Sep
4
2012
14565 Views

O’Connell Racing Comments on the Merger of Grand-Am Rolex Series & ALMS

Sep 4, 2012 14565 Views

THOMASVILLE, NC (September 3, 2012) — As reported on SPEED.com, multiple sources involved with the negotiations that the American Le Mans Series and the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series will announce an agreement that will see the two series race under a single banner, likely beginning in 2014.

Full details on the merger are still unclear, and offers extended to both series for comment were declined, but it’s believed GRAND-AM will serve as the sanctioning body for the new-look championship, which could feature a mix of existing classes from both the ALMS and Rolex Series.

The announcement is expected to come on Wednesday in Daytona Beach, Fla.

O’Connell Racing driver & owner Kevin O’Connell commented, “A consolidated sports car world is great for everyone involved in sports car racing from the drivers to the sponsors. We believe there is some middle ground to be determined between the cost containment formula of Grand Am and originated by NASCAR and the display of current technologies presented in ALMS. Sports car racing demands both and a well thought out class structure in both the GT and Prototype classes could achieve an exciting formula that could push the popularity of sports car racing to rival NASCAR at certain events.”

SPEED.com’s sources, including a number of manufacturers, representatives and participants, have revealed that both sides are coming together; news of this developing story first emerged two weeks ago, building to a head this weekend in Baltimore.

Initially a mirror-image to the twice-around-the-clock French endurance classic, the series has diversified in recent years by opening its class structure to more affordable machinery, including the addition of Prototype and GT Challenge categories.

Its marquee event, the 12 Hours of Sebring, maintained its international presence, while the Petit Le Mans, the 1,000-mile/10-hour Road Atlanta enduro formed by Panoz in 1998, grew to become a mainstay on the global scene as well.

The ALMS has traditionally thrived on manufacturer support, namely from Audi, Chevrolet, Porsche, BMW and Ferrari over its 14-year history and has seen recent growth in its production-based GT category, which currently sees six automakers represented.

However, its prototype categories have struggled to reach acceptable numbers following Audi’s withdrawal from P1 competition in 2009 and the end of Porsche and Acura’s factory programs. As a result, both P1 and the recently relaunched cost-capped P2 categories have almost exclusively featured customer entries.

Having signed a new one-year licensing contract with the ACO late last year, it’s understood the ALMS had renewed its agreement with the Le Mans organizers for one additional year in June.

Established one year after the ALMS in 1999, GRAND-AM grew out of the roots laid by the U.S. Road Racing Championship (USRRC) and featured the Rolex 24 at Daytona as its premier race and annual season kickoff.

While having a strong influence from the onset, GRAND-AM was acquired by NASCAR Holdings in 2008 and has operated under the leadership of executive vice president Jim France through its 13-year history.

The series has typically embraced privateers through its two categories, although receiving support from manufacturers such as Chevrolet, Ford and BMW in the premier Daytona Prototype ranks. No fewer than a half-dozen automakers are represented in GT, with a third category, GX, is scheduled to be added next year for experimental machinery.

Despite having been rival series since the onset, there has been a significant crossover between manufacturers, with Chevrolet supporting programs in both DP and ALMS GT, along with Ferrari, Mazda, Porsche and other marques and drivers that participate in both championships.

Like the ALMS, GRAND-AM’s prototype component has seen a recent drop-off of entries, but has typically thrived, notably with the introduction of new GT3-based cars adapted to Rolex Series’ GT category.

About O’Connell Racing: O’Connell Racing (OCR) competes in Sports Car racing in the Grand-Am Rolex Series and Stock Car racing various touring series in NASACR as well as various Vintage Racing series throughout North America.

Jul
25
2012
2054 Views

Kevin O’Connell & NASCAR Driver Jason White to Co-Drive in Rolex Series at Indianapolis

Jul 25, 2012 2054 Views

THOMASVILLE, NC (January 25th, 2012) – O’Connell Racing (www.OConnellRacing.com), a leading professional motorsports organization announced today that Jason White of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be the co-driver with Kevin O’Connell for the inaugural Brickyard Grand Prix at Indianapolis this weekend.

Jason, along with sponsor partner GunBroker.com will be making their debut in the Rolex Series in the Rick Ware Racing Ford BOSS Mustang. This will be the first professional sports car race for White and Gunbroker.com and both will be included for the balance of the year in the RWR North American Tour presented by Poynt.

GunBroker.com will be joined by marketing partners Poynt Corporation (Poynt.com), General Pacific Partners (GPP), Adia Nutrition and SHANIA KIDS CAN, the 2012 cause related effort supported by Rick Ware Racing and GPP.

Driver Kevin O’Connell commented, “Having Jason White as a co-driver and Gunbroker.com as a marketing partner for Indy is a special event. There is an underlying friendship there with all of us and we are all embedded in different types of racing and the racing business. With limited practice time due to the condensed schedule, Jason will have to learn the road course quickly. He has a lot of experience as a racer and knows how to take care of the equipment. That will serve us well on a slick infield surface and in a unique race where all of the competition will be pushing the limit in an effort to make their mark at the historic place.”

Team owner and RWR Tour founder Rick Ware stated, “We are pleased to have Jason and Gunbroker.com at Indy for this super event on the RWR Tour in what should turn out to a memorable weekend for everyone. We wanted to the first team to introduce the GunBroker.com brand to the diverse fans and racers in the sports car world.”

The Grand –Am Rolex Series race begins at 4:10pm EST on July 27th.

About Rick Ware Racing: Rick Ware Racing (RWR) has competed in every NASCAR sanctioned series, ARCA Series, the WMA Motocross Series, AMA Arenacross, Motocross and Supercross Series, Summer X-Games and Rolex Grand-Am Series.

About O’Connell Racing: O’Connell Racing (OCR) competes in Sports Car racing in the Grand-Am Rolex Series and Stock Car racing various touring series in NASACR as well as various Vintage Racing series throughout North America.

About Gunbroker.com: GunBroker.com is the world’s largest gun auction website. Launched in 1999, GunBroker.com is an informative, secure and safe way to buy and sell firearms, ammunition and hunting/shooting gear online. GunBroker.com promotes responsible ownership of guns and firearms. Aside from merchandise bearing its logo, GunBroker.com sells none of the items listed on its website. Third-party sellers list items on the site and Federal and state laws govern the sale of firearms and other restricted items. Ownership policies and regulations are followed using licensed firearms dealers as transfer agents.

About Poynt Corporation: Poynt.com is a convenient and timesaving GPS-enabled mobile application that connects users to local businesses, events, restaurants, movie theatres, offers, gas prices, weather information and directions at the moment they are looking to buy or acquire products or services. Poynt is available as a free download for users in the United States and Canada on Android, iPhone, Windows Phone, BlackBerry® smartphones and BlackBerry Playbook™ Tablet, and Nokia devices from the respective App Stores.

Jul
23
2012
15597 Views

Kevin O’Connell Lead Driver at Indianapolis in Brickyard Grand Prix

Jul 23, 2012 15597 Views

THOMASVILLE, NC (January 20th, 2012) – O’Connell Racing (www.OConnellRacing.com), a leading professional motorsports organization announced today that in conjunction with Rick Ware Racing and the RWR North American Tour presented by Poynt, Kevin O’Connell has been confirmed to be lead driver in the RWR Ford BOSS Mustang for the Brickyard Grand Prix to be held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). This is the first time in history of IMS that Sports Cars have been permitted to race at the facility on the road circuit.

O’Connell will be joined by marketing partners Poynt Corporation (Poynt.com), Gunbroker.com, General Pacific Partners (GPP), Adia Nutrition and SHANIA KIDS CAN, the 2012 cause related effort supported by the RWR North American Tour.

Shania Kids Can founder and benefactress Shania Twain commented, “I am pleased that Kevin O’Connell and Rick Ware have joined forces to raise awareness of the SHANIA KIDS CAN foundation. I created SHANIA KIDS CAN to support underprivileged primary age children in North American schools and Kevin and Rick obviously share my desire to give back to those less fortunate by getting involved. Thank you for believing in our kids.”

Under Grand-Am Rolex Series rules, a minimum of two racing drivers per team, per race are required in competition. A current, yet to be named NASCAR co-driver and will be announced on July 25th at 5:30AM EST.

Team owner Rick Ware stated, “ We are racing at the Brickyard with 2011 “Rookie of the Year” Timmy Hill in the Nationwide Series and Kevin and a co-driver yet to be announced in Grand-Am. This weekend on the RWR Tour is special weekend because the Brickyard means so much to any passionate member of racing community and we are proud to be a part of it with our Tour sponsors.”

Driver Kevin O’Connell commented, “Being a road course driver in various NASCAR series and in the Rolex Series the opportunity to race at Indianapolis was always reserved for the oval races with the exception of Formula One. With Rolex and Nationwide both present and both series being part of the 2012 RWR North American Tour, we worked hard with our sponsors and teammates to make this happen. It’s a unique opportunity to race on hallowed ground and to pay tribute to the “founding fathers” of American motor racing who started racing here over a century ago.”

The Grand –Am Rolex Series race begins at 4:10pm EST on July 27th and the NASCAR Xfinity Series race begins at 4:30pm EST on July 28th, 2012.

About Rick Ware Racing: Rick Ware Racing (RWR) has competed in every NASCAR sanctioned series, ARCA Series, the WMA Motocross Series, AMA Arenacross, Motocross and Supercross Series, Summer X-Games and Rolex Grand-Am Series.

About O’Connell Racing: O’Connell Racing (OCR) competes in Sports Car racing in the Grand-Am Rolex Series and Stock Car racing various touring series in NASACR as well as various Vintage Racing series throughout North America.

About General Pacific Partners: Established in 1997, General Pacific Partners, LLC (GPP) is a leading North American advisory services and public venture capital group. GPP specializes in seed, early and developmental stage direct investments and has long-term minded investment experience, in depth capital markets knowledge, proven strategies for improving and growing private and public companies, and strong commitments to teamwork and accountability.

About Poynt Corporation: Poynt.com is a convenient and timesaving GPS-enabled mobile application that connects users to local businesses, events, restaurants, movie theatres, offers, gas prices, weather information and directions at the moment they are looking to buy or acquire products or services. Poynt is available as a free download for users in the United States and Canada on Android, iPhone, Windows Phone, BlackBerry® smartphones and BlackBerry Playbook™ Tablet, and Nokia devices from the respective App Stores.

About Shania Kids Can: Shania Kids Can (www.ShaniaKidsCan.com) is an charitable organization founded by Shania Twain and designed to support underprivileged primary age children in North American schools.

About Adia Nutrition: Adia Nutrition, Inc. (ADIA.PK – News) is a company specializing in probiotics. Currently, Adia offers four flavors of probiotic drink mixes and two flavors of probiotic chews. Adia sells their products across the country in independent pharmacies, health food stores, fitness centers and grocery store chains. For more information, visit our website at www.adianutrition.com

For Further Information:

Benefactour Investor Media & Relations

Company Contact:

Charles B. Arnold

Tel 949.702.2423

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