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Orbit Racing Daytona October test preview

Orbit Racing Set for Daytona Grand-Am Test and the 2009 Rolex 24 at Daytona Riviera Beach, Florida (October 23, 2008) -- Orbit Racing is pleased to announce its participation in next week's Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series test at Daytona ...

Orbit Racing Set for Daytona Grand-Am Test and the 2009 Rolex 24 at Daytona

Riviera Beach, Florida (October 23, 2008) -- Orbit Racing is pleased to announce its participation in next week's Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series test at Daytona International Speedway, on Monday-Wednesday, October 27-29. The test is the Florida-based team's first step in its return to the Daytona Prototype class and its announced entry in the 47th running of the 'Rolex 24 at Daytona', January 22-25, 2009.

The team will field a BMW-Riley with Kyle Petty, Leo Hindery and Darren Manning as the drivers in North America's premier sports car endurance event -- a race in which Orbit Racing had a stellar second place overall finish in 2004.

"We have a very experienced team going to Daytona next week," stated Orbit Racing's Rodger Hawley. Leo (Hindery) got this whole program started a couple of months ago and he was instrumental in securing Kyle Petty -- his long time friend."

NASCAR favorite Kyle Petty has a number of Grand-Am starts under his belt, including two memorable Rolex 24 runs at Daytona with Orbit. While he is more used to successfully tackling the oval layout of the Daytona International Speedway in NASCAR, next week's test will allow him to get reacquainted with the 3.56-mile, 12-turn, part-oval, part-road course circuit.

Hindery is also no stranger to the demands of endurance racing, having won the GT2 class of the world renowned '24 Hours of Le Mans' in France in 2005 and finished second in 2003. While the 'Rolex 24 at Daytona' will mark his competitive debut racing in a Daytona Prototype entry, the American's wealth of sports car experience, including four seasons with Orbit Racing, will undoubtedly prove valuable.

Joining Hindery and Petty for January's opening round of the 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series at Daytona will be England's Darren Manning. An IndyCar Series regular, having competed for the likes of Chip Ganassi Racing and AJ Foyt Enterprises, Manning is equally versed in the challenge of the 'Rolex 24 at Daytona', where in 2007 he finished runner-up in the Daytona Prototype class with teammates Patrick Carpentier, Ryan Dalziel and Milka Duno.

The team will be joined at the Daytona International Speedway October test by Lawrence Strohl and Mike Riolo. The three-day test outing heralds a return to Daytona Prototype competition for Orbit Racing which last competed in the category back in 2005 with a partial program for Jim Matthews.

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