Rolex 24 Qualifying Laden With Skip Barber Trained Drivers

Just as almost a third of the entry list is filled with Skip Barber Trained drivers, so is the Top-20 in qualifying, proving that Skip Barber Trained drivers can hold their own at the sharp end of the stick.

72 different drivers comprise the driving teams that represent the first 20 cars on the grid. Of them, 13 are Skip Barber Trained, including two drivers on the GTO pole-qualifying Corvette. Justin Bell and Chris Kneifel will partner Ron Fellows in the number 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C5-R. It was Fellows who was behind the wheel for the pole winning run, but all three drivers were thrilled to have qualified ahead of the all-conquering Dodge Viper GTS-Rs.

Jim Mathews and Memo Gidley are partnering Stefan Johannsson and Guy Smith in the Number 36 Reynard Judd. That team is lining up fourth for the start, making Mathews and Gidley the top Skip Barber Trained qualifiers. Two-time Rolex 24 winner Butch Leitzinger will start eighth in the much ballyhooed Cadillac Northstar LMP. Andy Wallace and Frank Lagorce will share the driving chores with Leitzinger.

Other top-20 Skip Barber Trained drivers who will line up for this twice around the clock enduro include Boris Said and Mark Simo (12th), Tom Volk, Peter Boss, R.J. Valentine and Barry Waddell, all Skip Barber stalwarts will share car number 95 (16th), David Donohue will be at the helm of one of the powerhouse ORECA Vipers (18th) and Skip Barber Racing School instructor Kelly Collins will co-pilot one of the other Corvette C5-Rs.

This list represents but a few of the 90 total drivers entered in the 2000 Rolex 24 at Daytona who are Skip Barber Trained.