DAYTONA BEACH, FL (February 2) -- Just two weeks after taking over the reigns of showroom stock racing from Motorola Cup, The Grand America Road Racing Association opened the Grand-Am Cup season during the historic Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona weekend. Although the sanctioning body may have changed, the results were quite familiar. Two-time Daytona champion Powell Motorsports claimed the Super Grand Sports Class and the overall title, DG racing drove to victory in Grand Sports, Power Team Racing put their #77 on the podium, and 2000 C2K Champions Honda of America claimed their first win of 2001.

Super Grand Sport
Powell Motorsports team drivers Devon Powell and Doug Goad did not have a leisurely drive to their third victory at Daytona. Two great battles for the top spot, one with the #15 Motorsports Technolgies Porsche and the other with the #37 Phoenix American Corvette, kept the drivers attention while the crew worried about a rising oil temperature gauge. "The engine oil temperature was high and that worried me." said Powell. Despite their concerns, Goad and Powell raced away to a 38 second advantage and held on for the race win. Second-year SGS racers Joe Nonnamaker and Bill Pate crossed the line in second with their Planet Earth Motorsports #37 followed closely by the #37 Corvette, driven to the finish by John Heinricy.

Grand Sport
After an early battle with the Istook/Aines Audi S4, DG Racing drivers Jeff Lapcevich and John Shreiner pulled away from fellow Mustang Cobra R competitors Snipes Ford Motorsports and their own DG Racing team car to claim the GS title in Daytona. As if the tough field of 35 GS entrants wasn't enough, the DG Racing team had to battle mother nature for the win. Midway through the race, a light mist dampened the track, putting a premium on car control over the final stages of the event. At the checkereds, the #88 DG Racing machine claimed the victory by comfortable margin over the Snipes Ford Motorsports #46.

Sport-Touring
Fifteen of the over 80 cars that signed in for Friday's event contested for the ST crown at Daytona. With Howie Liebengood's BMW moving up to Grand Sport, the field was wide open for new class winner. After the two-hour grind, Power Team Racing stood victorious with drivers Mike Keravich III, Jason Potter, and Liebengood's former teammate, Andy Lally. "The car was very smooth," recalled Potter. "We did get stuck in traffic with the GS cars, and we did have a fight with the Lexus, but we were better than them in the braking zone." Team Lexus brought their Lexus IS300 home in second after a race-long battle with the winning Acura Intergra R of Power Team Racing.