{"id":851,"date":"2018-01-22T15:54:40","date_gmt":"2018-01-22T20:54:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/?p=851"},"modified":"2023-05-03T16:18:24","modified_gmt":"2023-05-03T20:18:24","slug":"spirit-of-daytona-looking-for-advantage-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/22\/spirit-of-daytona-looking-for-advantage-at-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Spirit of Daytona Looking for Advantage at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cheever III Confirmed to No. 90 Sprit\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0Daytona<\/span>\u00a0Cadillac DPi-V.R ahead\u00a0of<\/span>Rolex 24<\/em><\/p>\n

Daytona<\/span>\u00a0Beach, Fla. (22 January 2018)-With a new car, new drivers, and a new season to take on,\u00a0Spirit<\/span>of<\/span>\u00a0Daytona<\/span>\u00a0Racing is looking forward to getting a strong start its 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship campaign in the Rolex 24 At\u00a0Daytona<\/span>\u00a0this weekend.<\/p>\n

The team, which scored a dramatic overall race victory last year in the penultimate race\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0the championship at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, will make its competition debut this weekend with the Cadillac DPi-V.R platform with drivers Matt McMurry, Tristan Vautier, and Eddie Cheever III at\u00a0Daytona<\/span>International Speedway. The race is one that is literally close to home for the team, which is based just down the road from the World Center\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0Racing.<\/p>\n

With a huge field\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0highly competitive Prototype class machines entered for the event, the 2018 edition\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0the Rolex 24 is expected to be one for the ages.\u00a0Spirit<\/span>of<\/span>\u00a0Daytona<\/span>\u00a0Racing has a strong record in the challenging event, having scored a fifth place finish in 2013, fourth place in 2014, and a trio\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0third place results in 2015, 2016, and 2017.<\/p>\n

The race will be the first start for the team with the Cadillac DPi-V.R\u00a0Spirit<\/span>\u00a0of<\/span>Daytona<\/span>\u00a0Racing took delivery\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0the Cadillac V8-powered machine just days before the Roar Before the 24 earlier this month. Despite the lack\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0miles with the machine, the team impressed in the test by clocking over 200 laps\u00a0of<\/span>practice and setting the second quickest time in the pre-event qualifying session that was used to determine pit and garage locations.<\/p>\n

In addition to the move to such a competitive competition platform with the Cadillac DPi-V.R,\u00a0Spirit<\/span>\u00a0of<\/span>Daytona<\/span>\u00a0Racing should see its opportunity for success boosted by the all-new driver lineup for 2018 that has a strong dose\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0youth, speed, and experience.<\/p>\n

French pilot Vautier has experience in international GT competition and was a regular fixture atop the time sheets in his IMSA GTD campaign last year. Vautier also impressed in his return to IndyCar competition for select outings, and was immediately on pace in his first laps on board the Cadillac DPi-V.R. Adding to his comfort is the long-standing working relationship he has with\u00a0Spirit<\/span>\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0Daytona<\/span>\u00a0engineer Rick Cameron, with whom Vautier has claimed championships in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur pace was good,\u201d Vautier said\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0the test. \u201cI think it is a strong statement by the team. Receiving the car in December, getting it on the ground about a week ago and to come here and show how strong we are is great. We took this as a good practice for the Rolex 24. Everyone in the Cadillac camp pushed hard. The team has really been hustling for two months and has been operating really well.\u201d<\/p>\n

While it might seem improbable that a 20-year old could lay claim to being experienced, that is exactly the case with University\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0California\/Irvine student Matt McMurry. In addition to having been the youngest-ever driver to complete the Le Mans 24 Hour at just 16 years old, McMurry has also been successful in his European Le Mans and Asian Le Mans exploits. He has also rounded out his racing resume with his time in the thick\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0GTD class racing in IMSA the past two seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am really excited for the race,\u201d said McMurry after getting his first laps on board the No. 90 Cadillac DPi-V.R. \u201cI am loving this Cadillac, my team and my co-drivers. We have been fast all weekend. The Cadillac has run flawlessly all weekend. I think we will have a good shot this year. For 24 hours you need good prep, good fitness and doing the right things nutritionally all week. If you are getting tired or sore and haven\u2019t slept well, you will make mistakes.Everything is working great with team and I feel good about things heading into the race.\u201d<\/p>\n

The third\u00a0Spirit<\/span>\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0Daytona<\/span>\u00a0Racing driver carries a famous name, but will be making his first big go Stateside with his IMSA WeatherTech debut as Eddie Cheever III, son\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0former F1 pilot and Indianapolis 500 winner Eddie Cheever, has been confirmed to the\u00a0Spirit<\/span>\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0Daytona<\/span>\u00a0Racing endurance lineup.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the beginning it was very smooth,\u201d Cheever III said\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0his time in the blue No. 90. \u201cI wanted to take my time and get used to the Cadillac. It was very fast from the beginning. I just met everyone on the team a week ago and everyone is very nice. I have been to\u00a0Daytona<\/span>\u00a0about 15 times and I\u2019ve watched my dad here. Being on the banking for the first time is a shocker, very different from what I have done before! But, it is a race track and race car so you adapt. I feel good in the car, that is what counts. Twenty-four hour races are tough. You need to try and rest during the race. On the track you need to keep pace and stay toward the front so you can fight for the last few hours. There are so many cars and different speeds from the other categories it will be tough. But we will plan to be there with three hours to go so we can go for the win.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a strong driver line up in place and an exciting new era ahead for the team,\u00a0Spirit<\/span>\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0Daytona<\/span>\u00a0Racing is eager to get going this weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you make the commitment to a new package\u2014even one that was a successful as the Cadillacs were last year\u2014it is still kind\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0a risk, but after we unloaded this car and were able to just do all the laps that we could at the Roar, it was a huge sense\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0relief,\u201d admitted team owner Troy Flis. \u201cMy guys busted their backs to be ready to go for the test and it just went on plan so that was a really encouraging thing. I think this race is going to be awesome\u2014just so competitive. And with this car and some great drivers and this team behind them I think we are ready for it. We want to do the same as everyone\u2014stay out\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0trouble, get all the laps in and then\u00a0on Sunday\u00a0be there to go fight for some new watches!\u201d<\/p>\n

The 56th running\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0the Rolex 24 at\u00a0Daytona<\/span>\u00a0will begin on Saturday, January 27th<\/sup>\u00a0with live TV coverage beginning at\u00a02:00 PM ET<\/span><\/span>\u00a0on FOX.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cheever III Confirmed to No. 90 Sprit\u00a0of\u00a0Daytona\u00a0Cadillac DPi-V.R ahead\u00a0ofRolex 24 Daytona\u00a0Beach, Fla. (22 January 2018)-With a new car, new drivers, and a new season to take [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":852,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=851"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":853,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851\/revisions\/853"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}