GRAND AM: Darren Law Hopes To Be A Force In Grand-Am Finale At Daytona
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
September 7, 2001GT Class Leader Has His Eye On More Points
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Darren Law expects some pretty intense racing when the Grand American Rolex Road Racing Series returns to Daytona International Speedway on Sept. 14-16 for the Grand-Am Finale. The three-hour enduro for the Rolex Sports Car Series will be on Sunday, Sept. 16 at noon. It'll be the final chance for teams to earn points toward the season championships for all classes.
The 33-year-old Law, who resides in Phoenix, Ariz., is in the thick of a championship battle in the GT class of the Grand American Rolex Road Racing Series. He's leading the driver points standings with his co-driver Matt Drendel and JET Motorsports drivers Toney Jennings and Terry Borcheller in hot pursuit. The team Law drives for - G&W Motorsports - is also atop the team standings, leading JET Motorsports by 10 points.
"It's a lot closer for the team championship than the driver championship," Law said. "Our biggest rival in the driver championship is the BMW (JET Motorsports drivers Jennings and Borcheller.) They're not far behind. If we fall out of one race, we're in a real battle. Obviously, we've got to do well, but the key is to finish in that program. No matter what, we've got to finish in front of (JET Motorsports) for team owner points."
Law is upbeat about returning to Daytona for a second time this season. He co-drove the No. 81 G&W Motorsports Porsche GT3R to an eighth-place overall finish in the 2001 Rolex 24 At Daytona and a fifth-place finish in the competitive GT class. In the 1999 and 2000 Rolex 24 At Daytona, Law recorded third-place finishes in the GTU class.
"You bet," Law said about returning to the "World Center of Racing." "We love coming to Daytona. It's an enjoyable track. The other thing is we can use it as a test session for next year's Rolex 24 At Daytona. I love coming back there.
"We had a fast car (in February). We had a good shot at possibly winning the Rolex 24 At Daytona. We had some things go wrong during the night. We had some odd problems with the car. We're definitely in contention every time we go out."
Teams competing in the Grand-Am Finale won't be pacing themselves like they do in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. They're going to have the pedal to the medal and turn blistering laps for three hours.
"It's a huge difference," said Law, who'll share the driving duties at Daytona with Drendel. "In the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the name of the game is not to be rocket fast right out of the box. You've got to make the car last and conserve tires, parts and pieces. When we get to a three-hour race, it's basically a sprint race. We don't conserve much. You're driving hard the whole time."
Tickets for the Grand-Am Finale can be purchased by calling the Speedway ticket office at (386) 253-7223.
Text provided by Ginger Cale
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