SCC: Homestead: SpeedSource preview

SpeedSource comes home for Homestead.

Sunrise, FL -- The Grand Am Cup season kicks into top gear this weekend as the eleven race sportscar endurance series heads to Homestead Miami Speedway, the home track of SpeedSource Race Engineering, Inc. Homestead will mark the second race of the season for the Grand Am Cup, and will kick off a stretch of six races in ten weekends.

The season started off on January 31st at Daytona International Speedway. The ten week break has not given the team much rest however.

John Beitz, Crew Chief for the #66 and #70 Grand Sports I Porsches explains: "After Daytona we continued to develop our cars and drivers by doing a sprint race at Sebring (on March 14th). After that we went to Barber Motorsports Park to continue testing. With our constant research and development, we have made some strides in the down time, mostly on the suspension side of things."

"With our success over the last couple of seasons we have been able to make some substantial investments in the team here recently," team owner Sylvain Tremblay added. "This break has allowed us to get a 1200 HP Dynojet Dyno installed back at our shop which will allow us to develop the motor much more rapidly. In road racing the set up is just as important as the engine, and for that reason we have installed a 20' by 8' steel surface plate to help with set-up consistency."

With their new equipment and new-found set up knowledge SpeedSource will be going to the second race of the year looking to improve upon their impressive performance at Daytona. SpeedSource started the season off with a third and fourth place finish in Grand Sports I at Daytona. With the Homestead Miami Speedway being located just one hour south of SpeedSource's new shop in Sunrise, FL, the team considers the track to be their home track.

"The last time we went to Homestead we sat on the pole and won the race in Grand Sports II," added David Haskell, the 'Sensation from Plantation (Florida)'. "This time we are really want to do the same in Grand Sports I."

Outside of Grand Sports I, SpeedSource will be looking for wins in two other classes. In Sports Touring I the team will be campaigning one Porsche Boxster for Scott Schlesinger and Wade Williams. The Boxster scored a seventh at Daytona and the team expects the Homestead track may favor their Boxster more than the high banks of Daytona.

In Grand Sports II the #41 SpeedSource Porsche took home victory at Daytona. Drivers Wayne and Joe Nonnamaker are looking to repeat that at Homestead.

"We never expected to win at Daytona," commented Wayne Nonnamaker. "The high banks of Daytona should have favored the V-8s. What won us that race was the excellent set up from SpeedSource. Because the car was very well balanced, it allowed us to run consistent lap times the entire race. That consistency is what won us the race."

Practice starts on Saturday April 12th. The race will start at 12:30 on Sunday and will last 250 miles or three hours, whichever comes first.

** Grand Sports I - #70 Porsche GT3 Cup **

SPONSORS: Redhat / Workscape / Speedsource / Champion Porsche / Fikse Wheels

DRIVERS: Selby Wellman and Sylvain Tremblay Tremblay, the owner of SpeedSouce, co-drove with David Haskell to the above mentioned 2001 win at Homestead. The win at Homestead began a streak of six wins in seven races that propelled Tremblay to the Grand Sports II Championship. Wellman, a resident of St. Petersburg, FL., was involved in the testing session mentioned above at Sebring.

** Grand Sports I - #66 Porsche GT3 Cup **

SPONSORS: Mears Motor Coach / SpeedSource / Champion Porsche / Fikse Wheels

DRIVERS: Paul Mears, Jr. and David Haskell Paul Mears Jr. is from Orlando, FL and although his hometrack is Daytona, Mears has spent many hours on the Homestead track in regional and professional racing. Haskell scored the Grand Sports II pole position and win with Tremblay when the series last visited the track in 2001.

** Sports Touring I - #68 Porsche Boxster **

SPONSORS: Giantbank.com / Onboard Media / Papa John's Pizza / Champion / Fikse / Speedsource

DRIVER: Scott Schlesinger and Wade Williams Scott will have a rotating cast of top level drivers with him throughout the season as he campaigns the Porsche Boxster in the Sports Touring I class. Schlesinger also resides in Florida, calling Golden Beach his home. Hailing from Florida, Schlesinger has also recorded many laps on the 2.21 mile road course at Homestead.

** Grand Sports II - #41 Porsche 911 Type 996**

SPONSORS: SpeedSource / Orison Marketing / GOJO

DRIVER: Wayne and Joe Nonnamaker The father son duo won at Daytona to start the season. The #41 chassis is the same car that won at Homestead in 2001 with Tremblay and Haskell driving. With further development on both the suspension and the engine by SpeedSource, the team expects to repeat that feat.

-ss/wn-