Samurai
Name Michael Stancel
Date of Birth 24 August, 1972
Birthplace Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
Current Residence Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
GTRC Team None (presently retired from OLR)
GTRC Number 4

Career Overview
Much of Samurai's history in OLR could be summed up by the phrase, "always the bridesmaid, but never the bride." From his humble beginnings with Mystergrym, he was just in it for fun, and he quickly learned to his own dismay he was by no means the best racer out there - notoriety was always JUST out of reach until a surprise 3rd place finish on a race at Autumn Ring Mini driving a grym-hybrid Subaru Impreza Wagon finally gave him reason to cheer; it also marked the premiere of his now famous "legion of screaming fans" who promptly rushed the stage, chasing off the 1st and 2nd place drivers. Not long afterwards, a strong 2nd place finish in the GTXR-3 "warm up" race driving a grym-built Calsonic Skyline set the stage for one of OLR's most memorable moments the next week.

In a race that had ironically been renamed after his then-recently-deceased grandmother (The Dixie Memorial Race) located on the streets of Rome, Samurai("Sammy" to his friends) finally shed his "loveable loser" title and passed into the pages of OLR history, capturing his 1st and, to date, still his only win, not only triggering the expected stampede of his fans, but igniting one of the most riotous victory celebrations in OLR history... at least that's what the first three S.W.A.T. teams said...

Despite capturing 2 consecutive GTBN "True Grit" awards, Samurai eventually retired from OLR after hosting Spot Race 30, seemingly worn out from his own self-pity and frustration over not being able to win another race, though he has vowed to re-evaluate this position shortly after what he has termed "The 4th Coming."

One of GTBN's most outspoken proponents of "grip" style driving, Samurai heavily prefers FF-drivetrain cars, and rarely passes up a chance to make jokes about sabotaging the compeition's cars.