Danny All Smiles After Kansas City

It's funny the difference a week can make. Danny was all smiles as he climbed from his Johnny Davis Motorsports Chevy after the Kansas Lottery 300. "You may remember we finished 26th last week and it was 26th again this week but the difference was we were very competitive this week" said Danny. "We could run with some very good cars and except for being caught in the pits when the yellow came out we would have finished a lap or two higher. It was an excellent run for our team and makes the crew anxious to get to Charlotte because we will use the same car."

At Charlotte Danny's car will have some sponsorship help from Shred 360, a document shredding company from South Carolina. Also, the Ruff & Tuff golf cart Campfire Tour will continue. On the night before the race Danny will be wandering around the campsites meeting race fans. Danny said it was really cool meeting the fans at Dover.

Danny, Johnny Davis, and Lori Morgan were really proud to have the Hot Lap Sticker on the car at Kansas. Each week TheHotLap.com forum votes a driver to carry the sticker and it is a real honor to receive it.

This is the time of year when Danny and JDM are eagerly hunting sponsorship. Danny said, "You know as a team we are beginning to gel and if JDM and I could get a little help, I feel we could really step up the program. We have a lot to offer and now is the time!"

See You At The Races!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!

That just about sums up Danny's weekend on the 'Monster Mile' at Dover.

Good: The 26th place finish was his best yet in the NASCAR Nationwide Series!

Bad: Danny and the crew missed the set up so the car did not handle as well as was expected.

Ugly: With only a few laps to go the track bar mount broke, forcing the car out of the race.
(This could have accounted for why the car did not respond to changes during the race.)

" Things will get better this next week in Kansas." said Danny "We'll use a different car at Kansas and one I really like. I haven't been to this track before and I'm really looking forward to it."

Meanwhile, the Johnny Davis Motorsports team will disassemble the Dover car to see if they can fix what was wrong with it.

See you at the races!

DANNY EFLAND CAMPFIRE TOUR

Danny Efland announced this week that he will begin a new program the night before each of the remaining 2008 Nationwide races. Danny said "It's the fans that make it possible for me to race which is and has been my life long goal. I have decided to wander out among the fan's campsites the night before the race to meet with them and show my appreciation. Ruff & Tuff Electric Vehicles has furnished me with a golf cart for this venture. I know that I will not get to meet a whole lot of folks - but we will see how it goes. Dover will be a learning experience for this program"

Danny will return to the track this Saturday in the Johnny Davis Motorsports Nationwide Chevy. Last year, Dover was supposed to be Danny's first full race but the "Monster" struck in the form of a cut tire on lap 48 and subsequent hard trip into the turn 4 wall! The return to the 'Monster Mile' this year is a chance to settle the score.

The JDM Chevy has had some good finishes recently and everyone is looking forward to the weekend.

See you at the races!

Richmond and the COT

Danny Efland and the crew were back on the 3/4 mile Richmond Virginia track on Monday and Tuesday testing the new Nationwide Car of Tomorrow (COT).

After qualifying was rained out last Friday, the field was set by points for the rain delayed race on Sunday night. "My car was very loose off the turns," commented Danny " but the crew was working with me when we developed a bad oil leak. A trip to the garage did not solve the problem and the car was still smoking when we tried to return to the track. I was very disappointed to drop out of the race after several good weeks for the JDM team."

"We rushed back to the shop Friday night after the rain out to put the finishing touches on the COT." said Danny, " It was loaded up by Saturday night and we brought it back to Richmond with us."

"After the press introductions on Monday morning we went to work on final set up and finally got the car on the track in the early afternoon. Morgan Shepard, a driver I really respect (he probably has about 300 years experience compared to me) did the early testing on the JDM car. Morgan’s last run put the car right into competitive times with the big teams and then it became my turn."

Danny said " On used tires I ran the car faster than I had run my Nationwide car all weekend and was within one tenth of a second of Morgan’s time, all in only 6 laps."

"Today (Tuesday) I will be in the car all morning. I can’t wait!! The car is one of the best handling cars I’ve driven and does exactly what I expect. Johnny Davis Motorsports built this car in-house using an Orteck frame and should be proud!"

The team has the weekend off from racing to prepare for the next Nationwide race at Dover.

See you at the races!

NASCAR Nationwide Series Car of Tomorrow

Johnny Davis Motorsport's new Car of Tomorrow is scheduled for it's first test on Monday and Tuesday (Sept. 8 & 9, 2008) on the Richmond track after this weeks Nationwide race.

Danny Efland, the team's regular driver will share time with a couple of other more experienced drivers in shaking the car down.

Although some of the bigger teams have already privately tested their COTs, this will be the first NASCAR sanctioned test.

It is believed that the JDM Chevy will be the first attempt by one of the smaller independent teams to get a jump on the future with a COT. The COT may be used as early as the middle of the 2009 season on a limited basis but is expected to be required for 2010.