Daytona24: Jeff Segal final practice report

Jeff Segal and the FXDD/SpeedSource Team Post Solid Times in Final Practice for the 49th Running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (January 28, 2011) - Jeff Segal and the No. 69 FXDD/SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 GT team have finalized their race setup for the 2011 Rolex 24 At Daytona, posting a solid lap time of 1:50.338, (116.152 mph) around the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road course in the final practice session of the weekend.

"Today is a little bit of an improvement over yesterday," Segal said. "We're making baby steps forward and we've got the car a little bit more friendly. We got Nick Ham and Anthony [Lazzaro] a little more seat time and they're up to speed which is great. We're out of time, which is unfortunate, but I think the car is as good as we're going to make it so at this point we're on to the race."

Segal is joined by an accomplished list of co-drivers for this year's contest, including co-champion Emil Assentato, Nick Ham, Anthony Lazzaro and Nick Longhi. Tomorrow the defending GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 GT Class Champion will get a chance to showcase his skills in front of a field of champions from all disciplines of auto racing.

"It's fantastic," Segal said. "The Daytona 24 is great because it's all the big name guys that you watch on TV and you read about, and you get to race against them on the same racetrack and prove your worth which is great. Those guys are really talented, a lot of them come in and just jump into a completely different car, a different kind of racing and excel. It's great, we had the Champion's photo this morning and I was standing up there next to a bunch of NASCAR guys and Indy Car guys. It's cool to be a part of that, definitely."

The FXDD/SpeedSource team's last on-track action came in pre-season testing earlier this month at the Roar Before the Rolex 24, and this weekend's event marks the official kick-off of the 2011 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series season. The off-season wasn't all fun and games for Segal though, as the Miami, Fla. resident had to balance his training routine with a new challenge.

"I've been doing a good amount of training for this race, quite a bit of karting, riding my bike," Segal said. "In Miami that's the big thing, everybody is into riding road bikes out on Key Biscayne. The other thing that I get to do in the winter is go to a real job. I've been up in Philadelphia working for my dad, out of an office, which is a little bit of a culture shock coming from the racetrack."

Racing action for the Rolex 24 At Daytona begins tomorrow, with Segal taking the green flag at 3:30 p.m. ET/ 12:30 p.m. PT.

-source: jeff segal PR