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Story by Brian West Photo courtesy of Johnny Knotts
From Fan to Official
JOHNNY KNOTTS IS LIVING A DREAM AS AN IMSA OFFICIAL back to Sebring every year since.
Knotts became really interested in Porsche after attending the 24 Hours of Daytona. Knotts said, “I remember seeing all the big V-8s looking like they had been beat up for the past 20 hours, but all these little Porsche 911s weren’t missing a beat. That Johnny Knotts has been given the opportunity of a lifetime to be a pit official for the IMSA. got me, and He is pictured here with his daughters, Lexi and Marlee and Roger Penske’s Porsche. I’ve been s a young boy, Johnny Knotts Hours of Sebring at the Sebring a Porsche fan and owner since.” grew up playing organized Raceway. Knotts said he rememAnd the more Knotts learned football and basketball. But over bers coming back from the race about racing, the more of a fan the years, he developed an interest and telling his mother, “You just he became of Porsche. In 2001, in sports cars. His first sports car cannot believe how beautiful these Katrina, Knotts wife, got him was a Datson 280ZX. In 1987, a cars are.” Knotts was hooked on a ticket for Christmas to attend friend invited Knotts to see the 24 cars and racing, and he’s been the Porsche Driving Experience;
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a high-speed driving school in Atlanta, GA. Hurley Haywood was one of the instructors. Haywood has been a driver for Porsche for years. He was a five-time winner at the 24 Hours of Daytona, three-time winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and three-time winner at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Knotts learned some of the fundamentals of driving a race car like threshold braking and heel-toe shifting, and said it was the experience of a lifetime. Last year, Katrina, a dental hygienist, was working with a patient who mentioned he was looking for a couple of pit officials. One thing led to another, and now Knotts is a pit official for the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) and he’s traveling the country, rubbing shoulders with the likes of racing legend Roger Penske. The opportunity is almost overwhelming for Knotts. He’s incredibly thankful, understanding what it’s like to be a fan, wanting to as close as possible and directly involved. He’s probably more of a fan now than he’s ever been.
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FOCUS PLANT CITY EDITION • August 15 • 2006 - September 15 • 2006 PG 20