TOPEKA, Kan. (Jan. 27, 2011) €“ When the 2011 motorsports season officially gets underway this weekend with the prestigious Rolex 24 At Daytona, more than 100 drivers at Daytona International Speedway will have significant ties to the ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû51xxtv and ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû51xxtv Pro Racing. The ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû51xxtv contingent in both the Grand-Am Rolex Series and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge races this weekend aren€™t drivers with just a loose tie to the organization, but a long list of drivers with an established ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû51xxtv racing background. The list of successes include 20 drivers who have won at least one National Championship at the ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû51xxtv National Championship Runoffs. Graham Rahal, Doug Peterson, Scott Tucker, Eric Curran, Randy Pobst and Boris Said are former National Champions competing in the twice-around-the-clock classic, while Andrew Aquilante, Bret Spaude, Tonis Kasemets, Tony Buffomante, B.J. Zacharias, Brad Rampelberg, Juan Leroux, Toby Grahovec, Steve Gorriaran, David Pintaric, Michael Galati and Chad Gilsinger will run in Friday€™s Continental Tire Challenge race. Pobst, who began his racing career between the cones in the ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû51xxtv Solo program, is the lone Solo National Champion in the field. Championships also abound from the ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû51xxtv Pro Racing ranks. Seven drivers are former World Challenge champs, including Pobst (making the list in his third ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû51xxtv discipline) and Galati, defending Rolex 24 winning driver Terry Borcheller, 2010 Touring Car Champion and Rookie-of-the-Year Robert Stout, David Murry, Bill Auberlen and Pierre Kleinubing. Rampelberg, in addition to his Runoffs win, is the defending ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû51xxtv Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup champion, while Tom Long is a champion in the former Miata Cup, a precursor to the MX-5 Cup. The ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû51xxtv Pro Racing Trans-Am Series is also very well represented, both on and off the track. Scott Pruett, Jack Baldwin and Said are all former Trans-Am Series Champions competing in the 24 hour race. Two former Trans-Am champions are now perched high above the Daytona road course in the SPEED television booth providing commentary for the weekend, David Hobbs and Dorsey Schroeder. The list of ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû51xxtv champions at Daytona wouldn€™t be complete, of course, without mention of more than 100 workers overseeing the 12-turn, 3.56-mile circuit, a group assembled via the Central Florida Region ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû51xxtv. More information on all the ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû51xxtv, its racing programs, and volunteer opportunities are available at www.scca.com or www.sccapro.com.
