|
 On
Friday, the team of Terry Borcheller and Craig Stanton used a strategy
of fuel conservation in their 996 Porsche on the 3.56-mile course
inside Daytona International Speedway and the strategy propelled the
duo into the winner's circle.
Borcheller commented in victory lane about the win,
"TheRaceSite.com guys gave us a great car and the Hoosiers really
held up good. It's the first time I've been in Grand-Am Cup and the
car is really nice and fun to drive."
After the post-race jubilation ended, the drivers had
an opportunity to reflect on their performance. Borcheller commented,
"We ran 35 laps on the first stint and I'm the king on [tire]
management. They (Hoosier tires) didn't really go off. They held their
performance with me perfectly.
The tires developed for the Grand-Am Series have
proven so successful that the basic design is now being used in
Hoosier's entire R3S04 and A3S04 road race and autocross tire lines.
After exiting the car, Borcheller inspected his tires
to check the tread wear of his winning Hoosiers. Borcheller commented,
"I looked at the tires--actually the two rears, because I always
do. And we had some great wear. I mean, I think we could have double
stinted them for sure. And we did double stint the front tires."
Both drivers have enjoyed their share of success
racing. Craig Stanton finished 3rd in class at the Sebring 12-Hour
race in 1999 and was also the SpeedVision Cup Rising Star Award winner
in 1997. Terry Borcheller was the 2002 Rolex Series SRPII champion
with seven class wins, including the Rolex 24 at Daytona. He was the
Rolex Series GTS champion in 2000. In 1998, he was the World Challenge
GT champion and the SpeedVision Cup GS champion.
Borcheller was a double winner in Daytona this year.
The Gainesville, GA, driver also was a member of this year's Rolex 24
(hour) race winning team of Borcheller, Forest Barber, Andy Pilgrim
and Christian Fittipaldi. In addition to Rolex watches the four
drivers also were awarded $100,000 in prize money for their 24-hour
win--the most ever awarded a Grand-Am winner.
Borcheller and Stanton in the #44 Porsche 996 of
Phoenix Promotions won the GS class with an average speed of 94.321
mph and a best lap time of 2:07.448. Amazingly, the winning car's best
lap was on lap 52 of 70 in the race. The duo was followed to the
finish line by Mark Plummer and Guy Cosmo in the #38 Porsche 996 of
BGB Motorsports with a best lap time of 2:07.421 and an average speed
of 93.942 mph. In third place was Mike Cronin, Jr. and Stu Hayner of
Unitech Racing in the #33 Nissan 350Z with an average speed of 93.905
mph, and a best lap time of 2:08.062.
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DAYTONA,
FL (January 30) -- Each year, the Grand-Am Series just keeps getting
bigger and better. Last year, 54 cars competed in the season-opening
Daytona 250. That number increased to 57 this year as more and more
drivers seek to compete in the growing series. To adequately meet the
needs of the big event Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. had its own crowd on
hand to provide service and technical assistance to the competing
Grand-Am teams. Numbering over 20, the purple contingent could be seen
mounting and balancing race tires, taking tire temperatures during
testing sessions or just providing feedback to the drivers and teams.
The Daytona Grand-Am race is a 250-mile event with two classes racing
on the track at the same time. The Grand Sport (GS) class features
heavier cars with higher horsepower, while the Sport Touring (ST)
class features lighter cars with smaller power plants. Both classes
run exclusively on Hoosier tires. 
In
the Sport Touring class, John Schmitt and Mike Liebl stuck to their
pre-race strategy driving their #29 Acura RSX-S to capture the top
spot in the ST class. Their strategy was to keep the car in one piece
through the halfway point by drafting and driving a smart race. They
executed their pre-planned strategy to perfection and went on to
finish first in the ST class which was 13th overall among the 57 race
starters.