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Motorsports
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 31, 2003
DAYTONA BEACH -- A new era in sports car racing began on Thursday in qualifying for this weekend's Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Justin Bell posted the fastest qualifying time with a lap of 117.155 mph around the 3.56-mile road course to earn the pole in the GTS class.
The first six starting spots on the Rolex 24 grid are reserved for the Daytona Prototype, the new premier class in the Rolex Sports Car Series.
Bell's team, which includes his father and three-time Rolex 24 champion Derek Bell, Simon Gregg and Kenny Wilden, will start the Corvette from the seventh position in the race that starts Saturday.
"To get a pole in your category at Daytona is what you want," Bell said.
Scott Maxwell will start the No. 88 Multimatic Ford Focus Daytona Prototype on the pole after running a lap of 115.969 mph. He'll share driving duties with David Brabham and David Empringham.
David Donohue put the No. 58 Brumos Racing Porsche FABCAR Daytona Prototype on the outside of the front row with a lap of 115.694 mph. Driving with Donohue will be Mike Borkowski, Chris Bye and Randy Pobst.
A couple of NASCAR competitors are in good position after qualifying.
The No. 48 Heritage Motorsports Corvette, with Tommy Riggins driving, was second in GTS qualifying and will start eighth. Riggins will be joined by NASCAR veteran Kevin Lepage, David Machavern and Scott Lagasse.
The No. 43 Orbit Racing Porsche GT3 R took the pole in the GT class and will start 13th. Porsche factory driver Marc Lieb qualified, and his team includes Winston Cup driver Kyle Petty, Leo Hindery and Peter Baron.
Petty is driving in his third straight Rolex 24, and he thinks he has a shot at winning a Rolex watch.
"I think this team, Orbit Racing, has grown by leaps and bounds to be able to come down here after two or three years and put a car fastest in class," Petty said. "That's pretty impressive in a short period of time."
The fastest qualifier in the Prototype II class was the No. 5 Team Seattle Nissan Lola, driven by Ross Nentley, with a lap of 109.634. In Grand Am Cup qualifying, the No. 81 G&W Motorsports Porsche GT3 Grand Sport I entry, with drivers Brent Martini and Cort Wagner, had the fastest lap of 106.244.
PEMBERTON HIRED: Former Rusty Wallace crew chief Robin Pemberton was hired to run Ford Racing's NASCAR program. Pemberton, who played a major role in the development of the Taurus, will be responsible for overseeing development in NASCAR's top three series. In 17 years as a Winston Cup crew chief, including seven with Wallace, Pemberton won 23 races.