Road Course as Regular Top-10 Performer
One-Day Daytona Prototype Event Offers Challenges and Opportunities for Lester and Lewis
The Rolex 24 At Daytona in January kicked-off a bright 2008 season for Southard Motorsports. On July 3, the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series returns to the high- speed road course for the Brumos 250 at Daytona. Having run regularly in the Top-10 this season, the Steve and Martha Southard (Powell, Ohio)-owned team sees the Daytona International Speedway (DIS) as the ideal setting for a breakthrough victory in the intensely competitive Daytona Prototype (DP) class. The January event was the location at which NASCAR veteran Bill Lester (Atlanta) first joined with Grand-Am winner Shane Lewis (Jupiter, Fla.) in the No. 3 Southard Motorsports Lexus-Riley. Since that time the Powell, Ohio-based team has shown impressive consistency finishing regularly deep inside the top- half of the large and cutthroat field. A solid run in treacherous conditions on June 21 at Mid-Ohio spurred the expectations even higher for one of the foundation teams of the Grand-Am Series.
Southard Motorsports No. 3 on track. Image by Juha Lievonen While far shorter than the twice-around the clock event that made sports cars famous at Daytona, the Brumos 250 has its own unique set of challenges. While fighting the same demanding course, the schedule is far more taxing than in January. Because the event runs on the same day that NASCAR practices and qualifies, track time is limited. Even more restrictive is the time between sessions. The first practice begins at 10 AM (local time) with both DPs and GT cars on course. These full-field practices, three in total, run until 12:35 PM with only two 15-minute breaks in the action. This forces the team to weigh the benefits of taking the car to the garage with the loss of track time that accompanies it. The final opportunity on-track before the race is 15-minutes of qualifying at 1:45 PM. The race itself will be limited to only two hours and 30- minutes, 15-minutes shorter than the traditional time limit, to complete the 250 miles/70 laps. The nighttime-event - scheduled to start at 8 PM (ET) following NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying - marks a near-perfect location for the Powell, Ohio-based team to break into the winners' column after posting multiple top-10 finishes already this season. The 3.56- mile, 12-turn "speedway road course" fits the team's experience and style well.
Of the Southard Motorsports contingent, Lewis has enjoyed the most success on the Daytona asphalt. He has 11 Rolex 24 hour starts amid his career 25 24 hour races. Lewis finished second in GTS class of what has been traditionally known as the Paul Revere 250 Rolex Series event, in July, 2003. In 2002, Lewis won the season-ending race in what is now known as the KONI Challenge ST class at Daytona. He captured the Inaugural IMSA Endurance Championship Race, Touring Class, here in 1996.
For DP rookie Lester, Daytona has been the site of more Grand-Am Series starts than any other course in his career- he has six Rolex 24 starts dating back to 1998. In a season that Lester has had to dedicate much of his seat time to learning the twists and turns of new tracks, the knowledge of DIS will allow him to attack the course from the start of the one-day event. Previous to his fulltime return to sports car racing, Lester was a regular in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. During that time he became very familiar with the steep banking of the DIS oval. That experience will prove vital considering the banking makes up a third of the course.
For the Southards as well as team engineer Buddy Fey and crew chief Rich Howe, Daytona is the location of some of their most impressive performances and ranks high on the "most starts" list for the team. At the season-opener, Lewis and Lester - then joined by NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour veteran Ted Christopher (Plainville, Conn.) and IndyCar racer Alex Barron (Menifee, Calif.) - ran consistently within the top-10 for much of the race. However, a mechanical failure with four hours remaining led to a race-ending accident.
Television coverage of the Brumos 250 can be seen live on SPEED beginning at 8 PM (ET). Live timing and scoring of each session can be found at Grand-Am.com.
Quotes
Steve Southard Owner: About the challenges of racing at Daytona in July: "Daytona [International Speedway] in the middle of the summer is a totally different track than it is in January. The biggest challenge is that, not only is it hotter overall, but we practice and qualify in the heat of the day and then race in the relative cool of the evening. It really takes two different setups for those conditions. The schedule makes for a long day because we move in, do everything we do, and then move out that night. If you have to miss any part of the practice to make any major changes you miss valuable track time. Hopefully we are good to go right out of the trailer."
About the string of upcoming races: "We are just starting a stretch of races that are all close to one another and we cannot have any major problems. We won't have the time between venues to do major repairs so we have goals to finish races and stay out of trouble. That can be a real challenge with races like Mid-Ohio. We were lucky to come out there without any major damage. Give credit to Shane and Bill for that. They stayed out of trouble in a trouble-filled race. That is the approach we will need here in the heart of the schedule."
Bill Lester, Driver: About his expectations: "The whole team is working extremely hard. Returning to Daytona gives us an advantage since we already have a baseline setup which we have raced this year. My hope is that a few minor tweaks to that platform will give Shane and I what we're looking for out of our race car."
About the challenges of racing at Daytona in July: "Daytona is almost like a home track for me. Although I've probably raced the oval configuration more than the road course, having that familiarity with the track will be advantageous. However, I've never been on track in July. It's always been during the winter season that I've driven Daytona so I'm expecting a whole lot less grip this time around. If Daytona is anything like most surfaces, the hotter weather will provide a slicker race track so that should be interesting to experience."About the challenges of the one day schedule: "Since this is a one day event it will be critically important to be on pace from the moment we unload. If the homework was done back at the shop and Shane and I are able to get what we ask for out of the car, we'll get that top-five [finish]. But we won't know that until the first on-track session."
About the honor of racing at Daytona: "Daytona is special. It's like the Holy Grail of racing. Anyone who knows anything about racing in this country or abroad has heard of Daytona. The history of the place speaks for itself and anytime you get an opportunity to run around there is special. As soon as you come through the tunnel, you know you've arrived as a race car driver."
Shane Lewis, Driver: About the challenges of racing at Daytona in July: "This race at Daytona is always so different than the 24 Hour. The biggest reason is the weather. At the 24 Hour it can be as cold as any track you have ever been at. In the summer, it's as hot as any race track you have ever been at. It makes you wonder if it is even the same place."
About the challenges of the one day schedule: "The mentality is different. In January, we have the Test Day and then you have several days on track to prepare. This week we will be getting everything done on the Southard car in one day. From practice and qualifying to the race deep into the night; it's just such a totally different mindset. It really impacts the setup. The practice setup for the car can be a little deceiving. You practice in the hot sun but have to remember that you need a good setup for the night. Even though it's still very hot and muggy at night the track conditions really change from the first practice until the end. It is just a huge challenge for the teams. We have always been good at stepping-up to challenges at Southard Motorsports so we are looking forward to this week's challenge."
