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Grand-Am Forges Ahead to 2001

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As the start of the second season of the Grand American Road Racing Association looms near, it is a time of change as well as a time to go forward. A testing session a t Daytona November 8-10, attracted 29 cars that were looking to tweak motors, check settings, and figure out which tires work best. As drivers and teams prepare their cars for another year of competition, they will also take some down time with friends and family before the big push, the 39th running of the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, February 3-4, 2001.

One of the highlights of the weekend test was the new #38 of Champion Racing. The Lola Porsche did not even exist last year but it is equipped with a gearbox that has won 10 24-hour races. Drivers Hurley Haywood and Bob Wollek were on hand to attest to the amount of power the Lola has.

"This is the first time a Porsche engine has been put into this kind of car."said Wollek. We are progressing, making the car, faster, handling better."

"It's not going to be the fastest car out there but it will be reliable," said Haywood. "Power is always good. You can never have enough power." The team manger, Mike Peters agrees that the team is always looking to improve the amount of power in a car because that is where the best lap times come from.

Banana Joe's Lola Judd of Intersport Racing had a great showing and posted the fastest times in three sessions. Jon Field, driver and car owner, was the one who posted those times yet he was not happy with the performance of his tires. He plans to make some changes.

The Intersport Racing team will feature two cars and three family members as drivers this year. Jon and Joel Field are twins, and Jon's son Clint will be competing also. The 17 year-old will be the youngest driver in the field for the Rolex 24.

"Clint's been going real good here in the test," father Jon noted. "Honestly I'm pretty impressed with how well he can drive one of these Sportsracers."

Among the fastest in GTO category was the #76 Gunnar Racing team which includes actor Paul Newman as one of its drivers.

The next practice-test session for Grand-Am will be during the first week of January, 2001 when even more cars will be competing in what is traditionally thought of as the start of the road racing season, The Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.

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