Despite Mechanical Issues, Rolex 24 at Daytona Still Considered a Success for Tim George Jr. and Buoniconti Fund
Having trouble viewing this email? Click here http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=0011-u4wRWTE7QEQBJ7XOX9JLagcearHsx_AdVzIXyzbXgCnrtMAIK39j3dESS5GHq_Vvn4LyXuL81if2QAZNDjDmawRnpeYJDUxXQQio5vKSqRE1YRMnDxlw%3D%3D ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Despite Mechanical Issues, Rolex 24 at Daytona Still Considered a Success for Tim George Jr. and Buoniconti Fund DAYTONA BEACH, Florida(Thursday, February 4, 2010) - In his third consecutive Rolex 24 at Daytona, University of Miami graduate Tim George Jr. hoped to leave DIS with the victory watch that had just eluded him the past two seasons. However, mechanical issues throughout the endurance race would hinder the No. 71 Buoniconti Fund/University of Miami TRG Porsche team's otherwise strong run, resulting in a 9th place finish within the GT class. However, with the Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis on the car and George Jr. willing to donate his winnings to the charity, the race was a solid run for the organization and a powerful platform for a meaningful cause. The No. 71 team, consisting of Tim George Jr., Spencer Pumpelly, Romain Dumas, Timo Bernhard, and Bobby Labonte, had solid practice runs throughout the Roar Before the 24, at one time laying down the fastest GT lap of the day, but a difficult qualifying run lead to a lap time of 1:50.271 (116.222 MPH)placing the team 23rdon the starting grid. With rain already falling when the green flag waved for the 47th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Pumpelly took the wheel, laying the groundwork for the long race ahead. He quickly moved the TRG Porsche up to first place in the GT division, 14th overall. Following his impressive run, Pumpelly handed over duties to Bernhard, who held the TRG Porsche in position. Dumas took the following stint, maintaining the team's first position in class, keeping the No. 71 Buoniconti Fund TRG Porsche looking strong more than five hours into the 24-hour race. On lap 165, under a full course caution, George Jr. took over the driver's seat. During his one-hour stint, George Jr. restarted first in the GT class twice, a first in his Rolex career. Throughout his time behind the wheel, George Jr. battled Robin Liddell for the GT division lead and 12thposition overall. When his driving session ended, George handed off the No. 71 Buoniconti Fund TRG Porsche in 2ndplace with 17 hours remaining. Halfway through the race, the No. 71 TRG Porsche was running 3rd in class. Problems with a brake change put the car two laps down, but the team was confident they could make up the laps with twelve hours of competition remaining. The overnight stints were consistent and the team performed flawless driver changes, allowing the No. 71 to make up any ground lost earlier in the race. When the sun began to rise, the TRG Porsche was leading its class by almost four laps. Unfortunately, the team met more challenges on Sunday morning, starting with a failed air jack, which impaired the No. 71 team's pit stop. Soon after, with Labonte behind the wheel, the reserve fuel warning failed to notify the driver that gas was dwindling, and the TRG machine slowly lost power, stalling halfway around the course. At a complete stop, the No. 71 Porsche had to be towed to the infield for refueling, served a penalty for refueling off of pit lane, a significant set back under green flag conditions. Coming off a three lap lead, the team was now two laps down. However, even after losing precious time, the TRG team was still running second in their class. As time passed, the grueling endurance race began to take its toll on both the car and its drivers. Running second in class and ninth overall with approximately 2 ½ hours remaining, the clutch discs failed, sending the team into the garage. Forced to remove the transmission and replace the clutch before returning to the track, the No. 71 once again lost time and positions. As the clock ticked down and the checkered flag waved, the No. 71 TRG Porsche team ultimately crossed the finish line 9th in the GT class and 16th overall. Although not a storybook ending, the No. 71 Buoniconti Fund/University of Miami TRG Porsche team was happy to run a strong race and be able to build awareness for the Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis, which was George Jr.'s number one goal. "This race has a lot to do with luck and the cards just didn't fall in our favor this year," said George Jr. "I am disappointed about the outcome for my team, after pulling long hours of driving, working hard on the car, and coming to Daytona hoping to win; but, I appreciate their support for the Buoniconti Fund. Helping to get people out of wheel chairs is a great cause." Teammate and 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Bobby Labonte reflected on the experience. "It's always a lot of fun to run the 24, but when you know that what you're doing is also helping a really worthy cause, that makes the race even better. I know Tim wants to raise a lot of money for the Buoniconti Fund, and I'm glad I could be a part of that." TRG team owner Kevin Buckler remarked, "We've had a great relationship with Tim over the last several years and have shared some great success in the 24. Having him behind the wheel of the No. 71 for TRG in this race means even more knowing that he's out there trying to help a really worthy cause." After a long weekend in sports cars series racing, George Jr. will be shifting gears to stock cars with Richard Childress Racing. One short week after the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the RCR Development driver will return to Daytona International Speedway to compete in the season-opener for the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards on Saturday, February 6. For more information about Tim George Jr. or the Buoniconti Fund, please visit www.timgeorgejr.com. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About The Buoniconti Fund Founded in 1985 by NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Nick Buoniconti and Barth A. Green, M.D., The Buoniconti Fundis the world's most comprehensive spinal cord injury research center. Housed in the Lois Pope LIFE Center, a Center of Excellence at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, The Buoniconti Fund is the world's most comprehensive spinal cord injury research center. The Buoniconti Fund consists of an international team of more than 200 scientists, researchers and clinicians that take innovative approaches to the challenge of spinal cord injury. The Buoniconti Fundis "The Fundraising Arm of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis," which is located at the Miller School of Medicine, part of the University of Miami. With eighty-five cents out of every dollar raised going directly to research, The Buoniconti Fundis one of the best managed charitable organizations in the world. For more information visit www.thebuonicontifund.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103001444683&s=420&e=001KrCLz_Gb4Lgxiv8t3EQaBdT7whpDxf0bVtdbqpL5tZnr-w5qaR6QxI5Y0QnS3MmN6-vloHJxEQXho2CZHdJmKSGk-7PqCwkLyfmWmnhnkuI2xuTvTTlWdv1-iSsZxyX7]. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About Tim George Jr. The New York, N.Y., native began racing in the Skip Barber Racing School regional series in 2005. In 2007, he ran the Grand-Am KONI series before moving up to the Grand-Am Rolex series in the GT class. In 2008, Tim George Jr. was named Rolex Series MESCO "Building for the Future" Rookie-of-the-Year, while driving for The Racer's Group. He has two GT class podium finishes in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, finishing third in 2008 and second in 2009. The 29-year old driver made his transition to stock cars running full-time in 2009 in the ARCA Racing Series for Eddie Sharp Racing, finishing 11th in the point standings with one top-5, two top-10 and six top-15 finishes. George Jr. will pilot the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards in 2010. For more information, please visit www.timgeorgejr.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103001444683&s=420&e=001KrCLz_Gb4LjgUd9HgGdyGXrTKOSBRHeQPv4ObH78HqCU8Q3DVJZAALC5RQkdyQmr5bydKB6ET1zwrjIPrLVwv8BZumuw-v5If46mr0urTtea_0pR55dRyQ==]. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About the University of Miami A private research university with more than 15,000 students from around the world, the University of Miami is a vibrant and diverse academic community focused on teaching and learning, the discovery of new knowledge, and service to the South Florida region and beyond. Established in 1925 during the region's famous real estate boom, UM is a major research university, engaged in more than $326 million in research and sponsored program expenditures a year. In 2009, U.S. News & World Report recognized UM among the top-tier of national universities, ranking it No. 50 in its listings of "America's Best Colleges; it also cited several of its programs in "America's Best Graduate Schools." For more information about the University of Miami and the UM Alumni Association visit www.miami.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103001444683&s=420&e=001KrCLz_Gb4LjF3Dx8HimL_uQ26N6rrb-HjB02sV9vZgYauGz3ITE__dGlYi9TYdoSDhKysGf3U_i1CnDySzY9ZIPUQL0pWJ9AocWdJZIFGtg=]. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About Activ8 Communications Activ8 Communications, based in Mooresville, North Carolina, specializes in public relations, marketing strategies, brand development and sponsor activation. With focus on NASCAR public relations and relationship building, Activ8 creates unique identities and connections for the drivers and clients under its umbrella. For more information about Activ8 Communications, please visit www.goactiv8.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ activ8 communications Heather Lumpp Vice President of Public Relations and Branding 704.664.5900 heather@goactiv8.com [mailto:jtrippy@goactiv8.com] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ quick links Visit timgeorgejr.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103001444683&s=420&e=001KrCLz_Gb4LjRPTJQSrm9McY6agTVwI4cQqLdw1cEQhtgfAoXwVWJZ0DIDAIHcQkUxuttibGW72LQx29QZuhJj6uB-0zzWDQdJm17jFVYEBUBuGet22moTQ==] Follow Tim George Jr. on Twitter [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103001444683&s=420&e=001KrCLz_Gb4Lhk4_Tm_gRCbjvfxGHnhLsAiCgWCDgte-fva6gV0Pa3h8rk3MM3fRo_OwFjn3damyQLBnl40vonLmiiUf-ArwgTA7dfiUMdHFsG_n6RsJTV0w==] Follow Tim George Jr. on Facebook [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103001444683&s=420&e=001KrCLz_Gb4LhK4Z_TkDwr_w5WJ47eGQlh_wnrXJ0XdQCoc5UICU0qv90socyF9VGCDtdmHTAWeAsaSiBu7cPHSx-8nus4wXklIvyQCczsJOtHHXf6NxCVlqvgqQBggdkfibljBZpDuD4=] Donate to the Buoniconti Fund [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103001444683&s=420&e=001KrCLz_Gb4LhSTIeEELyUUlAwjOb2EMImfqUyP-jBA0OqvKppu-ZFNCt-pAOJidMa0K8g09kox8exc7N8B9lRwSrMlyxegngyeilmP-vV2Smk7HjSnkoBbw==] Visit activ8's Website [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103001444683&s=420&e=001KrCLz_Gb4LjwnKLf9svjYEsepSMEqWTAGPVplGKGdoiDsFiQRkY1zATV59BVT84BCOgqIQYI2BmevKYurJzz9lN5GiQpbFCHnpRiuZ4tG7F6uYkG2cDyKA==] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forward email http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?m=1102611509734&ea=submit@theautochannel.com&a=1103001444683 This email was sent to submit@theautochannel.com by heather@goactiv8.com. 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