Mid-Ohio: Duncan Dayton, Jon Field preview

Dayton, Field to Race at Mid-Ohio This Weekend

LEXINGTON, Ohio, June 23 - Although they were happy that their Intersport Racing teammates - Clint Field, Bill Binnie and Rick Sutherland - won the P2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France earlier this month, that race didn't go as well as Duncan Dayton and Jon Field had hoped for their own entry there this year.

They certainly don't have any time to dwell on the past, however. They participate in endurance sports car racing, and the drivers and teams of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) will be stressed as much as their machinery in the next seven weeks. Half of the season will be played out then, as five of the nine races on the 2004 ALMS schedule will be held in a little over a month starting this Sunday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course here.

Sunday's race begins at 1 p.m. Eastern time. The two-hour and 45-minute race will be broadcast on CBS from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern that day.

Both Dayton, of North Salem, N.Y., and Field, of Dublin, Ohio, consider Mid-Ohio to be one of their "home" tracks. Field lives closer, of course, but both he and Dayton have a great deal of experience on the challenging 2.25-mile, 13-turn road course.

They'll be driving the Intersport Racing Lola B160 Judd #37, with sponsorship from Banana Joe's, Highcroft Racing, Marquis Financial Services, Goodyear and Center Staging. It is one of four cars entered in the top class, called P1.

Practice will be held on Friday, with quals on Saturday at 2:55 p.m.

After Mid-Ohio the circuit moves to the track on the schedule that is closest to Dayton's residence, Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn., on July 5. Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. is on tap for July 18. Then it's off to Portland Int'l Raceway in Portland, Ore. on July 25 and Mosport Int'l Raceway in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada on Aug. 8 before there is a slight break.

For more information see www.intersportracing.com, www.americanlemans.com and www.restartcommunications.com.

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