Daytona 24: ASC Motorsports driver lineup

ASC Motorsports Announces Driver Lineup for Rolex Grand Am 24 Hours of Daytona

ASC Motorsports of Tiffin has announced its driver lineup for the Rolex Grand Am 24 Hours of Daytona. The team's cadre of five drivers from around the world brings together a wealth of talent and experience to compete for the GT class title in American auto racing's premiere endurance event.

ASC Motorsports principal Zach Arnold, who began his racing career in go- karts, has achieved success in various forms of sportscar racing in recent years, including five starts in the 2004 Grand Am Cup series. Arnold brings not only his driving talent, but also a unique understanding of the race car as the lead engineer in designing and building the team's Prep 2 Corvette C5R.

Swiss-American driver Kurt Thiel, who lives in Prangins, Switzerland, has extensive international sportscar racing experience. Thiel's career began in 1979 when he became the first Swiss-American to win the top spot at the Winfield Racing School, for which he was later a driving instructor. In addition to achieving racing success throughout Europe, he has competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona since 1996.

John Stevenson, from Swansboro, North Carolina, is an owner/driver in the Rolex Grand Am series. Stevenson will drive with ASC Motorsports at Daytona and plans to campaign his own car beginning at the Miami-Homestead race. He raced in the Shelby CanAm series in the mid-90s, and his recent driving experience includes 6th place overall in the GT class at the end of the 2004 Rolex Grand Am season.

Ken MacAlpine is originally from Scotland and has lived in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada for 28 years. A regular in the Grand Am Cup series, MacAlpine has been racing competitively for nearly 10 years. The Grand Am Cup team he drove with in 2004 finished the season 6th overall in the GS class.

Merritt Island, Florida resident Scott Turner's background is in professional vintage racing after finishing in 2nd place overall in the Panoz Racing School series. Turner started one race in the 2004 Grand Am Cup series at Homestead-Miami and earned a podium finish as the team finished the race 2nd overall.

Bill Arnold of Tiffin, Ohio is the team's crew chief. He has a storied background in American sportscar racing which includes several years of driving in the IMSA Camel GT series and many more years of experience in race car preparation and engine tuning.

ASC Motorsports is supported in the 24 Hours of Daytona by sponsors Arnold Machine Inc., Hekla, Morton Mini Storage, Extraordinary Travel Group, and Stevensonauto.com, The team has also received extensive support from Hoerr Racing Products and Brembo in preparation for the twice-around-the-clock race.

Arnold Machine, Inc. in Tiffin designed and built the team's Prep 2 Corvette C5R for the Grand Am GT class and is expanding its facilities to build customer race cars to Grand Am GT specifications. For more information, go to www.arnoldmachine.com.

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