Spirit of Daytona Racing Kansas bound
Spirit of Daytona Racing is eager to turn in luck this this weekend.
Photo by: Art Fleischmann
Daytona Beach, Fla. (14 August 2013) – Spirit of Daytona Racing is in search of a turn in luck this weekend as the Florida-based team travels to Kansas Speedway for Round 10 of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series championship after a disappointing outing last weekend at Road America.
A rare gearbox failure on the No. 90 VISITFLORIDA.com Corvette DP ended the team’s day early and Spirit of Daytona Racing is all the more eager to return to race action on Saturday.
The Kansas Speedway round marks GRAND-AM’s inaugural visit to the “roval” track which utilizes both the banked oval and the road course which winds through the infield. Spirit of Daytona Racing and drivers Ricky Taylor and Richard Westbrook will take their first laps around the circuit on Thursday during a promoter test day and will look to get up to speed quickly.
“We have never been to Kansas, so it will be all new to us,” said team owner Troy Flis of the new venue. “We have done some simulation so it will be good for our team to roll off the truck and see how good we are. We just need to get started quickly there and hopefully have a strong race."Not only will the event mark GRAND-AM’s first visit to Kansas Speedway, the race will also be the first night race for the series in several years. The Rolex Series field will run under the lights for the first time since the overnight hours of the Rolex 24 At Daytona with the green flag set to wave for the 2.75-hour race at 7:00 PM (CT).
Spirit of Daytona Racing last stood on the podium earlier this year at Barber Motorsports Park when Taylor and Westbrook drove to a third place finish at the Alabama road course.
Taking advantage of the back-to-back Rolex Series race weekends, Taylor and Westbrook along with Ricky’s brother Jordan, took a 600-mile road trip from Road America down to Kansas. The trio played some golf ahead of the weekend with television broadcast member Calvin Fish, took in some local Kansas cuisine, and attended the Miami Marlins vs. the Kansas City Royals baseball game in support of their home Florida team.
Spirit of Daytona Racing will have a full day of testing on Thursday as a promoter test is scheduled from 1:00 PM – 9:15 PM (CT). Friday will feature official practice and qualifying followed by a final practice and the 2.75-hour race on Saturday. The race will go green at 7:00 PM (CT)
Spirit of Daytona
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