Davis Father-Son Duo Team Up in SPEED GT at Sebring

For generations, racing has been a family endeavor for many, following the bloodlines to the finish lines. Rarely, though, have fathers and sons raced side-by-side, battling in the same series or operating as teammates. That rare combination, however, has come to the SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT Championship as Mike and Brandon Davis, of Huntington Beach, Calif., are entered in this week’s season opener, part of the 56th annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring.

Father Mike is driving the No. 11 Ford Mustang Cobra of ACS Express Motorsports while son, Brandon, is in the No. 10 Ford Mustang Cobra. Both carry sponsorship from Applied Computer Solutions and Sun Microsystems.

“I’ve always fantasized about running a season with Brandon,” Mike Davis said. “We put together this team with two cars and are excited about the season. Brandon is a very aggressive driver and I’m more into developing strategy and finishing the race. He has 22-year old reflexes and I have 56-year-old reflexes, so I’ve got to be more cunning.”

“I got into the sport by watching my dad race,” the younger Davis said. “He never forced me to do it. I was the one pushing him to take me to the go-kart track. So I’m very excited to be doing a full season with him.”

Specifically about Sebring, one of the world’s top road-racing venues, Mike Davis said, “Sebring is an awesome track. It has a lot of challenging spots and a nice, long backstraight where these GT cars can really stretch their legs.”

“I like Sebring,” Brandon Davis said. “It’s definitely an experience and it’s a good way to start the season at a place with such tradition. It will be my first time here in a GT car and I’m looking forward to the higher speeds than what I previously experienced in touring cars (for RealTime Racing).”

Mike Davis is an accomplished racer, having first stepped into a race car in 1993. In three SPEED GT seasons, he has three top-10 finishes while running limited seasons. His greatest racing success has come as a team owner, helping Boris Said to the 2002 Trams-Am championship. Mike Davis was a Trans-Am team owner for seven years.

Brandon Davis has inherited his father’s knack for speed. He drove his first professional race in 2004 in Trans-Am and in 2005 was the SPEED Touring Car Rookie of the Year with eight top-10 finishes in 11 starts. The following year he won his first race at the Grand Prix of Denver, an appropriate finish considering he is a student at the University of Denver majoring in Business Management. He enters 2008 having posted 21 top-10 finishes in SPEED Touring Car with RealTime Racing. He made his SPEED GT debut in 2006 at Laguna Seca driving Mike Davis’ Saleen SR for his twenty-first birthday, placing 16th. He gave it another shot in 2007, running both Touring Car and GT in back-to-back races. Brandon ended his SPEED Touring Car season on the podium in third, then hopped into the No. 10 Saleen SR at the back of the grid due to pre-race tire change. He impressively charged from 26th to ninth place.

ACS Express is also supported by these associate sponsors: Red Line Oil and Mothers Polish and Wax.

Round One of the SCCA SPEED GT Championship from Sebring will take place Friday, March 14, at 4:40 p.m. (EDT), and will air on SPEED, Friday, March 21, at 1 p.m. (EDT).

Divided into two separate series and races (SCCA SPEED GT and SCCA SPEED Touring Car), the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Championships are America’s top production car-based series. SCCA SPEED World Challenge events are a maximum of 50 minutes in length, feature standing starts and the world’s most popular manufacturers racing head-to-head. For more information see www.world-challenge.com.