Homestead: Thursday practice notes

Nextel Grand Prix of Miami practice notes.

Brumos Red Bull, G&W Motorsports Daytona Prototypes Make Repairs Two of the Daytona Prototypes that sat out Thursday's opening practice session have made repairs and will be ready to hit the track at noon today.

The Brumos Racing #58 Red Bull Porsche-powered FABCAR Daytona Prototype suffered a fuel leak when it went out to practice on Thursday. The team was able to easily repair the leak, but unfortunately could not make the repair before the 1.5-hour practice was checkered.

The G&W Motorsports #8 BMW-powered Picchio Daytona Prototype also sat out the opening practice session. The team fell victim to clutch problems, which the crew has repaired. Driver Darren Law is slated to take the #8 Daytona Prototype out during the noon practice.

Bodywork Woes Befall Cegwa Sport

Fort Lauderdale-based Cegwa Sport might not be able to make this weekend's Nextel Grand Prix of Miami. Team owner and driver Darius Grala reports that the team's #3 Toyota-powered FABCAR Daytona Prototype suffered quite a bit of damage during the engine fire that took it out of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The team has been working hard to repair all of the damage to the Daytona Prototype in order to race on its 'home' track this weekend, but has run into trouble with its bodywork in recent days.

Brumos Racing, which also runs two FABCAR chassis, has offered to loan Cegwa Sport some extra bodywork pieces. However, the team is unsure if they will be able to make the adjustments and preparations in time to run in Saturday's Nextel Grand Prix of Miami.

As a backup plan, Grala has been added to the driver lineup for the G&W Motorsports Daytona Prototype in hopes of possibly earning valuable driver points.

Morgan-Dollar Hopes To Shake Shifter Problems

Morgan-Dollar Motorsports was leading the GTS class at the Rolex 24 At Daytona late in the race when shifter trouble sent the team's #46 Acxiom Corvette into the pits in need of extensive repairs. The problem caused the team to lose its strong GTS lead and eventually finish second in class.

During Thursday's practice session, similar shifter woes befell the team. However, driver and co-owner Rob Morgan believes that the crew has finally remedied the shifter problem and hopes to be gremlin-free for the remainder of the weekend. Morgan reports that a bubble in the line was the culprit, and the team is ready to hit the track today.

Red-Eyed Boris Said Looking For Win

Boris Said hopped a red-eye flight to make it to last year's Rolex Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in time for the green flag. Once again the Californian arrived at the racetrack a bit weary-eyed from the red-eye flight he took to make it to this weekend's event. Said will be sharing driving duties with Craig Stanton in the Bell Motorsports #5 BMW M3. Although the two have known each other for years, this weekend's Nextel Grand Prix will be their first time racing together.

The last time Said was at the wheel of the Bell Motorsports BMW M3 was at last year's 200-mile race at Phoenix International Raceway. Racing solo in the event, Said scored the GT win for the team with a two-lap lead over his nearest competitor. He's hoping his luck at the wheel of the BMW will continue on Saturday.

Tickets On Sale

Homestead-Miami Speedway will offer fans both road racing and open-wheel racing during the February 28 - March 2 event weekend, with the Rolex Series running the Nextel Grand Prix of Miami on March 1 and the IRL IndyCar Series running its season-opening Toyota Indy 300 on March 2. Tickets are currently on sale for the entire event weekend online at www.homesteadmiamispeedway.com or by calling the Speedway ticket office at 305-230-RACE.

For more information on the Nextel Grand Prix of Miami and the Rolex Sports Car Series, visit www.grandamerican.com.

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