Archangel announces Daytona Rolex 24 line up

Archangel returns for Daytona challenge.
NASCAR's Derrike Cope to join Bingham, Devries and Oberto

January 20, 2002, Road Atlanta, GA - The 2000 and 2001 Grand American SRPII Championship winning team, Archangel Motorsport, will once again mount an assault at the legendary Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway this February 1 & 2. NASCAR veteran Derrike Cope will join teammates Chris Bingham, Brian DeVries and Larry Oberto for the Archangel effort.

Archangel Motorsports Services, Inc., headquartered at Road Atlanta, will field their #21 Nissan Lola B2K/40 chassis #011 - with a win in '01 and a 2nd in '02. The #21 car features a Caldwell-built Nissan VQ30 V6. The championship team has scored two podiums in two visits to the Rolex -- with a class win in 2001 and a sixth overall in '02.

"We're very busy right now," says team owner Mike Johnson. "We're getting a little bit of a late start and are working very hard getting the car ready for the new SRPII rules. We have to add forward and rearward facing roll bars, plus go to a double dry break system. On top of that, we've got to go to the mandated rear wing, add 150 lbs., lose 4mm of restrictor and decrease fuel capacity from 24 to 15 gallons. The Grand American rules are definitely making it hard for us, but I'm sure that the team and our drivers will rise to the challenge."

In addition to his proven success helming a championship sportscar racing organization, Johnson is well known for his role as cast member on MTV's critically acclaimed "The Real World IV -- London.

2001 & 2002 Grand American GTS Champion Chris Bingham will co-pilot the team car in his 7th appearance at the Rolex 24. Bingham won the sprint race at Daytona in 2001 in the season finale. The partnering of Bingham and Cope for the endurance classic is very exciting as Bingham will run a limited schedule in Winston Cup this year with Cope's team -- as well as a full Busch season with Jay Robinson Racing. Bingham has created a very busy February schedule indeed, as he will run the ARCA race the weekend after the Rolex, and the Busch race the weekend after that!

Cope, the 1990 Daytona 500 Champion, will be Bingham's coach and consultant for both his 2003 Busch and Winston programs.

"I'm really looking forward to driving for Mike and his Archangel crew," says Bingham. "I've always had a great relationship with him and his squad throughout the last two Grand American seasons. "I feel that he operates a first-class operation and I look forward to a great race."

This will be DeVries' 6th attempt at the Daytona Beach classic -- and with a 2nd in class and 6th overall in last year's assault with Archangel -- he's shooting to best that result with this outing. This will be Oberto's second attempt to win the watch.

Archangel is proud to have the continued support of Nissan Motorsport and the team's Rolex effort will also carry support from the Reality Entertainment Group and Oberto Beef Jerky.

The 41st Rolex 24 can be seen on the Speed Channel network, which will start the broadcast from Daytona International Speedway beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 2. The coverage will include the 1 p.m. green flag and continue until 9 p.m. Speed Channel will pick back up with the racing action at 6 a.m. EST on Sunday, February 3, and will follow the race through the checkered flag and victory lane celebration.

-am/hc-