Home Boys From Central Florida, Drivers And Teams Looking for Victory at Grand-Am Finale in Daytona
Central Florida Drivers, Teams Looking for Victory at Grand-Am Finale in Daytona DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 31, 2001) -- Several Central Florida drivers and teams from both the Rolex Sports Car Series and Grand-Am Cup Street Stock Series will look to score a victory this weekend in the Grand-Am Finale, part of the Manheim's Daytona Auto Auction Presents The Brumos Continental Historics at Daytona International Speedway. Although ending the 2001 season with a win at Daytona would be a high note for nearly every team and driver, winning in front of the home crowd would make it extra sweet for this group of competitors. Daytona Beach Area Flis Motorsports Team X-1R (Rolex Series) The Daytona Beach-based Flis Motorsports Team X-1R enters the Grand-Am Finale hoping to not only take home a victory in their hometown, but also wrap up both the team and driver championships in the American GT class. The team's last appearance at Daytona International Speedway was a dramatic one at the 2001 Rolex 24 At Daytona. The team earned an AGT podium finish at the Rolex 24, despite its #09 Camaro nearly being destroyed during the race. Although it had hardly any bodywork at the end of the famous endurance race, the X-1R Camaro crossed the finish line second in the AGT class. The team retired the war-torn Camaro after that race and has successfully campaigned a Corvette C5 this season. After scoring victories at six out of the nine Rolex Series races completed this season, both Team X-1R and its drivers, Ormond Beach's Craig Conway and Doug Goad, of Farmington, Hills, Mich., are close to clinching the team and driver championships. The team holds an 18-point lead over South Florida-based Hamilton Safe Motorsports, while Conway holds a one-point lead over Goad in the team standings. Hamilton Safe's Kenny Bupp, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is in third, 22 points back. With some creative race strategy, Team X-1R could see its pair of drivers tie for the AGT driver championship. But, that would mean the X-1R Corvette could not win the AGT pole, which has been its starting position for four races this season. All eyes will be on the X-1R Corvette during Friday's qualifying to see which strategy the team uses. Blackforest Motorsports Group (Rolex Series) After building cars that have won at the Indy 500 and 12 Hours of Sebring, Deland's Bryan Nott has turned his focus to the Rolex Series. Nott is the principal of Blackforest Motorsports Group, which will make its debut in the SportsRacing Prototype class at the Grand-Am Finale. The team purchased the #28 Ford-powered Riley & Scott from the Intersport Racing Banana Joe's team earlier this year. After undergoing painstaking refreshment and updating, the Riley & Scott will debut its new Eran South Corporation paint scheme at the Grand-Am Finale. A pair of Floridians will be behind the wheel of the Riley & Scott when it takes to the track at Daytona International Speedway. Peter Argetsinger, of Weston, and Allan Ziegelman, of Boca Raton, will share driving duties at the Finale. Argetsinger has raced professionally for 26 years and has more than 300 professional race starts under his belt, due in part to his father's active role in racing including the establishment of racing in Watkins Glen. Motorsport Technologies (Grand-Am Cup) Deland-based Motorsports Technologies will run three cars in three different classes at the four-hour Grand-Am Cup race on Saturday, Sept. 15. The team's #15 Porsche TT will race in the Super Grand Sport (SGS) class with team owner Dino Steiner and Kissimee's Ian James, while Steiner's father, Johannes Steiner, of Naples, and Dave Russell, of Orlando, will run the #112 BMW M3 in the Grand Sport (GS) class. The team recently added a third race car to its lineup that competes in the Compact 2000 (C2K) class. Deltona's Toto Lassally will drive the #21 Acura Integra GSR with a co-driver that has yet to be determined. Motorsport Technologies is currently second in the SGS team championship race, with Steiner third in the class driver championship standings. Tommy Byrne (Rolex Series) Crescent City, Fla. Orbit Racing #42 Porsche GT3 RS - GT class First podium at Watkins Glen in August with third place Tampa Area Sezio Florida Racing Team (Rolex Series) Team owner/driver Edouard Sezionale, of Largo, heads the Sezio Florida Racing Team that races the only SRP entry in the Rolex Series with a BMW engine or a Norma chassis. Though the team is a newcomer to the American road racing scene, its roots run deep in endurance racing. Sezionale and co-driver Patrice Roussel, of France, were class winners at Le Mans in 1995. Now they are trying their hand at road racing in the United States. In the first Rolex Series season, their best finish came at the Six Hours of The Glen, where they narrowly missed the podium with a fourth-place finish in the SRP class. Although the team is already eagerly looking forward to the 2002 season, where they hope to run the latest chassis from Norma Auto Concepts, it wouldn't mind rounding out the 2001 season by finally earn a place on the podium during the Grand-Am Finale. Scooter Gabel (Grand-Am Cup) Tampa, Fla. First Action Motorsports #05 Porsche 944 S2 - ST class Allegro Motorsports #5 Porsche - ST class Best finishes of season at Daytona and Trois-Rivières with fourth place Mark Hein (Grand-Am Cup) Clearwater, Fla. The Spirit of Miami #9 Acura Integra R - ST class Will be first Grand-Am Cup appearance of the season Carlos de Quesada (Grand-Am Cup) Tampa, Fla. Allegro Motorsports #5 Porsche - ST class Will be first Grand-Am Cup appearance of the season Charles Espenlaub (Grand-Am Cup) Lutz, Fla. Powell Motorsports #110 Corvette Z06 - SGS class Kent Motorsports #97 Pontiac Firebird - GS class Only previous 2001 Grand-Am Cup appearance at Daytona Orlando Area Speedsource (Grand-Am Cup) Orlando's Paul Mears Jr., teamed up with Pompano Beach's Sylvain Tremblay this season in the development of the Speedsource team, which raced six Porsches in the Grand-Am Cup SGS, GS and ST classes. After two years of running in SCCA, Mears moved up to the Grand-Am Cup Series with the Speedsource team this season. Speedsource has enjoyed tremendous success this season with 14 podium finishes, including eight class wins and an overall victory. Mears raced in both the team's GS and SGS Porsches and was a frequent visitor to the podium this year. Mears is well known in the Orlando area for his Mears Transportation Group, which was started in 1939 when his father purchased three taxicabs. Mears expanded the company in 1983 to include shuttle vans and buses, and today the Mears Transportation Group comprises more than 500 taxicabs, 130 shuttle vans, 145 luxury sedans, 170 buses and 12 stretch limousines. Tom Houk (Grand-Am Cup) Orlando, Fla. TF Racing #17 Mustang Cobra R - GS class Best finish of season at Phoenix with fourth place Additional Central Florida Drivers Jim King (Rolex Series) Malabar, Fla. Brutal Performance Racing #94 Oldsmobile Cutlass - AGT class Will be first Rolex Series appearance of the season Raff McDougall (Grand-Am Cup) Ocala, Fla. R.A.C.E. Team #61 Audi S4 - GS class Will be third Grand-Am Cup race of the season Roy 'Gator' Mitchell II (Grand-Am Cup) Alturas, Fla. Planet Earth Motorsports #43 Acura Integra GSR - C2K class Won first-ever professional at Virginia International Raceway in June Randy Pobst (Rolex Series) Melbourne, Fla. Crazy Redhead Racing/Fordahl Motorsports #15 Porsche GT3 RS - GT class Two victories in 2001 at Phoenix and Road America Additional information about the Rolex Sports Car Series and Grand-Am Cup Street Stock Series can be found online at www.grand-am.com. -30- For more information: Grand-Am Public Relations Christie Hyde (386) 681-4182 email: CHyde@grand-am.com