Rolex 24 Winner Captures Jani-King Paul Revere 250 Pole
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 2, 2002) -- Rolex 24 At Daytona-winner Didier Theys returned to Daytona International Speedway today to capture the pole for the Jani-King Paul Revere 250 on the Fourth of July. Theys piloted the Doran Lista Racing #27 Judd-powered Dallara to a 1:41.421 lap at 126.384 mph to take the pole. Butch Leitzinger will start the Dyson Racing Team #20 Ford-engined Riley & Scott beside Theys on the front row. Leitzinger clocked a 1:41.630 lap at 126.104 mph during qualifying. Jack Baldwin posted the third quickest time in the session, recording a 1:42.899 lap at 124.549 mph in the Robinson Racing #74 Judd-powered Riley & Scott. James Weaver will start Dyson Racing's #16 Ford in the fourth position. The #16 car received only a few laps of practice earlier in the day, before undergoing an engine change prior to qualifying. Terry Borcheller captured his fifth SportsRacing Prototype II pole of the season in the Rand Racing #8 Nissan-engined Lola. His 1:47.879 lap at 118.800 mph was 1.309 seconds quicker than his teammate Anthony Lazzaro in the team's #7 Nissan. Lazzaro will co-drive with NASCAR driver Jerry Nadeau, who was on hand to watch qualifying from the team's pit. Tommy Riggins broke the American GT track record en route to the class pole in the Heritage Motorsports #48 Mustang. Riggins clocked a 1:50.272 lap at 116.222 mph, 0.735 seconds quicker than the record set by Irv Hoerr during this year's Rolex 24 At Daytona qualifying. Lou Gigliotti made his Rolex Series debut by recording the second quickest time in the AGT class during qualifying. He piloted the LG Motorsports #25 Corvette to a 1:50.968 lap at 115.493 mph. In the GTS class, Chris Bingham picked up the pole in the Park Place Racing #5 Saleen S7R. Bingham's 1:52.429 lap at 113.992 mph earned him his fifth-straight GTS pole of the season. Jack Lewis had the second-quickest lap in the class in the Jack Lewis Enterprises #72 Porsche GT3 Cup, which won the class at the 6 Hours of The Glen. Joao Barbosa took the GT pole in the Perspective Motorsports #24 Mosler MT900 despite damage suffered to the car in practice when it struck a turtle on the track. Barbosa, who has captured the GT pole at the last two Rolex 24s, recorded a 1:54.173 at 112.251 mph to lead the class. Kevin Buckler, who won the GT class at this year's Rolex 24 At Daytona, clocked the second-fastest time in the class with his 1:55.639 lap at 110.828 mph. The Rolex Sports Car Series will take to Daytona International Speedway's 3.56-mile road course on Wednesday at 6 p.m. for a 90-minute practice session. The Jani-King Paul Revere 250 will start immediately following NASCAR Winston Cup Bud Pole Qualifying for the Pepsi 400 on the Fourth of July. Tickets are still available for the Fourth of July racing action at Daytona International Speedway and start at only $15 for unreserved grandstand admission. Tickets include admission to NASCAR Winston Cup and Busch Series practices, Bud Pole qualifying, the fireworks display and the Jani-King Paul Revere 250. Fans also have the opportunity to buy tickets for Tony Stewart's "Suite Deal," which includes admission to DAYTONA USA, general admission to Pepsi 400 Qualifying and the Jani-King Paul Revere 250, frontstretch suite access on Friday to see the STACKER 2/GNC Live Well 250 with complimentary snacks, beverages and a meet and greet with Tony Stewart, and a general admission Superstretch seat for the Pepsi 400 on Saturday. Tickets may be purchased by logging onto www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling the Speedway ticket office at 386-253-RACE. -30- ************************************************************ Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series Qualifying results for the Jani-King Paul Revere 250 at Daytona International Speedway DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 2, 2002) - Qualifying results for Thursday's Jani-King Paul Revere 250, round six of the Rolex Sports Car Series at Daytona International Speedway with qualifying position, (car number), drivers and hometowns, class, car, qualifying time and average speed. The Paul Revere 250 will start at approximately 11:15 p.m. (eastern) on Thursday, immediately following NASCAR Winston Cup Pepsi 400 qualifying. 1. (27) Didier Theys, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Fredy Lienhard Sr, Switzerland, SRP, Doran Lista Racing Judd Dallara, 01:41.421, 126.364. 2. (20) Butch Leitzinger, State College, Pa.; Rob Dyson, Pleasant Valley, N.Y., SRP, Dyson Racing Team Ford R&S, 01:41.630, 126.104. 3. (74) Jack Baldwin, Marietta, Ga.; George Robinson, Houston, Texas, SRP, Robinson Racing Judd R&S, 01:42.899, 124.549. 4. (16) James Weaver, England; Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, N.Y., SRP, Dyson Racing Team Ford R&S, 01:43.309, 124.055. 5. (28) Clint Field, Dublin, Ohio; Allan Ziegelman, Boca Raton, Fla., SRP, Blackforest Motorsports Group Ford R&S, 01:46.570, 120.259. 6. (8) Terry Borcheller, Phoenix, Ariz.; Niclas Jonsson, Aliso Viejo, Calif., SRPII, Rand Racing / Risi Competizione Nissan Lola, 01:47.879, 118.800. 7. (7) Anthony Lazzaro, Hickory, N.C.; Jerry Nadeau, Danbury, Conn., SRPII, Rand Racing / Risi Competizione Nissan Lola, 01:48.269, 118.372. 8. (48) Tommy Riggins, Jacksonville, Fla.; David Machavern, Charlotte, Vermont, AGT, Heritage Motorsports Mustang, 01:50.272, 116.222. 9. (25) Lou Gigliotti, Dallas, Texas, AGT, LG Motorsports Corvette, 01:50.968, 115.493. 10. (46) Rob Morgan, Little Rock, Ark., AGT, Morgan Dollar Motorsports Corvette, 01:51.837, 114.595. 11. (5) Chris Bingham, Bellevue, Wash.; Rodney Mall, Riverside, Calif., GTS, Park Place Racing Saleen S7R, 01:52.429, 113.992. 12. (70) Darren Law, Phoenix, Ariz.; Andy Lally, Northport, N.Y., SRPII, G&W Motorsports BMW Picchio, 01:52.759, 113.658. 13. (19) Kerry Hitt, Camp Hill, Pa.; Owen Trinkler, Nashville, Tenn., AGT, ACP Motorsports Corvette, 01:54.016, 112.405. 14. (24) Joao Barbosa, Riviera Beach, Fla.; Thierry Perrier, France, GT, Perspective Racing Mosler MT900R, 01:54.173, 112.251. 15. (60) Anthony Puleo, St Augustine, Fla.; Marty Schuster, Marty Schuster, , AGT, Xtreme Racing Group Corvette, 01:54.234, 112.191. 16. (23) Armando Gonzalez, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Axel Rivera, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Tony Ave, Indianapolis, Ind., AGT, Diman Racing Systems Corvette, 01:54.663, 111.771. 17. (66) Kevin Buckler, Sonoma, Calif.; Michael Schrom, Ghent, N.Y., GT, The Racers Group Porsche GT3 R, 01:55.639, 110.828. 18. (33) Cort Wagner, Los Angeles, Calif.; Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, Calif., GT, Scuderia Ferrari of Washington Ferrari 360GT, 01:55.872, 110.605. 19. (90) Joe Nonnamaker, Massillon, Ohio; Craig Conway, Ormond Beach, Fla., AGT, Flis Motorsports Corvette, 01:56.393, 110.110. 20. (26) Cass Whitehead, Gainesville, Ga.; Jeffry Giangrande, Spring Lake, Mich.; BJ Zacharias, Cincinnati, Ohio, GT, ACEMCO Motorsports Porsche GT3 R, 01:56.665, 109.853. 21. (94) Jim King, Malalbar, Fla.; Chip Van Vurst, Pompano Beach, Fla., AGT, Brutal Performance Racing Olds Cutlass, 01:57.816, 108.780. 22. (72) Jack Lewis, Norcross, Ga.; David Murry, Cumming, Ga., GTS, Jack Lewis Enterprises Porsche GT3 Cup, 02:00.364, 106.477. 23. (54) Niclas Jonsson, Aliso Viejo, Calif., GT, Bell Motorsports BMW M3, 02:01.228, 105.718. 24. (2) Elliott Forbes-Robinson, Sherrills Ford, N.C.; Tony Stewart, Cornelius, N.C., SRP, Crawford Racing Judd Crawford, no time. 25. (09) Doug Goad, Farmington Hills, Mich.; , AGT, Flis Motorsports Corvette, no time. 26. (04) Cougar Jacobsen, Deland, Fla.; Paco Orti, Spain, GT, Marcos Racing USA Marcos Mantis, no time. 27. (03) Cor Euser, Netherlands; Mike Stevens, Orlando, Fla.; Ian James, Kissimmee, Fla., GT, Marcos Racing USA Marcos Mantis, no time. 28. (42) Richard Millman, McLean, Va.; Tommy Byrne, Ormond Beach, Fla., GTS, Team Greeneman Porsche GT3 R, no time. 29. (75) Jay Policastro, Latrobe, Pa.; Joseph Policastro Sr, Latrobe, Pa., GT, Classic Motorsports/ Gunnar Racing Porsche GT3 R, no time. 30. (4) Donald Arpin, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Bob Lee, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Roger Boonz, Chicago, Ill., AGT, Assoc Gen Kinetics Camaro, no time. ************************************************************ Qualifying Driver Quotes Didier Theys, Doran Lista Racing #27 Doran Lista Racing Judd-powered Dallara, pole winner "I knew the car was good here. Every race, we've made a little improvement. We don't have a huge budget to test every week. We use races to develop the car. That's one of the reasons why we don't make up a big gap all the time. The car was running fine. After three or four laps, the car started to get loose. We're going to try different things tonight to make the car better for the race and make the balance better. "The car was good. I could've had some better laps after that. I didn't want to destroy the tires because those are the tires that I'm going to start the race with. When (owner) Kevin (Doran) told me I had a small cushion, then I just took it easy to save the tires." Butch Leitzinger, Dyson Racing #20 Ford-powered Riley & Scott, outside pole "When we went out and did the lap time that stood, it was sliding around a bit and we decided to make a wing change. We started with a higher tire pressure trying to get the tires to come in quickly. We did them a little bit too high. So we changed the wing and lowered the tires back down to the correct pressures and we made a bad change with the wing and it was a little bit slower. So we'll change that around now and hopefully things will go better. "It's going to be a good race. We're going to be very close on times (with the No. 27 car). We all seemed to be running with Kevin Doran's cars. I don't think this race will be any different." Jack Baldwin, Ranch Resorts #74 Judd-powered Riley & Scott, third-place qualifier "We did a wholesale setup change before qualifying and I jumped in and took off. That's a pretty good time for us. There were a few issues. The car actually wasn't working. The flash light didn't work. The shift light didn't work. I was out there just winging it. We have a good car. We're good in the infield, but we need to find more mph." Chris Bingham, K&N Park Place #5 Saleen S7R, GTS pole winner "The K&N Park Place Saleen was real good. We're not going to be able to compete here with the speeds of AGT cars. Their cars don't have the downforce we do and our cars have less speed, but we're here for the GTS and not for the overall. I'd like to win the overall pole and the overall GT class, and that's an incentive for me since there are only two or three GTS cars. The track was good; it cooled down a little bit. We picked up from this morning but not a lot. "It's a little cooler, but it's still not perfect. We haven't got the proper setup in the car yet either. We haven't changed it enough yet. "We're going to go out there, take it easy, run a good race and push hard. Our overall goal is to win GTS. We would like to win overall GT but that's not our main focus here. My focus is to do well, show the fans a good race and get the K&N Park Place Saleen on the podium." Terry Borcheller, Rand Racing #8 Nissan-powered Lola, SRPII pole winner "I was as nervous as a little girl because this guy [Lazzaro] is my mentor and I wanted to beat him. He's my mentor and he has been since I was small, growing up in go-karts. I've always admired him and still do, so it was a big deal. I'm happy for Rand Racing, we got one-two again and the team is gelling great." Tommy Riggins, Hertitage Motorsports #48 Corvette, AGT pole winner "The very first (practice) session, we had a skipping problem so we lost that. In the second session, we ran pretty good and we went back and made a few changes. This is the very first time this car has been to this track so we're learning things. We did a few things and we sucked it up a little bit in qualifying. We went two or three tenths quicker and we're encouraged. Joao Barbosa, Perspective Racing #24 Mosler MT900R, GT pole winner (The team's car struck a turtle during practice and had to make signigicant repairs to the front of the car) "We had to change the whole front. Luckily, it didn't damage the radiator. We fixed it. The crew did a really good job putting everything together. To be able to do that change on the front and make that setup change, they really had to work extra hard to get the car right for qualifying."