Xero, Jen, and the Panoz DP-01

This commission is a bit off the norm. Rather than commission Limey for this one, I went to someone who has experience drawing cars. This peice of work has been drawn Chris Hazelton, creator of the webcomic "Misfile." [link]

I gave Chris a choice between using the Lola that is retiring from service at the end of this year, or the new Panoz, which he chose to use.


Background:

Though Xero's desire to race ultimately landed him in NASCAR, he'd always held a soft spot for open-wheel racing. So after accumulating a noteworthy amount of moeny, he decided to take a stab at the one race he'd always wanted to run above all else: The Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland.

His team was made up entirely of members of his family. They trained hard and got Xero qualified for the race. Unfortunately, Xero retired from it with a blown engine.

Xero skipped a NASCAR Nextel Cup race for this event, and the points margin between him and championship winner Mark Martin that year was so clsoe that the decision to race in Cleveland may have cost him the NASCAR championship.

Still, Xero pressed on with his racing at Cleveland. After his ejection from NASCAR the following season, Xero took more time preparing for Cleveland that year, and it paid off: A podium finish(for 3rd plaace) was a remarkable jump from his lackluster performance the previous year.

Shrotly after, Xero moved to Japan to open his new automotive garage. But still, he pressed on. His flew home to race in Cleveland, where he again finished in third place. However, it was found out afterwards the tub of his racecar had been cracked the entire race. Had he been in a crash, it could have been severe. The Lola racecar that had served Xero in all three of his Grand Prix starts was now a useless hulk of carbon-fiber.

But its timing couldn't ahve been better. With the new Panoz DP-01 entering service, Xero sees hope for finally winning his hometown race. The cheapness of the chassis allwoed him to buy two - one which his family-turned-pit crew practice on, and one which he uses for practice in preparation for the race.

Xero has received offers to race for teams such as Newman-Haas Racing, Forsythe Championship Racing, and even RuSPORT. He has turned down all these offers as he feels content with running races the way he is - additionally, he does not want to leave Jen working alone for the Splicing Center in Juuban.

The speed Xero has gotten from his practice runs has left him confident. The day of the Grand Prix of Cleveland is fast approaching.

Maybe, just maybe, 2007 will be HIS year.