Midnight Ride of Paul Revere Returns to Daytona on Fourth of July

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 4, 2002) - The midnight ride of Paul Revere will return to Daytona International Speedway this year with the Jani-King Paul Revere 250 on the Fourth of July following Bud Pole Qualifying for the Pepsi 400. The Jani-King Paul Revere 250 will partner the Rolex Sports Car Series with the NASCAR Winston Cup Series for the first of two back-to-back races for the sports car series. 

The Paul Revere 250 dates back to 1967 when it was created to augment the Pepsi 400. The race originally began at midnight, but is slated to start around 11:15 p.m. this year, immediately following Bud Pole Qualifying and Daytona International Speedway's Fourth of July fireworks extravaganza. 

Historically the Paul Revere 250's partnering with NASCAR has drawn some of the top names in motorsports to the race, including Al Unser, Peter Gregg, Lyn St. James, Danny Ongais, Tiny Lund and Hurley Haywood. Several NASCAR drivers slid behind the wheel of a sports car at Daytona earlier this season during the Rolex 24 At Daytona, including Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and Robby Gordon, and this year's Jani-King Paul Revere 250 is expected to also draw some of NASCAR's best. 

The 2002 Jani-King Paul Revere 250 will feature the five classes of the Rolex Sports Car Series that include mid-engined SportsRacing Prototypes, unlike anything seen at the local auto dealership, as well as production-based GT race cars. 

SportsRacing Prototype (SRP) is the premier class of the Rolex Series, showcasing pure open-cockpit prototype race cars designed for optimized speed and exotic fan appeal. The SportsRacing Prototype II (SRPII) class is similar in concept to the SRP cars, featuring smaller engines and chassis. 

The GT division includes a trio of classes led by Grand Touring Super (GTS) and its V8-powered Saleens and turbo Porsches. The American GT (AGT) class highlights American muscle cars, including the Corvette, Camaro and Mustang, while Grand Touring (GT) machines are based upon road-going street car and include the BMW M3, Ferrari 360 GT, Mosler MT900 R and Porsche GT3 R. 

The Jani-King Paul Revere 250 will be the sixth race of the year for the Rolex Series that will travel back to Daytona International Speedway to wrap-up the season with the Grand American Finale, Nov. 8-10. 

Tickets are currently on sale for the Jani-King Paul Revere 250 by logging onto www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or calling the Speedway ticket office at 386-253-RACE. Additional information on the Jani-King Paul Revere 250 and Rolex Sports Car Series is available online at www.grand-am.com.