Championship Races Heat Up in Daytona at Finale

Championship Races Heat Up in Daytona at Finale

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 19, 2001) -- The Grand-Am Cup Street Stock Series will see plenty of heated action as it races into Daytona International Speedway for the Grand-Am Finale, being held as part of the Manheim's Daytona Auto Auction Presents The Brumos Continental Historics, Nov. 1-4. In the final race of the season, fans can expect some intense racing as teams and drivers battle for precious points needed in their quests for a series championship in the longest race of the year - the Friday night four-hour race. 

Although Powell Motorsports, with drivers Devon Powell, of Port Perry, Ontario, and Doug Goad, of Farmington Hills, Mich., have already clinched the Super Grand Sport (SGS) class, team owner and driver championships, redemption and pride will be on the line as the team races in the Finale. Powell Motorsports kicked off the season by winning the two-hour race at Daytona in February and was on a five-race winning streak when it traveled to Quebec to race in Le Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières in August. However the team's streak came to an end at the street race when the Speedsource Porsche took the SGS victory. Fans can expect to see Powell trying to reclaim its dominance in the class at the Finale. 

Fans can also see some blistering racing in the Sport Touring (ST) class at the Grand-Am Finale as teams and drivers battle for the driver and class championships. Although Jason Potter, of Oxford, Ohio, currently holds the top spot in the class driver standings, a pair of King Motorsports drivers are hot on his tail, with Bob Endicott, of San Pedro, Calif., only seven points back and Mike Van Sicklen, of Nashville, Tenn., 11 points behind. 

After racing with various teams this season, Potter will race in his own #84 Performance Motorsports Honda Prelude at the Finale. Endicott and Van Sicklen will team up in the King Motorsports #64 MAI/www.tirerack.com/Pro-Cam/Redline Oil-sponsored Acura Integra R. They will not only be in the hunt for the ST driver championship, but also the team owner championship. 

Only 12 points separate the top-four teams in the class. Villaconn International leads the class with its fleet of BMW Z3 Coupes, and King Motorsports is in second only four points back. Team Lexus and its pair of IS300s hold the third spot, nine points off the lead, and Power Racing Team is fourth in the class team standings, 12 points behind. 

Another heated battle will be in the Compact 2000 (C2K) class, as the Honda of America Racing Team tries to dethrone Planet Earth Motorsports for the class team owner championship. Brothers Will and Wayne Nonnamaker, of Canton, Ohio, run the environmentally-conscious Planet Earth team, which campaigns three Acura Integra GSRs. The Honda team is primarily comprised of volunteers from the Honda manufacturing plant and runs two Honda Civic Sis that have won four races this season. 

The Grand Sport (GS) class team owner championship has already been clinched by Speedsource, however team owner/driver Sylvain Tremblay, of Pompano Beach, Fla., must complete one lap under green to officially claim the class driver championship over his teammate David Haskell, of Plantation, Fla. 

The green flag will fall on the Grand-Am Cup four-hour race at 6 p.m., on Friday, Nov. 2. Tickets to the Grand-Am Finale, being held as part of the Manheim's Daytona Auto Auction Presents The Brumos Continental Historics at Daytona International Speedway, Nov. 1-4, are currently on sale at the Speedway ticket office. They may be purchased by calling 386-253-RACE (7223) or by logging on to www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com. 

Additional information about the Grand-Am Finale and Grand-Am Cup is available online at www.grand-am.com.