Corvette's C6.R racing program is at Le Mans all week (they qualified third and sixth) and their shooter, Richard Prince, and PR manager, Rick Voegelin, have been sending us all sorts of shots from their adventure. More photos are available after the jump.

It really is rocket science when you race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Among the 40+ men and women that make up the Corvette Racing team at Le Mans, the engineers almost outnumber the mechanics. The three DAGs (Data Acquisition Guys) pictured here are responsible for getting the inside information on the engine, drivetrain and chassis: left to right, GM Racing's Charlie Sullivan, Donny Atkins and Mike Henney. The DAGs are in constant communication with the race car via telemetry — no small feat, given the size of the immense 8.5-mile Le Mans course. A system of relay stations around the track maintains radio and telemetry communication with the cars. During pit stops, a data link dumps megabytes of data from the onboard computer to the engineers' laptops.

When qualifying for the 24 Hours of Le Mans concluded at midnight on Thursday, Corvette Racing had qualified its twin C6.R race cars third and sixth among the 12 cars that are competing in the GT1 class. No worries; qualifying is meaningless in a 24-hour race. Last year the Vettes finished first and second after qualifying third and fifth.

For racing fans raised on NASCAR's greased-lightning pit stops, watching a pit stop at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is like viewing a videotape in slow motion. It's not the skill of the teams or the length of the race that accounts for this apparently lackadaisical effort. The unique rules in effect at the 24 Hours of Le Mans account for the excruciatingly slow pit stops.

After the driver pulls into the pit stall, the fuelers connect gas and vent lines to the car, a mechanic plugs in a data transmission link — and then nothing happens. No one except the fuelers is allowed to touch or work on the car until the fueling is completed.

At the instant the fuel nozzle is withdrawn, the mechanics explode into action. The jack-hammer pounding of air wrenches shatters the air, crewmen fling wheels and tires like baseballs, the crew chief barks orders over the radios. All the while, the vigilant ACO officials make sure that the rules are observed scrupulously.

Thus pit stop strategy rivals sheer speed in importance at the Circuit of the Sarthe. A team that is able to stretch its car's fuel mileage an extra lap or run a single set of tires through three stints can build up an insurmountable advantage over a span of 24 hours. Time lost in the pits is nearly impossible to regain on the track.

Corvette Racing qualified its twin C6.R race cars third and sixth among the 12 cars that are competing in the GT1 class. No worries; qualifying is meaningless in a 24-hour race. Last year the Vettes finished first and second after qualifying third and fifth.