Special feature
Grand-Am
Racers with ‘hearts’
Ellis Goodwin
Edited: Jul 2, 2012, 4:52 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Texas based Godstone Ranch Motorsports is sole IRS approved non-profit race team
Motorsport is a pulse racing, blood pumping, and sometimes heart stopping sport, and one Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series team is utilizing the sport to raise heart health awareness.
Godstone Ranch Motorsports in conjunction with Risi Competizione and the American Heart Association will race a Ferrari 458 GT Grand Am in the Rolex series as the only IRS approved Texas 501(c)(iii) non-profit racing team in the country.
All of the money we raise, aside from the cost of putting the car on the track, goes to our charity.
John McCutchen II
The team unveiled their "Heart" car Saturday at the Formula Expo in Austin, Texas.
Godstone Ranch Motorsports plan to participate in at least one race in 2012 and could race a full season in 2013.
"All of the money we raise, aside from the cost of putting the car on the track, goes to our charity," Pro-Am racing driver and marketing executive John McCutchen II said.
Risi Competizione and Ferrari of Houston got involved because they felt McCutchen’s idea was unique and could fit Risi and Ferrari’s system.
“I think it’s an extremely innovative idea and will prove to be successful,” said Don Pierce, Operations director of Risi Competizione, Ferrari of Houston and Ferrari of Austin. “They’ll do a race this year as a proof of concept, with the idea to race a full season in 2013.”
The concept was well received by Giuseppe Risi, Owner of the race team and Ferrari of Houston, when McCutchen brought him the idea, Pierce said. The project has been in development, and it could be just a couple short months before the “Heart” goes racing.
Godstone Ranch Motorsports drivers John McCutchen II and Davy Jones
Photo by: Ellis Goodwin
McCutchen founded Godstone Ranch Motorsports in 2010 with his wife Karen Garret. Their goal was to utilize motorsports to promote causes that are geared toward the betterment of society. They chose the Rolex Grand-Am racing program as their marketing platform because it has NASCAR backing, great racing and a great TV audience. In that equation McCutchen saw a form of advertising that delivered maximum viewership for the best value.
"[Advertising] is very expensive," McCutchen said. "We are often on the screen for minutes at a time. Grand-Am makes sure to show us on TV whether our pit is on fire or not. We do a lot of public appearances. We'll do anything to help the American Heart Association."
Godstone Ranch Motorsport's professional driver is 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans and 1990 Daytona 24 Hour winner Davy Jones. Jones also said he should have won the 1996 Indianapolis 500, but finished second behind Buddy Lazier.
Jones joined Godstone Ranch Motorsports in 2010, but this year will be special.
“In all the racing that I’ve done through my career, you know I’ve raced for some of the best teams in the world,” Jones said. “But I have yet to race for Ferrari. I’ve won Le Mans with Porsche and Daytona with Jaguar…but it’s good to say I drive for Ferrari.”
The blood red Ferrari 458 that Godstone Ranch Motorsports and Risi Competizione will campaign can run up front, which would help secure the necessary funds for 2013, Pierce and McCutchen said.
“We love the car. It’s an incredibly forgiving car,” McCutchen said. “I can’t wait to race it.”
Pierce said the team would not race until after the Brickyard Grand Prix July 27.
“That event is a one day event, and the goal is to have a full weekend in the car.”
The team has not yet decided which event it will debut at.
Derrari F1-2000 and Ferrari 458 Italia GT Grand Am on display at the 2012 Formula Expo
Photo by: Ellis Goodwin
The car is a carryover from Risi Competizione’s debut at the 2012 Daytona 24 Hour.
The No.63 Ferrari finished fifth on its first race outing, which was looked at as a success, Pierce said. He believes the 24-hour race allowed the team to build up important knowledge and experience in the Rolex series.
Risi Competizione decided not to race in the American Le Mans Series in 2012 in order to restructure its racing program, which opened the door for Godstone Ranch Motorsports and its Grand-Am program, Pierce said.
Ferrari fans, check out our new sister site FerrariCircuit.com
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Mike Hedlund joins ESM's Van Overbeek and Cosmo for Six Hours of The Glen
Next article Bob Stallings Racing heads to The Glen still looking for 2012 season turnaround
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Buddy Lazier
Seven former winners headline 101st Indianapolis 500 entry list
IndyCar
IndyCar
Indy 500
Seven former winners headline 101st Indianapolis 500 entry list
Indy 500 entry list completed with 33 cars
IndyCar
IndyCar
Indy 500
Indy 500 entry list completed with 33 cars
20 years on, Lazier still has the passion for Indy
IndyCar
IndyCar
Indy 500
20 years on, Lazier still has the passion for Indy
More from
Risi Competizione
Risi Competizione ready for return to Rolex 24 after one-year hiatus
IMSA
IMSA
Rolex 24 Hours
Risi Competizione ready for return to Rolex 24 after one-year hiatus
BMW, Ferrari fined and docked GTD Pro, GTD Manufacturers’ points
IMSA
IMSA
Daytona 24 Hours
BMW, Ferrari fined and docked GTD Pro, GTD Manufacturers’ points
Casagrande joins Risi Ferrari line-up for Sebring 12 Hours
IMSA
IMSA
Sebring 12 Hours
Casagrande joins Risi Ferrari line-up for Sebring 12 Hours
Latest news
When Can-Am made its controversial comeback
General
When Can-Am made its controversial comeback
Yamaha boss on MotoGP changes under Liberty: 'We must be careful not to lose our fans'
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Japanese GP
2 h
Yamaha boss on MotoGP changes under Liberty: 'We must be careful not to lose our fans'
Kyle Busch remembered: Rowdy’s most notable Phoenix moments
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
3 h
Kyle Busch remembered: Rowdy’s most notable Phoenix moments
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe