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Tony a2z discovers why driving shoes are important.

if you ask Tony a2z what his favored race was, usually results in the same response: The Winter, 1970 24 Hours of Daytona.

Tony's route to that 1970 race started out with the SCCA driving school at the former Marlboro race course in Maryland. Over the next several years, Tony fine-tuned his regional race triumphs straight into a chance to race with Bob Tullius Group 44 team in '66. Adamowicz would immediately make his mark and make history at the same time, sharing the over Two. liter class win with Tullius inside a Dodge Dart within the very initial Trans-Am race ever held at Sebring. Tony says That was a big break. It marked a massive chance for him being a young driver. Once tony a-z adamowicz had gotten an idea of Trans-Am racing, tony a-z adamowicz believed, that his career was going somewhere. Tony 'a2z' Adamowicz Said that SCCA national race is excellent, but it wasn't actually proceeding anywhere for him.

That Year, Tony 'a2z' Adamowicz & Tullis would set milestones by winning the Trans-Am and the 12hr Marlboro, getting 1st place and becomming the first to win that race in a U.S. car. However Chrysler wasn't committed to Trans-Am , so Tullius wouldn't otherwise discover the funding needed to return to the series. Tony would've been hung out to dry if he didn't get a fatefull call from Marvin Davidson. A Wall Street investment banker, Davidson knew Tony and thought he'd be perfect for his Trans-Am project tony a-z adamowicz was organizing. Marvin was planning on running Alfa Romeros, but sought Adamowicz's opinion.. Do you want to win? asked Adamowicz, go with Porsche. The orange number seven Porsche 911 would go on to dominate the 1968 beneath Two. liter class in Trans-Am, getting the manufacturers win.

Marvin looked to take advantage of Tony's good results in Trans-Am and move the group on the next grade. "I could see that Formulation 5000 was also leading into the big time," says Adamowicz, who believed the open wheel series was his next logical step. Tony felt that he could get recognition in open wheel if he could do well... and survive. What Tony didn't realize was that a 2-litre 911 was much less trouble to manage than a 5-litre bathtub on wheels.

Tony admints that it was a mistake to underestimate the Eagle mkV. It was a 5 Liter bathtub on wheels, compared to the spritely Porsche 911; it was not an easy transition. So, Marvin brought in Carroll Smith to help and lead the team.
Tony and his crew was able to take the 1969 championship by one point! Despite earlier challenges, they had also won two previous races. Without Smith, Tony would never have won the championship in 1969.

Now, Tony was boasting two wins and it seemed like he was flying up the race circuit. But fate would throw a different hand at Adamowicz. Marvin decided to bow out of the game; and again, it seemed Tony was left holding a dead hand. Tony quickly decided to foster a relationship with Chinetti. Since Marvin was out of the racing game, Chinetti got an idea to get a Ferrari from Davidson and put a champ behind its wheel for the 70 24 Hour Daytona.

The chance will be substantial for Adamowicz on many levels. Tony was a lifetime Ferrari fan and saw this as an opportunity to step into the world of endurance racing. He could hardly believe that he was going to be in command of a car that could actually win an endurance race; let alone a Ferrari. The sound of the 312P was like music to Adamowicz's ears. At ten-thousand rpms, the 312P was operatic; the fat lady was definately singing! The handling, braking and engine combined to make the prototype feel like an F1 car with a body on it.

Veteran Porsche and Ferrari racer David Piper was on the team. a2z was very happy to be paired up with him. Sam Pose and Michael Parkes used a bubble top on their 312P because of their height.

As the endurance event progressed, both 312Ps had been running well until the vehicle driven by Parkes hit the wall. While Parkes pulled in to have the damaged radiator replaced, the Adamowicz/Piper vehicle took a significant lead. "I was thinking this was too easy, when suddenly the race became an unbelievable chain of events, a2z says.

After a while, the pavement started rotting, exposing the bed of coral that lay underneath. The Ferrari's coolant system was being struck by these jagged pieces of road-rot, finally punching a hole and allowing the water to spill out. Tony knew he was in trouble when he saw the temp gauge start to rise, so he made a bee-line for his pit-crew. "I came in saying 'Aqua, aqua!" exclaims Adamowicz. Carroll Smith, whose services had been retained for Adamowicz at the Daylona race, approached the Ferrari and leaned into the cockpit. Smith told Tony a2z to run the car without cooland, because Parkes had the only spare unit. To which, Tony replied, 'that's not good, that's not going to work'.

Instructed to bring the RPMs up to no higher than 9600, Tony kept watching the oil temp gauge Remarkably, the Ferrari was able to maintain second place with no liquid in the engine just behind the Posey/Parkes car that was back in the contest.
Later in the race, Running down the backstretch, Adamowicz's motor started to smoke. Convinced the engine had finally blown up, Adamowicz coasted into the pits and mechanics quickly started work on the Ferrari; tools were scattered everywhere. This time, it wasn't the water causing trouble, it was a small oil leak; Tony was a bit suprised when, after fixing it, they told him to get back into the race. "I'd always been a Ferrari enthusiast, but after that I just thought this was the greatest car in the world."
Despite running for 5.5 hours without coolant, the Ferrari brought in 632 laps and got 2nd place in the Prototype class and 5th place, overall. Their teammates, in basically the same car, but with water, got 1st in Prototype.
When asked why the 1970 Daytona 24 Hour race is his favorite, Tony a2z asks, "How can you top five and a half hours?". Driving a 911 is great and winning the championship is great, but it doesn't put you on the same level as the Europeans, racing in a significant car like the Ferrari 312E". Adamowiczs career came full circle recently when he was reunited with his 1969 championship-winning Formula 5000 Eagle on the vintage car racing circuit. Adamowizc repeated history when he won the 2009 F5000 vintage campionship in the very same car, the Gurney Eagle, that he won in 40 years ago. Currently, the car is owned by Doug Magnon and the Riverside Automobile Museum.
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Adamowicz is super busy with his startup company a2z Racer Gear , which sports a new line of racing inspired apparel. "We initially started out with the Steve McQueen Le Mans-type jackets." Tony a2z says. "We got hooked up with Carroll Shelby and we're doing Cobra Team Shelby Jackets and other apparel. We're also involved with designing unique high quality driving shoes, building a whole new fashion line of shoes depicting some of the late 60s into the 70s era of world racing."
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1970 Daytona, Florida: Tony a2z

should you ask Tony a2z what his fave race was, usually results in the same response: The January 30-31, 1970 24 Hrs of Daytona.



Adamowicz's route to that 1970 race started with the SCCA driving school on the previous Marlboro race course in Maryland. with Bob Tullius Group 44 team in 1966. Adamowicz would immediately make his mark and make history on the same time, sharing the more than 2. liter class win with Tullius in a Dodge Dart in the very 1st Trans-Am race ever held at Sebring. Adamowicz says That was a massive break. It marked a massive opportunity for him as a young racer. Once he had a taste of Trans-Am racing, he thought, that he was going somewhere. He Said that SCCA national race is good, but it wasn't actually proceeding anywhere for him.



Adamowicz and Tullius would go on to win a second time in Trans-Am that year, getting the 12 hour Marlboro, Maryland win, this time finishing first overall and establishing yet another milestone by becoming the first to win that race in an American car. However Chrysler wasn't committed to Trans-Am racing, so Tullius wouldn't otherwise discover the funding essential to return for the series. Tony would've been hung out to dry if he didn't get a fatefull call from Marvin Davidson. Marvin was a Wall Street banker and knew Tony and thought he'd be perfect for his Trans-Am project he was organizing. Tony and Davidson talked about running Alfa Romeros. Tony said, if you want to win go with Porsche. The orange No. seven Porsche 911 would go on to dominate the 1968 beneath 2. liter class in Trans-Am, getting the manufacturers win.



Marvin wanted to take advantage of Tony's accomplishment in Trans-Am and go the group to the following degree. "I could see that Formula 5000 was also heading to the big time," states Adamowicz, who believed the open wheel series was his next logical step. Tony felt that he could get recognition in open wheel if he could do well... and survive. "Little did I know that this was a quite considerable work as far as performance in contrast to what I was utilized to using the 2.-liter Porsche."



In fact, Adamowicz initially struggled to come to grips driving the fire breathing 5.-liter motor mounted within the lightweight Eagle MkV chassis. "It was a rude awakening," admits Adamowicz. Davidson took it upon himself to bring in previous racer and engineer Carroll Smith to manage and mentor the team.

Tony and his crew was able to take the 1969 championship by one point! Despite earlier challenges, they had also won two previous races. Without Smith, Tony would in no way have won the championship in 1969.



With back-to-back championships in two several series beneath his belt, the future seemed bright for Tony a2z, but 'the race' can sometimes be an unsteady house of cards. Marvin decided to bow out of the game; and again, it seemed Tony was left holding a dead hand. Since Davidson made the decision not to continue to support a race team, he leveraged a relationship he got with Ferraris Luigi Chinetti to assist Adamowicz in getting a ride for that 1970 Daytona 24 Hour. "Marvin Davidson bought some Ferraris and he talked to Chinetti, who Chinetti believed it would be good to have a champion in the car at Daytona," explains Adamowicz.



The opportunity would be substantial for Adamowicz on a variety of levels. "Here I was I'd been a Ferrari fan all my life, since I was seven years old, and now I'm in a vehicle that was a world endurance vehicle capable of winning the race, but the Daytona effort was also my intro into world endurance racing." Adamowicz was part of a two-car Ferrari Prototype class work employing the stunning 312P in the coupe configuration. "I had never been in a Formula 1 vehicle, but this was a Formula 1 car with a body on it", declares Adamowicz. "You could run it to 10,500-11,000rpm and it would just sing. The handling and braking and everything else was unbelievable."



Veteran Porsche and Ferrari racer David Piper was on the team. a2z was very happy to be paired up with him. Sam Pose and Michael Parkes used a bubble top on their 312P because of their height.



Through much of the race, both Ferraris performed excellently. Right up until Parks hit a wall and damaged the radiator. He pulled in to get it fixed while the Piper/Adamowicz car made impressive strides, to a formidable lead. Then, the race began to unravel.



After a while, the pavement started rotting, revealing the rought surface below it. The Ferrari's coolant system was being struck by these jagged pieces of road-rot, which poked a hole in the radiator and liquid began spraying out. With the engine temperature soaring, Adamowicz dove for the pits. "I came in saying 'Aqua, aqua!" exclaims a2z. Carroll Smith, whose services had been retained for Adamowicz at the Daylona race, came over and leaned into the cockpit. Smith told Tony a2z to run the car without cooland, because Parkes had the only spare unit. Tony told him that that wasn't going to work.



They told Tony a2z not to take the Ferarri over 9500rpm and to watch the oil temp Incredibly, the Ferrari was able to maintain second place with no coolant in the engine behind the Posey/Parkes car that had returned to the race.

Later in the race, Running down the backstretch, Adamowicz's motor was starting to blow smoke. Adamowicz coasted into the pits and mechanics quickly started work on the Ferrari; tools were scattered everywhere. This time, it wasn't the radiator causing trouble, it was a small oil leak; Tony was a bit suprised when, after fixing it, they told him to get back into the race. "I have always been a Ferrari enthusiast, but after that I just thought this was the greatest car in the world."

The Adamowicz/Piper Ferrari ran five and a half hours without water, completing 632 laps and finishing second to their teammates in the Prototype class and a fine fifth overall.

Because of this, a2z gives this feat as the sole reason for this particular race being his favorite. Tony a2z asks, "How can you top five and a half hours?". Driving a 911 is great and winning the championship is great, but it doesn't put you on the same level as the Europeans, racing in a significant car like the Ferrari 312E". a2z's career came full circle recently when he was reunited with his 1969 championship-winning F5000 Eagle on the vintage car racing circuit. Tony a2z won the 2009 Formula 5000 vintage championship with the Eagle, a feat he accomplished in the very same car fourty years earlier. the Eagle is now owned by the Riverside Auto Museum and Doug Magnon..