JLowe returns for his eighth Daytona 24H

Fresh off a successful running in the 2012 inaugural GRAND-AM North American Endurance Championship with co-driver Paul Tracy and team owner Kevin Doran, Jim Lowe returns to Daytona. The team secured four top-10 finishes in 2012 with a best of 6th in DP at the inaugural Brickyard Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this past July with their Daytona Prototype.

Jim Lowe

Photo by: IMS LLC

In 2013, Doran Racing of Lebanon, Ohio will again compete in the NAEC, starting with the 51st Rolex 24 at Daytona; but now, they have a much deserved brand new car at their disposal.

“This is my favorite week of the year,” said Jim Lowe. “The Rolex 24 has a lot of exciting elements about it and it really spans the whole month of January. This week is especially exciting for us. We are getting a brand new car with a chassis/body combination that no one else has run before. It’s a Riley body on top of a Dallara Doran chassis. No such combination exists out there. Our first chance to run the car will be the practice sessions on Thursday and Friday due to the late build schedule. It’s not a lot of time, but we will focus on having good sessions and use that time to learn all the nuances in the cars performance quickly. Hopefully it will act like the old Dallara chassis in terms of how it behaves; it will just be faster with better down force and less resistance. We still have Ford power which we are real happy about. Traditionally Fords have run very well at Daytona. The interesting part will be the combination of the Riley body work on top of the Dallara Doran chassis.”

Along with JLowe and PT, Rolex 24 veteran Colin Braun and Jon Bennett complete a formidable driver lineup. Braun and Bennett are the 2012 Driver co-Champions in the American Le Mans Prototype Challenge class.

JLowe and PT consistently ran clean races in 2012, encountering no major mechanical issues and neither driver putting a wheel off. Now everyone is eager to run the high banking with a faster car and a real chance to win the coveted Rolex timepiece. This will be a quest for Doran Racing’s fourth overall victory at Daytona.

The crew in Ohio has been working tirelessly to get the car ready for the big debut this week. “Everyone is welcome to come by the garage and have a look,” said team owner Kevin Doran, “even though we won’t have time for a formal garage tour.”

JLowe and the whole Doran Racing Team have the dream of securing the top honors of overall Champion at the end of the 24 hours at Daytona.

JLowe