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Daytona Test: ASC Motorsports report

ASC Motorsports Tests at Daytona for Rolex 24 Tiffin, Ohio - January 9, 2006 ASC Motorsports recently tested the team's new Corvette C6 at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for its second season of competition in the ...

ASC Motorsports Tests at Daytona for Rolex 24

Tiffin, Ohio - January 9, 2006 ASC Motorsports recently tested the team's new Corvette C6 at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for its second season of competition in the Rolex Grand American Sports Car Series and the upcoming Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The car looked spectacular with the new C6 body and the off-season work by the engineers at Arnold Machine, Inc. of Tiffin, Ohio and the new motor from Gressman Powersports in Fremont, Ohio also proved to be outstanding as the #55 Corvette was immediately among the fastest GTs on the track.

In a crowded field of 75 race cars, including 42 GT machines, ASC Motorsports began Grand Am's January Test Days 2006 on a very high note. Drivers Zach Arnold of Tiffin, Ohio, Johnny Miller of Richmond, Virginia and Ken MacAlpine from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada shared the driving duties and quickly shook down the car, placing 7th in the GT standings at the end of the first practice session.

Throughout the first day of practice, the crew made adjustments according to the drivers' feedback, trying out new settings and learning how the car reacted to the changes. The team was comfortably in the top 10 most of the day, and the drivers were pleased with the car's consistency and stability.

As the night practice began, the strength of the team showed dramatically on the speed charts as the ASC Motorsports Corvette was the second fastest GT early in the session. Mid-way through the session, however, the car slid off the track at the chicane and hit the concrete wall, causing what initially appeared to be significant damage.

Fortunately, it looked much worse than it actually was with primarily cosmetic damage and broken suspension and drive train parts. Rather than risk the car or anybody else on the track, the team opted to load up and return to the shop to complete the repairs.

Despite the incident, the team considered the tests at Daytona a big success. The ASC Motorsports Corvette ended the first day of practice 7th fastest among the 42 GT cars at the track. Arnold, Miller and MacAlpine were pleased with the results. Speaking for all three drivers, Arnold said, "We're very happy with the changes made in the off-season and feel very good about our chances in the race."

ASC Motorsports will get the season underway with the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway January 25-29. The nation's premier endurance race takes the green flag at Noon on Saturday, January 28th. Grand Am will provide flag-to-flag online, real-time timing and scoring on their website at http://www.grandamerican.com/. The TV broadcast schedule has not yet been announced.

ASC Motorsports is currently interviewing interested drivers for the 2006 Rolex Grand Am GT season. The team has opportunities for a competitive, funded driver for the season as well as co-drivers for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Sahlen's 6 Hours at the Glen, and the season finale 9-hour race at the new Miller Motorsports Park.

-ascmotorsports.com.

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