Road Atlanta: Terry Borcheller preview

new home track

Terry Borcheller is ready for his first home race at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga. Although he has raced on the classic road course since his karting days, the Sept. 25 Petit Le Mans will be his first race at Road Atlanta since he moved to nearby Gainesville, Ga., last winter. It's no surprise he found a home near the track where he clinched the 2001 American Le Mans Series GTS driver championship, one of his six professional racing titles.

"It's my home track now, and I like that!" Borcheller said. "There have been a lot of special moments with Road Atlanta, dating back to 1983 with my karting championship and, of course, the 2001 ALMS championship. It's been a big race for me throughout my career in a lot of ways. Skip Barber used to do an invitational Formula Ford race in the early 1990s. Just to be invited was a big deal and I won it, out of the best in the entire U.S. in that festival."

more than a race

Borcheller will drive the No. 63 ACEMCO Motorsports Saleen S7R with Johnny Mowlem of London, England and Joao Barbosa of Porto, Portugal in the Petit Le Mans, second-last race in the 2004 American Le Mans Series. Although it's a major race at 10 hours or 1000 miles, Borcheller said it's much more than a sporting competition.

"It's really not a race, it's an event. It has the atmosphere of Le Mans, on a smaller scale, which is what it is supposed to be . It's a great event for spectators - last year the attendance was 64,000. I'm just real excited that it's my home track now, my home event."

off-track

In addition to the four days of track activity at Road Atlanta, Borcheller will compete in a Motorsports Ministries go-kart race on Tuesday evening. He will also host a special guest, Jeremy Subriar, representing his personal sponsor K&N Performance Filters, during the race weekend.

details (ET)

The Petit Le Mans is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 25 from noon to 10 pm on the 2.54-mile Road Atlanta road course in Braselton, Ga. The race will be covered live on Speed Channel from 11:30 am to 4 pm, 5:30 pm to 7 pm and 7:30 pm to 10 pm.

The American Le Mans Series Radio Web will broadcast live qualifying on Friday, Sept. 24 and the race on Saturday, Sept. 25. ALMS Radio and live timing/scoring for all track sessions are at americanlemans.com.

-sp-