Terry Borcheller - Daytona preview

two to go

Terry Borcheller hopes to cap the 2003 race season with a championship run 
this weekend.  The Phoenix driver is leading the Rolex Sports Car Series 
prototype driver standings.  He and his co-driver, Forest Barber of Fort Worth, Tex., 
are third in the Grand-Am Cup GSII title hunt.  The season-ending races for 
both series will be held this weekend on the 3.56-mile infield road course at 
Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Borcheller and Barber will drive the No. 54 Bell Motorsports BMW M3 in the 
Grand-Am Cup race on Oct. 31.  They'll follow in the No. 54 Bell Motorsports 
Doran JE4 in the Rolex Sports Car Series race on Nov. 1.

"Forest and I just have to do the best we can.  That's what we've been doing 
all year," Borcheller said.  "The Cup championship is out of our hands. The 
[class-leader] Nonnamaker team has to make a mistake, they have to give it to 
us."  But the feature Rolex Series race is a different situation.  "We need to 
finish directly behind the highest-finishing Brumos car," he explained, 
referring to his closest prototype competitors.

three in one

Borcheller and Barber have already competed in two Rolex Series races at 
Daytona this year - the Rolex 24 at Daytona in February and the Paul Revere 250, 
which they won, in July.  Borcheller said the timing of the three races makes 
them unique experiences.

"It's odd," he mused.  "I know it's the same race-track, but it's three 
totally different races.  The Paul Revere is in the night, that's what makes it 
unique.  The 24-hours is an endurance mentality; you really have to have a car 
that's balanced well, you're going for comfort more than speed.  This race, 
we're leaning toward speed, we've got to be fast."

Tires and car setup are different, too.  "This race is in the middle of the 
day and typically the grip at Daytona is not that great," Borcheller noted.  
"We'll have a different Goodyear [tire compound] because the last race was at 
night and the temperatures were different.  I'm sure we'll have a completely 
different setup, too."

fan following

Borcheller acknowledged competing for two championships adds pressure to the 
race weekend.  But it also draws a large, loyal support group.

"We have a lot of friends and family who are coming to hopefully watch us win 
the championship," he said.  "There has been a lot of interest from sponsors, 
fans, friends, everybody.  It's cool because a lot of people have been 
following us through the year.  Because we're in contention with both championships, 
we've been getting an enormous amount of exposure.  It's great for my 
sponsors!"

Those sponsors include K&N Performance Filters, Infinity2 Nutrition, 
Alpinestars, Bell Helmets, Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, Gatorz 
Eyewear and Goodyear.

details (ET)

The Grand-Am Cup race is scheduled for 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm on Friday, Oct. 31. 
 The Rolex Sports Car Series race will run from 1 pm to 3:45 pm on Saturday, 
Nov. 1.  Both races will be held on the 3.56-mile Daytona International 
Speedway infield road course in Daytona Beach, Fla. 

The Rolex Series race will be telecast live on SPEED Channel on Saturday, 
Nov. 1 from 1 pm to 4 pm.  The Grand-Am Cup race will air on SPEED Channel on 
Saturday, Nov. 8 from 1 pm to 3 pm.