Rolex Sports Car Series Returns to Daytona for Finale
The Grand American Rolex Road Racing Series kicked off the 2001 season in February with its most prestigious race - the 39th annual Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona. On November 2-4, at the "World Center of Racing", Manheim's Daytona Auto Auction Presents The Brumos Continental Historics and the Grand-Am Finale as it wraps up its second season on the same asphalt where it started.
Rescheduled from September 14-16 due to the tragic events in New York and Washington on September 11, the Grand-Am Finale will be the final chance teams can earn points toward the 2001 season championships for all classes. Five-time Rolex 24 At Daytona champion Hurley Haywood says the guests who visit Daytona International Speedway are in for a real treat.
The Speedway will play host to Historic Sportscar Racing by day and the Grand American Road Racing Association by night. The unique combination of the two series will allow guests at the "World Center of Racing" to have an all-star Motorsports experience.
During the day, HSR will feature some of the century's most well-known racing machines and guests will get closer than ever to the famous cars and their drivers. At night, the Grand American Road Racing Association will take over with the season finales for Rolex Sports Car Series and the Grand-Am Cup.
"For the fans, it's going to be like a smorgasbord of every possible race car you could think of plus you're going to see a pro race at night," Haywood said. "You're going to have the newest race cars racing under the lights at Daytona which is exciting. During the daytime, you'll be able to go and see some of the all-time greatest racecars in history in the paddock. The spectators will be able to come and mingle with both groups and see all kinds of drivers. It'll be a cast of both the past and present."
Haywood, 53, will be pulling double duty during the weekend, competing in both HSR and Grand-Am. He'll be racing Brumos machines during the day and then will strap in a Porsche Lola from Champion Racing to compete in the Rolex Sports Car Series at night.
The Jacksonville, Fla., resident drove the same Porsche Lola in the 2001 Rolex 24 At Daytona with the late Bob Wollek, Dorsey Schroeder and Sascha Maassen. Despite testing more hours than any other team, Champion Racing suffered an engine failure around the nine-hour mark and finished 59th.
"We would've won Daytona this year if it hadn't been for that engine problem," Haywood said. "We're going to try it again and treat the Grand-Am races as a long testing session. Hopefully, we'll do all right and be competitive. Our eye is on next year's Rolex 24."
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