Halsmer joins team for Rolex 24

Halsmer Joins St. James, Volk and Schroeder On TRV Motorsport Team for Rolex 24

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Jan. 30 - TRV Motorsport driver and team owner Tom Volk of Blissfield, Mich., has chosen veteran road racer Pete Halsmer of Bloomfield, Mich., as the fourth driver of the Toledo, Ohio-based team's Supreme Exhaust Systems Products Chevy Kudzu No. 95 in this weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona Int'l Speedway. The other team drivers are Indy 500 veteran Lyn St. James of Indianapolis and SCCA KOOL/Toyota Atlantic star Jeret Schroeder of Vineland, N.J. On Thursday St. James qualified the car for the race, which starts Saturday at 1 p.m. with Schroeder behind the wheel.

The 53-year-old Halsmer was the IMSA GT champion in 1989 (running a Cougar for Roush Racing) and 1991 (in a Mazda RX-7). He also raced in the 1981 and 1982 Indianapolis 500s.

He has competed in the Rolex 24 12 times, and he won the GT1 division in this event three times: in 1983 in a Mazda RX-7 co-driving with Bob Reed and Rick Knoop; 1988 in a Lincoln Mercury XR4ti with Scott Pruett, Paul Miller and Bobby Akin; and 1989 in a Mercury Cougar XR-7 with Mark Martin, Bob Earl and Paul Stewart. His best finish overall was third in the 1983 event. He has a total of five overall top-10 finishes in this race.

He competed in the International Race of Champions in 1992.

Halsmer wasn't intending to drive in the race this year, and the deal was finalized this morning. When asked how long he has known team owner and co-driver Tom Volk, he smiled and said "about 24 hours."

"Pete is one of the best drivers here this weekend, and we're pleased that he's joined our team," said Volk. "It was more of a case of him checking us out than us checking him out."

"I'm impressed with what he's done with this team, and I'm looking forward to the race," responded Halsmer.

Halsmer has never driven a Chevy Kudzu before, but he did test a Spice once for Andy Evans. He drove GTP cars for both Ford and Mazda in the eighties. He won a GTP race in 1985 in a Porsche at Riverside, Calif.

Halsmer is now busy getting situated in the car, and seeing what padding he might need for the 24-hour enduro. "The driving position seems to be good; Tom's been doing this for awhile, and the team is good. It should be fun!" he said.

Halsmer will also be behind the wheel this afternoon during the second round of Can-Am qualifying, which the team is using as a systems check following its scheduled engine change this morning. -30-