Rolex 24 at Daytona Entry List update 98-12-23

HAPPY HOLIDAYS: The USRRC and SCCA Pro Racing offices will be closed December 25 through January 4 in observance of the winter holiday season. This USRRC FAX is a continuation of the entry list fax which was released December 16.

DYSON RACING ENTERS TWO CARS: The 1998 USRRC Championship-winning Dyson Racing Team has entered its familiar No. 16 and No. 20 Goodyear/Bosch/Hella Ford Riley & Scott Can-Am cars, led by 1998 Can-Am Drivers' Champion James Weaver and runner-up Butch Leitzinger. Joining Weaver in the No. 16 entry are team owner Rob Dyson, Elliott Forbes-Robinson and Dorsey Schroeder. Leitzinger leads the No. 20 entry and is joined by Andy Wallace -- who helped the No. 20 car to the Rolex crown in 1997 before driving the Panoz GT1 car in 1998 -- and team newcomer Stu Hayner, who contested a partial Trans-Am season in 1998, scoring one win at Road America.

LOLA RETURNS WITH WINNING COMBINATION AT KONRAD MOTORSPORT: Austrian Franz Konrad has entered the first of the new generation Lola sports racers into competition with the No. 32 Lotus-powered Lola B98/10 to be shared with Jan Lammers. Lola is a name synonymous with sports racing success, mainly in the first- and second-generation Can-Am Championship. Lola scored its lone Rolex 24 At Daytona victory in 1969, when Mark Donohue and Chuck Parsons defeated the similar Lola Chevy of Lothar Motschenbacher and Ed Leslie. Konrad became a Rolex 24 winner for the first time in 1998, taking GT2 in one of two entries from his team, Konrad Motorsport. Lammers, of Holland, has one overall Rolex win, coming in 1990 in a Jaguar XJR-12.

Jon B. Field's Intersport team is also expected to campaign a Lola with Ford power, although no entry has yet been received.

SUPPORT NET BACK WITH A YEAR OF R&S EXPERIENCE: Support Net Racing and lead drivers Scott Schubot and Henry Camferdam will make their second run at the Rolex 24 At Daytona with its No. 8 Ford Riley & Scott. Last year, the team made its debut in a Riley & Scott at Daytona, qualifying sixth and running in the top-five for some time before a CV joint forced them into retirement. The team campaigned the car for the rest of the season, recording two podium finishes (Mid-Ohio and Watkins Glen). The remainder of the driver lineup has not been announced.

DOWNING ENTERS NEW FOUR-ROTOR MAZDA KUDZU: Downing/Atlanta Inc., which finished second in Can-Am in the 1998 Rolex 24 At Daytona, has entered two cars for the 1999 event, including the new four-rotor Mazda Kudzu DLY. Team owner Jim Downing, who won the Lights class in 1993, leads the No. 63 NEC Mazda Kudzu DLY entry including Howard Katz, Yojiro Terada and Chris Ronson. The No. 62 NEC Mazda Kudzu DLM entry (utilizing a three-rotor engine) will have Italians Fabio Montani and Ermando Ronchi and Dennis Spencer and Ben Treadway. Rich Grupp is listed as an alternate on both entries.

ROBINSON RACING WITH NEW R&S: Setting its successful Oldsmobile Aurora aside for 1999, Robinson Racing has purchased a new Riley & Scott and will utilize Chevrolet power in its Daytona Can-Am run. Joining team owner George Robinson in the No. 74 Ranch Resort/Line-X entry are Jack Baldwin, Irv Hoerr and Jon Gooding -- all of whom have one Rolex 24 class victory to their credit. Baldwin said the team has put together an accelerated testing program in preparation of the Rolex 24 and that it has "gone to extremes" with the development of its 305 ci. Chevrolet motor.

DOLLAHITE RACING ENTERS AVE FERRARI: Bill Dollahite, who campaigned a Spice in the 1998 Rolex 24 At Daytona before switching to a Ferrari for the remainder of the USRRC season, has entered the No. 88 Arterial Vascular Engineering Ferrari 333 SP, listing himself, Doc Bundy and Mike Davies as drivers. Dollahite and Davies recorded a best finish of fourth in Can-Am at Minneapolis after qualifying third overall. Despite not finishing at Daytona due to engine failure, Dollahite finished fifth in the Can-Am Drivers' Championship in his first full season of prototype racing. Bundy has one Rolex 24 GTO win, which came in 1985. Davies is a multiple SCCA Club Racing National Champion and has also won the PSCR WSR title.

FORMER GT CHAMPIONS ENTERED IN AUTO SPORT FERRARI: Dollahite will not have the only yellow Ferrari at Daytona, as Auto Sport Racing has entered the No. 00 Pirelli/Plastic Zeta/Shell Ferrari 333 SP for former GT2 and GT3 winners Enzo Calderari, Lilian Bryner and Angelo Zadra. Calderari and Bryner teamed to two-straight wins, GTS-2 in 1995 and GTS-3 1996. Zadra competed with Konrad Motorsport in 1998, taking the GT2 win. The trio contested the International Sports Racing Series in 1998, recording a top finish of third at Donnington. ASR was founded in 1994 as an Italian Super Touring team before switching to F3000 in 1995 with drivers such as Naoki Hattori and Tom Kristensen until 1997.

SECOND CORVETTE RACING ENTRY IN: Pratt & Miller has entered a second factory Chevrolet Corvette C5-R in GT2, joining the Riley & Scott entry under the "Corvette Racing" monniker. Pratt & Miller was responsible for most of the design, fabrication and development work on the racing Corvettes. Driving the No. 2 GM Goodwrench entry are Ron Fellows, Chris Kneifel and John Paul Jr.

Fellows has won at the highest levels of road racing, including Trans-Am, Busch Grand National, Craftsman Trucks and World Sports Cars. He put his Winston Cup car on the outside pole at the 1998 Bud at the Glen race, and was part of the team which took the overall Rolex 24 At Daytona last year. At 6'6", Kneifel stands the tallest of the "tall car" (all drivers are over 6'2"), and has the distinction of being the tallest-ever, and fifth-youngest CART competitor. Kneifel enjoyed most of his driving success in Trans-Am, where he was a part of three Manufacturers' Championship-winning teams and finished second in the Drivers' Championship in 1990. Kneifel isn't the only driver on the team with Indy car experience -- Paul Jr. has won in both CART (Michigan, 1983) and the Indy Racing League (Texas, 1998). Paul Jr. cut his teeth in sports cars early, and is a two-time Rolex 24 At Daytona winner.

1997 LE MANS WINNER HABERTHUR RACING ENTERS TWO PORSCHES: Haberthur Racing, which won the GT2 class at the 1997 24 Hours of LE MANS, has entered the Rolex 24 At Daytona for the first time with two cars. The team contested the 1998 FIA GT Championship with two cars, experiencing success with Michel Neugarten, Marco Spinelli and Gerd Ruch to finish fourth in the Team Championship. The No. 21 Alimonti Group/Restorante Giacomo Porsche 911 GT2 which won LE MANS in 1997 will be driven by Gabrio and Fabio Rosa, Roberto Mangifesta and Stefano Zonca. The Rosas teamed in a GT1 Chevrolet Camaro to finish fifth in class (27th overall) in 1998. The No. 31 Linel by Filattice/CISA Spa Porsche 993 GT2 will be driven by Mauro Casadei, Andrea Garbagnati, Stefano Bucci and Francesco Ciani. The quartet combined for a 10th-place GT1 finish (37th overall) in a Chevrolet Camaro in 1998.

PROTOSPORT GOES WITH ACURA IN GT2: Team Protosport GT, which finished third in the 1998 GT2 USRRC Drivers' Championship with William Stitt and David Russell Jr., has entered the No. 52 Easton Properties Acura NSX for Stitt in GT2. The car is the sister car to the Le Mans program developed in 1994. In 1995, the sister car won Le Mans in GT2, and finished third in 1996.

CHAMBERLAIN AND NP RACING ENTER VIPERS: After finishing third in GT2 in the 1998 Rolex 24 At Daytona, Chamberlain Engineering will return in 1999 with the No. 81 Chamberlain Engineering Dodge Viper GTS-R -- setting up the battle between Chevrolet, Chrysler and Porsche ultra high-performance sports cars. Driving for Chamberlain are KOOL/Toyota Atlantic driver Zak Brown and Rolex 24-rookie Christian Glasner. Brown finished second in GT2 at the 1997 Rolex 24 At Daytona in a Porsche, and contested the 1998 stateside GT2 FIA GT Rounds, finishing fourth at Laguna Seca.

While Chamberlain will only arrive for the race, NP Racing has entered the No. 03 Nicor/Chrysler/Dunlop/UCA Dodge Viper GS-R for the test. Scheduled to drive are Bret A. Parker, Rolex veteran Larry E. Parker, Kevin Allen and Chrysler engineer and test driver Neil Hannemann. The car is one of the initial Vipers to run at Daytona, Le Mans and Sebring in 1996.

G&W EXPAND TO GT2 WITH PK SPORT: After a successful 1998 season with Danny Marshall finishing second in the GT3 Drivers' Championship, G&W Motorsport has already entered two cars for the 1999 Rolex 24 At Daytona, including its Martyn Konig's Porsche 911 GT2. The No. 08 PK Sport entry is the same car which won the 1997 Privilege GT series, and will be driven by Konig (who finished eighth in GT3 at the 1998 Rolex 24), Jake Ulrich, Pete Chambers and Rob Wilson.

G&W has also entered its own No. 07 The Jennifer Fund Porsche 911 RSR for Marshall, his brother Steve, Darren Law, Sylvain Tremblay and Patrick Huisman. Law is a former North American Touring Car ace, Tremblay a current showroom stock standout and Huisman finished second in GT2 at the 1998 Rolex 24 after a late-race battle with the winning Konrad Motorsport entry.

DEFENDING CHAMPION PTG BMWS LEAD GT3 FIELD: Two-time defending GT3 Rolex 24 At Daytona winners The Prototype Technology Group have entered two cars for the 1999 event with a driver line-up full of big names. Scheduled to drive the No. 6 Yokohama/BMW entry are Boris Said, Brian and Mark Simo and Ernie Irvan. Said is one of the top road racers in America and has had considerable success in Trans-Am, the Craftsman Truck Series and GT competition. Twin-brothers Brian and Mark Simo, the family behind the No Fear name, will drive together at Daytona for the first time. Brian was the 1997 and 1998 Trans-Am runner-up with two wins in '98, while Mark captured the 1998 PSCR GT3 Drivers' Championship. 1991 Daytona 500 winner Irvan has more laps around Daytona than most people, but has never turned into the infield. Irvan should adjust easily though, he is one of the top Winston Cup road racers, with four road course wins.

The No. 10 Yokohama/BMW entry will have team leader Bill Auberlen, Hans Stuck, Peter Cunningham and Johannes van Overbeek. Auberlen has led the team to two-straight years of sweeping the 36 hours of Florida (Rolex 24 and Sebring 12). He won twice in three 1998 USRRC Races, finishing seventh in points. Stuck and Auberlen teamed on the Rafanelli BMW team the ISRS in 1998, and returns to Daytona after taking 1998 off. In 13 races, Stuck has one win, coming in a GTO BMW M1 in 1981. Cunningham has one Rolex 24 pole (GT3 in 1997) and win (GT3 in 1998), and begins his second season with the team. Making his PTG and Daytona debut, van Overbeek finished fourth in the 1998 World Challenge T2 Drivers' Championship despite missing two rounds.

TOAD HALL ENTERS 911 RSR: Toad Hall Racing has entered its No. 9 Keewaydin Group Prosche 911 RSR for Peter Kitchak. Kitchak was a member of the 1998 GT2-winning Konrad Motorsport effort, and has also won in the World Challenge T1 class.

T.C. KLINE AND BELL MOTORSPORTS ENTER THREE MORE BMWS: T.C. Kline Racing comes to Daytona with the No. 17 BMW M3 for drivers Pete Halsmer, Randy Pobst, Shane Lewis and rookie Bob Mazzuccola. A three-time class winner at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Halsmer returns to the track after sustaining injuries in the Petit Le Mans race in October. Pobst is the 1996 NATCC Champion and won the 1998 USRRC First Union Six Hours of the Glen in a GT3 Porsche. Lewis finished third in 1998 USRRC GT1 points after campaigning the Mosler Raptor all season, and is a former World Challenge S2 class runner-up.

Bell Motorsports, which won the 1998 Homestead USRRC round in GT2, has entered two cars for the 1999 Rolex 24 At Daytona. The No. 45 BMW M3 will be driven by team leader Scott Neuman, Tony Kester, James A. Kenton, Matt Drendel and Peter Baron. The No. 54 entry will be piloted by Leo Hindery, Barry Graham and James McCormick.

MILLENIUM, RWS-BRUN, PUMPELLY/ MITCHUM AND MANTHEY TO RUN GT3 PORSCHES: Millenium Motorsports has entered the No. 18 Yokohama/ E.P.E./JRZ/Warren Fastenings Porsche 911 RSR for drivers David Friedman, Geoff Auberlen and Chris Miller. Friedman finished sixth in GT3 at the 1998 Rolex 24, while Auberlen and Miller are rookies.

RWS-Brun Motorsport, which finished fifth in GT3 last year, will be back again with the No. 25 Porsche 993 RSR of Hans-Jorg Hofer, Luca Riccitelli and Gunther Blieninger.

Pumpelly/Mitchum Motorsprots will have David Kicak, Chris Mitchum, Spencer Pumpelly and Oma Kimbrough driving its No. 39 Porsche 911. Mitchum joins the trio which finished fourth at the First Union Six Hours of the Glen in 1998.

German-based Manthey Racing has entered the No. 56 Porsche 993 RSR for Uli Gallade, Marc Gindorf, Ulli Richter, Hans Willems and Olaf Manthey. Richter is a three-time class winner in GT3 (1994-1996) -- including an amazing third overall finish in 1994.

JACOBS LOOKS TO RUN BOTH GT3 AND CAN-AM: Michael A. Jacobs has entered both the No. 24 Ferrari 348 in GT3 and the No. 26 Chevrolet Argo in Can-Am. Drivers for the Can-Am entry have not yet been determined, but Jacobs, Frank Del Vecchio and John Steinmore are expected to pilot the Ferrari.

TEAM SEATTLE LOOKS TO BREAK OWN RECORD: After raising $200,000 for the Seattle Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in the 1998 Rolex 24 At Daytona, Team Seattle is back with a two-car effort and the goal of $220,000 and a GT3 class victory. Should the monetary goal be reached, Team Seattle would have raised half a million dollars toward the cause in its first three years.

In addition to the money Team Seattle generates on a pledge-per-lap basis, 46 Puget Sound Blockbuster Video Stores have agreed to donate one cent per video rental until the race -- a donation estimated at $20,000.

Alex Job Racing will again run the two car effort, with Don Kitch Jr., Kim Wolfkill, John Hill and Wade Gaughran driving the No. 22 AJR/Aerofab/Team Seattle Porsche 911 RSR and Darryl Havens, Cort Wagner, Kelly Collins and Anthony Lazzaro driving the No. 23 AJR/Aerofab/Team Seattle Porsche 911 RSR.

In 1998, AJR won the First Union Six Hours of the Glen in both the GT2 and GT3 classes -- breaking BMW's streak of 12-straight North American wins in GT3.

GOLDIN BROTHERS AND KRYDERACING ENTER TUBE-FRAMES IN GT3: While GTT is designed for V8-powered machines, former GT3 tube-frame cars will be allowed to compete through the 2000 Rolex 24.

Steve and Keith Goldin have entered their No. 27 Big Brothers/Big Sisters Mazda RX-7, and will handle the driving duties along with Scott Finlay. Last year, the Goldins finished 17th in class at the Rolex 24, and finished fourth in GT2 at Homestead.

Kryderacing will field its traditional No. 57 Nissan 240SX with Reed Kryder, Steve Ahlgrim and Christian Heinkele handling the driving. This will be the team's 10th start, with a top finish of sixth in GTU in 1990.

M.A.C. RACING RETURNS TO DAYTONA WITH GT3 SUPERCUP: For the first time since 1978, M.A.C. Racing and Carlo Noce will make the trip to Daytona from Italy with a Porsche for the Rolex 24. Driving the No. 66 P.V.S. First Aid/FACI Europe/IBA Tires Porsche 993 Supercup will be Massimo Morini, Luca Cattaneo, Antonio De Castro, Retano Premoli and Vanni Re. Each of the Italians has almost exclusively driven Porsches throughout their careers, including Supercup and endurance competition.

RACERS GROUP ENTERS TWO CARS: The Racers Group and principal Kevin Buckler have entered two Porsche 911s, Nos. 67 and 68. Driving the No. 67 entry are Barber Dodge driver Brian Pelke, his father Steve Pelke (who contested two Trans-Am races in 1998), Japanese driver Kiichi Takahashi and Porsche Club racer Ron Herrerias. Joining Buckler in the No. 68 entry are Porsche standouts Mike Conte, Bruno Lambert and Nick Holt -- who finished second in GT3 in 1998 in one of the Team Seattle entries.

HENDRICK PORSCHE AND TURNING POINT RACING ENTER ONLY TWO NON-911 PORSCHES: 911/993-bodied cars are not the only Porsches entered in the 1999 Rolex 24 At Daytona, as Hendrick Porsche and Turning Point Racing have registered a 968 RS and 986 Boxter in GT3. Scheduled to drive the No. 98 Hendrick Porsche 968 RS are Charles Cocker and Dave White. White is a two-time winner at Daytona in GTU -- taking the 1978 24- and Six-Hour wins.

The No. 0 Turning Point Porsche 986 Boxter is a tube-frame car campaigned by Marvin Epps. This is Epps' first run at Daytona.

JACK LEWIS, GREYCLIFF AND SCHMIDT TEAMS ROUND OUT PORSCHE ENTRIES: Three teams who have top-10 class finishes in the last two years complete the early GT3 entries -- Jack Lewis Enterprises, Greycliff Racing and Schmidt Motorsports.

Coming off his best finish (fourth) in 10 races, Jack Lewis will campaign the familiar No. 73 Porsche 911. Joining Lewis, who has seven top-10s at Daytona, is Kevin Wheeler.

Coming off a sixth-place GT3 finish at the 1998 Rolex 24 is Greycliff Racing and the No. 01 NETTTS/HDL/Instruction Set Porsche 911 RSR. Again driving the car will be Mark Greenburg, John Drew, Jim Nelson and Beran Peter.

Returning after taking a year off following its ninth-place finish in GT3 in 1997 is Schmidt Motorsports and the No. 04 On the Edge Performance Porsche 993 RSR. Leading the team is the father/son effort of Max and Rusty Schmidt. Joining the duo is Jeff Conkel.

SK GROUP MOTORSPORTS ENTERS FIRST GTT MUSTANG: After acquiring Tom Gloy's Ford Mustang Cobra which finished third in GT1 last year, Kyle H. McIntyre has entered the car under the SK Group Motorsports name. McIntyre and Gary Stewart are the only drivers listed on the No. 19 GTT entry at this time.

RANKIN, DIABLO AND ANNIS BACK WITH GTT CAMAROS: Coming home a satisfying sixth in GT1 in 1998, Rankin Racing returns as one of the favorites in GTT with the No. 40 Colonial Bank/P.I.E. Electronics Chevrolet Camaro. Led by owner David Rankin, Hank Scott and El Salvadorian Toto Lassally return from 1998's line-up. Joining the trio are C. Peter Pope from the Pro Spec Racer Series and Richard McDill.

Diablo Racing makes its third Rolex 24 At Daytona appearance with the No. 53 Powermaster/CATZ Chevrolet Camaro of team owner Tom Scheuren, Mayo T. Smith, Bob Jones, John McNaughton and Wilhelm Braun. In the team's previous two starts, it has finished 17th and 14th in GT1.

John Annis has entered the No. 87 Chevrolet Camaro which finished ninth in 1998. Joining Annis behind the wheel are Bill and Steve Ladoniczki and Mark Kennedy.

RIDE BOARD STILL AVAILABLE: The Rolex 24 At Daytona Ride Board is still full of drivers looking for teams and teams looking for drivers. While updates may not be immediate over the next week due to the holidays, update information can still be sent to Eric Prill at prill@csi.com. The Ride Board is available to teams and drivers at no cost, and can be accessed through www.usrrc-series.com.

SPORTING REGULATIONS AVAILABLE: The all-new USRRC Sporting Regulations are now available via the USRRC internet site (www.usrrc-series.com). Bound copies will be available at the Test Days.