Daytona 24 Rand Racing 6 hour notes

The No. 8 Rand Racing Nissan Lola led the SRPII class of the Rolex 24 at Daytona for the first six hours of the race, and stayed in the top 10 overall. Anthony Lazarro of Acworth, Ga., started from the class pole on the 3.56-mile Daytona road course and handed a strong car to Terry Borcheller of Phoenix after 1h10. Bill Rand of Plano, Tex., drove the third stint, starting at 2h30, followed by Ralf Kelleners of Germany at 3h45.

"Everything's according to plan so far," said Borcheller. "We need to just keep doing what we're doing and hopefully not have any incidents on the track or mechanical problems with the car. It was pretty crowded early on. At night the track changes with the temperature and it gets dirtier, so we have a different set of obstacles. But less traffic will definitely help now, especially during the late hours of the night."

Team owner Rand was pleased with the team's performance. "We've kept the car out of trouble, and we'll just continue on with the pace we're going," he said. "I couldn't be any happier right now: we're in first place and we've been there since the start."

As a Daytona rookie, Rand enthused, "It's the best driving experience of my life, frustrating at times, but I made it through the first stint and hopefully will be better next time out."