Daytona II: Round three preview

Daytona IROC Road Race Facts

2006 is the 30th Anniversary of the Crown Royal International Race of Champions

119th IROC Race

IROC Race Second IROC Road Course Race At Daytona International Speedway (DIS) -- The series completed its first season in 1974 on the road course at DIS, which has hosted 25 oval races through 2006 for a total of 27 IROC events, tying Michigan International Speedway for most IROC events.

Track Configuration -- 3.56-mile Road Course

Race Format:
Distance -- 20-laps, 71.2-miles (Yellow flag laps do not count)

Shootout Format - The purpose of the Shootout is to heighten the level of competition within each race.

Awarding bonus points for the first three positions adds incentive to get to the front of the pack during the first segment of the race. At a lap predetermined during race week, a yellow flag will be displayed. The cars will be brought down pit road for a routine pit stop. IROC crewmembers will man two pit- stalls to handle the fleet.

Shootout Bonus Points -- 3,2,1, respectively, awarded to the top three positions at the time of the caution flag. If an incident occurs within a five-lap window of the scheduled stop, race officials may elect to perform the routine pit stop at the time of the unscheduled caution. The drivers will be notified that the bonus points (3-2-1) will be awarded at the conclusion of the fifth consecutive lap of green flag racing after the restart.

Shootout Restart -- The field will realign as they finished before the mandatory pit stop, however, the field will be given lane choice starting with the leader. Each driver, one-by-one, in ascending order, will choose to restart in either the inside lane or outside lane.

Race Bonus Points - 5, 4, 3, respectively, to the driver who leads most laps, second and third most laps

Tiebreaker Rule: In the event that two or more drivers are tied for bonus points, the bonus points will be awarded according to the finishing positions of the race. In the event that two or more drivers are tied at the finish line, the points for finishing positions will be added together and divided among the tying drivers.

Daytona Road Course wins by Division - SCCA (1)

Starting Positions and Car Assignments - Out of the fleet of Crown Royal IROC Cars brought to the event 12 will be selected based on their equivalence in speed and performance during pre-race testing. The cars are identified by chassis numbers and are assigned to the drivers before each event by a blind draw. Starting positions for race three is determined by reverse order of the points standings.

Purse Total - $1.9 million with $1 million awarded to the Champion by Crown Royal based on points standings at the end of the fourth race.

2006 Crown Royal IROC cars -- A minor change to the 2006 graphics package adds more color to the nose of the car for better identification when viewing head-on. The car numbers and colors are assigned at the start of the season and will remain with the driver throughout the four-race season. Numbers and colors, when possible, will either simulate the driver's native series team, or be significant to the driver from a portion of his/her career.

Driver Notes & Quotes:

Matt Kenseth -- (About how he'll approach the race)"I think you will run as hard as you can. With the way the points are structured, you get bonus points for leading laps, plus a bonus for your top 3 positions at the break. You are rewarded for running all out in the Crown Royal IROC Series and that's how I approach every race.

"The challenge for the IROC road race at Daytona is the track and cars being unfamiliar. I have very limited experience on road courses and have run the one at Daytona only once."

"What I will enjoy the most will probably be learning from the other series' road course aces that I will be racing against. Maybe they will make me a better road course racer."

Tony Stewart -- (About the Daytona Road Course Race) "I look at that race as being one of the most fun races of the year because it really levels out the playing field. We're used to driving that heavy style of car, but at the same time, it gives these guys who are road racers the opportunity to use techniques that a lot of us don't necessarily know. It'll make it a lot of fun for all of us.

"What I'm excited about is that I've spent a lot of laps on that Daytona road course. I don't know how many laps I have there, but it's probably 500-600 laps that I've personally driven on that track. That in itself makes it exciting for me. It's not a course that I'm not familiar with. It's a course I'm very familiar with. That will help me a lot."

(About Max Angelelli) "He's a very aggressive driver, but he's also an awesome road racer. I think he'll be able to adapt very quickly to the heavier weight of the IROC cars. The biggest thing he'll have to worry about is not burning the brakes off. If they can keep from doing that, I think it'll be tough to run with those guys."

Max Angelelli -- "I'm looking forward to the road course, but don't underestimate those NASCAR guys like Tony Stewart. They're really good on the road courses, and that (IROC) car is very close to a NASCAR stock car, so, I expect them to be very competitive."

Sam Hornish Jr. -- "It's been so long since IROC's run on a road course. I'd like to go there and win. It will be something new. It's a different kind of car from what I ever ran. Hopefully, we'll have a really good run there and maybe go out of there with a win. I want to go to victory lane in an IROC car, and I can't think of a better place to do it than right here at Daytona."

Max Papis - "I'm very excited about the IROC race on the Daytona Road course. This is the track that created the name "Mad Max" for me and I really feel an emotional attachment to it. Every time I walk into the track for the first time during a race it feels like being home.

"I'm really looking forward to driving the IROC cars on the road course and to see how they will behave. It will definitely be a challenge to learn how not to overdrive the car. It would be great if this could be my first IROC win, or at the very least, I would like to better my IROC career-best finish of fourth, which came this year here in the February race. So, I will definitely attack, but I won't decide how or when until after I have a complete understanding of the car."

Frank Kimmel -- "I'm looking forward to the road course race. It's a great opportunity to be here at Daytona and I'm not going to be disappointed in anything. We're going to try to get a lot of testing time in, but I'm not as accomplished as these guys are and it will probably show up."

Steve Kinser -- "I've never competed on a road course, but I did go to Willow Springs 10-years ago messing around in a Can-Am car for a couple of days. I wound up off in the desert quite a bit -- it was different. I don't know what the IROC race will be like, honestly, but I think it will be fun for everybody."

Scott Sharp -- "You can always come up with a big plan, but things have to play out for that plan to work. Having a bit of a road racing background, I intend to push as hard as possible on this track and would like to take advantage of any opportunities that open up. You certainly don't want to be held up by a slower car and let someone else get away.

"I know that the NASCAR drivers have gotten very strong on the road courses, so I don't think going to a road course becomes an advantage for me. But, it should allow drivers like me, who have a road racing background, to be a bit closer and have a better chance. I think it will be great to have a venue where the driver plays a larger role and can influence the handling of the IROC car with his style of braking and steering."

Ted Musgrave -- "Starting from the pole really is not any big deal because with a road course you have so many corners and places to pass. Looking at the line up of drivers we have, drivers like Scott Sharp and Papis, who have a lot of road course experience which makes it tough. I will try to lead as many laps as I can and go out and have fun.

"I have not driven a lot of road courses in my career except in Nextel Cup and that was at Watkins Glenn and Infineon Raceway. I am looking to have a lot of fun and being able to run the road course at Daytona at night is going to be a fun and a new experience for me."

"The IROC Race at Daytona is going to be two different things for me, one, it's a nighttime race on a road course, which I have never done, and second, running the road course at Daytona which is another thing I have never done in my racing career. I missed out on the 24 Hour Daytona race when I joined Roush Racing. I was supposed to do a 24 hour Daytona Race with Mark Martin but Jack decided not to. It's going to be cool to run the Daytona road course under the lights."

-iroc