Terry Borcheller - Phoenix preview
NASCAR lead Terry Borcheller will lead the NASCAR Winston Cup field at California Speedway on Sunday, but he won't be in a stock car. The Phoenix driver will be behind the wheel of the No. 54 Bell Motorsports Doran JE-4 Daytona Prototype sports car. He'll follow the pace car just before the start of the Winston Cup race, giving the sold-out crowd of 92,000 a view of sports-car racing. The car will be on display at the Fontana, Calif., track through the weekend. "Driving behind the pace car at the Winston Cup race is one of the best things that could happen to a sponsor," Borcheller enthused. "Everybody wants to be in Winston Cup, but the money it costs a sponsor is unbelievable. Our sponsors are able to be there just through their association with me, [car owner] Forest Barber and Bell Motorsports, which is great." Borcheller's sponsors K&N Performance Filters and Infinity2 Nutrition will enjoy the added visibility, as will Alpinestars, Bell Helmets, Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, Gatorz, Goodyear and Major League Conditioning. double at home Borcheller will have home-track advantage for two races. He and Barber, of Fort Worth, Tex., will drive the No. 54 Bell Motorsports BMW M3 in the Grand-Am Cup GS race, then switch to the No. 54 Doran JE-4 for the Rolex Sports Car Series race. Both races are scheduled for Saturday, May 3 on the 1.51-mile Phoenix International Raceway road course. "We had an engine problem in the BMW at the last race," Borcheller noted. "It required some work, but because of the people involved in the process, it should be okay. The car should run well at Phoenix." He is hoping the Chevrolet-powered Doran will show its potential. "We hope this will be its coming-out party," he said. "Doran has had time to really focus on the car and finish it up. It should be great! Our goal will be to finish without any hiccups - mechanically or otherwise - and that should put us on the podium." off-track Borcheller joined 60 media representatives in both business talks and go-kart fun at K&N Performance Filters headquarters in Riverside, Calif., on April 23. K&N uses its in-house technology to manufacturer high-performance filters and equipment. The company will soon introduce a dynomometer for customer use. "They are completely open and they prove themselves time and time again with everything they do," Borcheller noted. "That's what I love about working with K&N." The Phoenix race week will be busy on track and off. Borcheller will conduct two days of testing before the race weekend starts. He will attend several fan events, will be a guest on two radio sports shows, will participate in the track media day and will speak to an inner-city group hosted by Motorsports Ministries. His race car will be featured at several of the events. Borcheller will also spend time meeting guests of his sponsor Infinity2 Nutrition, which is based in nearby Scottsdale, Ariz. family time Borcheller is looking forward to racing at home. "I enjoy being able to sleep in my own bed, keep on training at my own gym and see my wife and kids every night," he said. "The only thing I dislike about my job is the traveling and I only dislike that because my family is here at home." details Coverage of the NASCAR Winston Cup race at California Speedway starts at 2:30 pm EDT on Sunday, April 27 on POX. The Grand-Am Cup GS race is set for 1 pm to 3:30 pm and the Rolex Sports Car Series race for 6 pm to 8:45 pm on Saturday, May 3 on the 1.51-mile Phoenix International Raceway road course (race times MST). SPEED Channel will televise the Rolex Series race live at 4 pm May 3. The Grand-Am Cup race will air May 10 at 1 pm on SPEED Channel (telecast times EDT).