Daytona 24: AASCO Motorsports confirms driver line-up

ANAHEIM, Calif., January 19, 2004 - Following a strong showing in testing for the Rolex 24 at Daytona earlier this month, AASCO Motorsports announced today its final driver line-up for the event. AASCO will field two Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entries, Nos. 16 and 17, for eight drivers. Today, Dennis Aase, team owner, released the line-up for the No. 16 Super Grand Sport (SGS) class Porsche with lead driver Craig Stanton of Long Beach, Calif., David Murry of Cumming, Ga. and Tim Sugden of Leeds, England. The No. 17 will be driven by a squad of Californians: Gary Becker, of Encino, Derek Clark of Los Angeles, Pat Flanagan of Laguna Hills, Joe Kunz of Laguna Beach and Mark Webber of Hidden Hills. Manny Martinez has been named chief mechanic for the No. 16 Porsche while Jim Moore will hold that role for the No. 17. Harry Haggard will act as engineer for both cars. Data acquisition for each will come from Joe Hullett while race strategy will be called by Mike Evans. The 42nd Annual Rolex 24 at Daytona will take the green flag at 1 pm (EST) on January 31st.

This running marks Stanton's seventh Rolex 24, Murry's 11th, Clark's third and Sugden's second. It will be the maiden Rolex 24 for the remaining AASCO Porsche drivers. Sugden, new to the team and many in America, is an accomplished sports car racer, winning the 1997 and '98 British Touring Car championships and finishing as vice-champion in '99. He has raced at Le Mans twice and is a former British National Karting champion.

Dennis Aase, team owner/team manager: "We had a possibility of three other drivers to join Craig and David for Daytona. Personalities are important to me; drivers working well together. Tim's record was pretty impressive and we have a number of guys on our team that have worked with him before and said he was excellent to work with. I have never met Tim but all the references have been excellent and say he's a real team player. Those things set Tim apart and made him our choice."

Craig Stanton: "I think we have one of the best driver line-ups in the SGS field. David and I both know how to drive endurance events. We can save the car and be efficient with it. I've never met Tim but I understand he is a very good driver. We should benefit from another pro like him. The Porsche has been very good in testing and Dennis has put together a great program. It all starts here."

David Murry: "I'm very pleased with the driver line-up for the Rolex 24. Craig and I are working real well together and I feel confident that Tim will step right into the picture perfectly. This is a long race and AASCO has done a great job of preparing the Porsche for the long haul. I think the combination of team, drivers and Porsche will be a great package for the Rolex 24."

Tim Sugden: "I am really excited about coming back to take part in the Rolex 24 again. I am especially excited because I think we have an excellent chance to do well. The car was quick in testing and my teammates have such experienced backgrounds. I can't wait to get back to Daytona and race the AASCO Porsche and see if we can't walk away with a new Rolex watch."

For more on AASCO Motorsports and Craig Stanton, please visit www.CraigStanton.com. For more on David Murry, please visit www.DavidMurry.com and for Tim Sugden, see www.TimSugden.co.uk.

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