Paul Miller Racing Leads 2011 Rolex 24 At Daytona GT Class Just Past One-Quarter Mark

DAYTONA BEACH, Paul Miller Racing and drivers Bryce Miller, Bryan Sellers, Rob Bell and Tim Sugden took the Rolex 24 At Daytona GT class lead Saturday night in the No. 48 Marquis Jet/TOTAL/IPC Porsche GT3 just past the one-quarter mark, where the team and drivers have charged to the front of the field since the drop of the green flag.

Live coverage on SPEED continues tonight until 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT. The broadcast resumes tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT and ends with Sunday’s checkered flag at 3:30 p.m. local time.

Sellers took the controls from starting-driver Miller on lap 53 during the third of six caution periods.

“It was actually really good,” Sellers said. “We came really close to going a lap down; thankfully the yellows fell in our favor. You’ve got to be lucky in this race to make it to the end and be on the podium. We caught a break this time, there are a lot of hours left but I think we’re doing okay. The car seemed pretty fast. I was actually able to double stint tires and do lap times that were as fast as any Porsche on the track. All in all, we’re pretty pleased right now. There’s a long way left but the car feels good and it feels like we have the right balance. We’re headed in the right direction.”

The team plans to get seat time for each of the drivers before beginning double stints to cover the night shift.

“I think I might go relax for awhile,” Sellers said. “I might fall asleep for a half hour to an hour and then get ready to do another double.”

Bell moved the car to second in his opening stint before handing off to Sugden, who took the lead with just over six hours complete.

Paul Miller Racing is among the top GT-style teams competing in North American sports car road racing. In 2011, the team will contest the full American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón, as well as the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The team enjoys a long-standing relationship with Porsche and competes with the support of three international sponsors in Marquis Jet, IPC Information Systems and TOTAL Lubricants.