at the '07 Nationals. "It went well. I finished 5th after starting 23rd. We're shooting for the top three this year."
Don't get him wrong: Chris would love to win all the marbles. "Sure, I'd love to win it all, but getting on the podium is more realistic."
Helping gain such a realistic result is a series of detail improvements to Chris' '04 racer. A body-in-white car originally built by Rehagen Racing for Grand Am, its pro-level equipment and workmanship makes Chris proud. He was quite happy to buy the car when Rehagen replaced it as part of its normal maintenance schedule. It employs a Sean Hyland Four-Valve modular, bored to 5.0 liters. He says the engine makes 400 hp easily, but it's detuned to 340 hp to match the chassis's weight. He also reports the engine is "peaky as can be. There's no power below 4,200, but from 4,200 to 6,800, everything is all out."