Full Throttle

Those of us that spend too much time trolling the auto racing blogosphere and forums have all seen the outrage over “intruders” into “their” sport of NASCAR. Whether it be the imminent entry of Toyota to NASCAR’s top level, “foreign” drivers (a/k/a Juan Montoya), and the overriding (overblown?) issue of NASCAR disregarding “its roots,” the outrage is out there at varying levels.

On the issue of “foreign” drivers my question is shouldn’t the same people be just as outraged by “their drivers” leaving the cloistered world of NASCAR to compete in other racing series?

Specifically I’m referring to the annual Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car event that kicks off Daytona Speed Weeks each February. Current NEXTEL Cup champion Jimmie Johnson is entered in the #91 Lowe

You can add to the list of drivers from other racing series’ that has been sucked into BubbaLand.

Andy Belmont, who owns and drives an under-financed entry in the ARCA RE/MAX Series (and an occasional attempt to make a NEXTEL Cup field), will be at Lowes Thursday testing three-time and reigning Rolex Grand Am Champion Andy Lally behind the wheel of a Ford Taurus.

Lally has also run the 24 Hours of Le Mans, SPEED World Challenge Series, Barber Dodge Pro Series and USF2000 Series.

“I’m excited to have a chance to test with Andy,” said Lally. “I have raced at Charlotte before but in a light weight formula car which is very easy to hold flat around there. This will be a new experience for me. From time to time I get to do some oval racing and would love to do more but my opportunities keep coming in road courses. I’m trying to change that and really give a good push to get myself involved in more stock car racing, on both oval and road courses.”

The “magnet” that continues to draw in more and more drivers is going to rate it’s own category at the rate it’s occurring.

There’s little doubt Lally is talented behind the wheel it will be interesting to see how his lap times compare to recent speeds attained at LMS.

Andy Lally, NASCAR, NEXTEL Cup, Lowes Motor Speedway, Sports, Auto Racing, Motorsports, Full Throttle

I have no reason to post this except my smart-assed title: Playboy Goes Full Speed With Grand American Racing

Indianapolis 500 fourth place finisher and IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year, Danica Patrick has been invited by Rusty Wallace to co-drive his #2 Pontiac Crawford in the January 28-29 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Lead driver for the team is sports car veteran Allen McNish along with Boris Said, Wallace, who will be making his first ever sports car start and Patrick.

Patrick has never competed at Daytona, however she has had experience with the “sporty set” having previously driven a Ferrari Maranello F-550 at Road Atlanta, and also a PTG BMW.

While Wallace, who tested his #2 Crawford machine prior to Christmas, said this would be his

At least nine drivers with NASCAR ties are scheduled to test Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series cars Thursday through Saturday at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for the Jan. 28-29 running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Defending Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart and recently retired Rusty Wallace are on the entry list for testing. They will be teammates - but in different cars - for Howard-Boss Motorsports. Ganassi Racing driver Casey Mears will be part of Ganassi’s driver lineup, which includes former Cup driver Scott Pruett, who still drives road-course Cup events.

Two-time Busch Series champion Randy LaJoie is on the entry list, as are Mexican drivers Adrian Fernandez and Michel Jourdain, who ran partial schedules in the Busch Series last year.

NBC commentator and former Cup driver Wally Dallenbach will also participate. (SOURCE: Scene Daily)

Technorati Tags: Rolex 24 Hours, NASCAR, Sports, Auto Racing

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Bobby Labonte made his Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series debut earlier this year competing in the Rolex 24 At Daytona co-driving the No. 44 Doran Racing Pontiac Doran with his brother Terry, Jan Magnussen and IndyCar star Bryan Herta.

After finishing ninth overall in the Rolex 24, Bobby Labonte is poised to make his second appearance on Daytona International Speedway’s historic 3.56-mile road course in the Brumos Porsche 250 Rolex Sports Car Series race on Thursday, June 30, part of the Pepsi 400 weekend. He will share the No. 44 Loctite-sponsored Pontiac Doran once again with his brother, a two-time NEXTEL Cup Champion.

“I had a blast in the Rolex 24 race at Daytona and I’m looking forward to the Brumos Porsche 250,” said Bobby Labonte, who drives the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race. “I guess the July race is a little shorter than the one in February — it’s definitely more of a sprint race.”

Before last weekend’s Aaron’s 499 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, Bobby hopped in his red No. 44 Daytona Prototype for a parade lap around the legendary 2.66-mile tri-oval in Alabama as part of the pre-race festivities.

The 2000 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion is really enjoying the competition provided by sleek and stylish Daytona Prototypes.

“The Rolex cars are so much fun to drive, and I had the chance to drive my No. 44 Doran Pontiac before the Talladega NEXTEL Cup race, which was pretty neat,” Bobby said. “I learned a lot about the cars and the Daytona road course during the Rolex 24, and, hopefully, I’ll be able to learn more in July. I’m looking forward to it.”

The No. 44 machine will carry sponsorship from Henkel in North America’s Loctite brand. Other Henkel brands appear on the NASCAR Busch Series machine of Greg Biffle–who also competed in the 2005 Rolex 24 At Daytona–and the company is also an official supplier and sponsor to the West McLaren Mercedes team in Formula 1.

The Labontes won’t be the only NASCAR competitors in the Brumos Porsche 250. Labonte’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Tony Stewart, who drives the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet, is expected to race in the 70-lap, 250-mile race.

Current NEXTEL Cup Series points leader Jimmie Johnson–who co-drove the No. 4 The Boss Snowplow Pontiac Crawford to a second-place result in the Rolex 24 At Daytona with Howard-Boss Motorsports regular drivers Butch Leitzinger and Elliott Forbes-Robinson–recently expressed an interest in running the Brumos Porsche 250 as well.

“I would like to race the 4th of July race in Daytona,” Johnson said. “I think it would work well. I know Tony ran the Watkins Glen race. I’ve got mixed emotions on doing that, but I definitely would like to do the (Brumos Porsche 250) race if it all works out. I’ve put my feelers out there to the Crawfords (the family that manages Howard-Boss Motorsports) and have let them know. We’ll see if we can get something pulled together.”

Source: Racing One

From daytime to nighttime and back again, teams led by Tony Stewart and Max Angelelli fought for the lead in the Rolex 24 endurance race. Then, with just 123 minutes left in the 24-hour sports car event, the Pontiac Crawford that 2002 NASCAR champion Stewart shared with former race winners Andy Wallace and Jan Lammers had a gearbox failure.

That allowed Angelelli to protect what suddenly became a comfortable lead, and the Italian driver, Wayne Taylor and Emmanuel Collard claimed an 11-lap victory Sunday at Daytona International Speedway in their Pontiac-powered Riley prototype.