SCC: Homestead: Look for new winners

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 31, 2003) -- Based on the 51 teams pre-entered for this weekend's Grand-Am Cup Series Miami 250 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, there will not be any repeat winners from the series' last stop at the South Florida track in March 2001.

That is not because those winning drivers are not still in the sport. On the contrary, half of the eight class winners are back again, but team realignments and class changes have scrambled things up a bit.

Of those winning teams from two years ago, only one pair of drivers is entered this time, but they cannot both win because they are not entered in the same car. David Haskell, of Plantation, Fla., and Sylvain Tremblay, of Pompano Beach, Fla., drove the #70 Speedsource Porsche to victory in the GS II class in 2001. Both drivers are still with Speedsource, but this year they will pilot different cars as Tremblay pairs with Selby Wellman, of St. Petersburg, Fla., in the #70 and Haskell joins Paul Mears, Jr., of Orlando, in the #66.

Mike Keravich, of Shirley, N.Y., was part of the Power Team Racing squad that won the ST I race in '01 and Pete Halsmer, of Bloomfield, Mich., co-drove the ST II winner from HART, but neither will duplicate that feat as they both have changed classes. Keravich is driving the #29 Acura LS of Bill Fenton Motorsports' ST II entry with Bob Henderson of Hobe Sound, Fla. Halsmer is still with HART, but he and teammate John Schmitt, of Sunbury, Ohio, will compete in the ST I class with their Acura RSX-S.

While Haskell and Tremblay cannot repeat together, one of them certainly can be a two-time winner in the GS II class. And while Keravich and Halsmer have no chance of repeating their class victories of 2001, they each can lay claim to wins in different classes. But with a full field of more than 50 cars, winning is not going to be easy for anyone.

Tickets to the Grand-Am Cup Miami 250 weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway will be sold at the gate for $10 per day or a two-day pass for only $15.

Additional information about the Miami 250 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and the Grand-Am Cup Series is available online at www.grandamerican.com.

-garra-