2004 Daytona International Speedway

On October 15, 2003, a significant restructuring of the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series and Grand Am Cup classes was announced. Starting next year, the Grand Sport I (GS I) cars would be called Super Grand Sport (SGS) and compete in the Rolex Sports Car Series. Following this news, there were changes in the Grand Am Cup category. In 2004, there would be a single Grand Sport (GS) and Sport Touring (ST) class.

Grand Sport (GS): The quicker of the two classes - the group features the larger displacement engines as well as smaller four-cylinder motors with forced induction systems. The power-plants produce between 350 and 405-horsepower. Minimum weights range between 2,900 – 3,300-pounds, which is dependent on the motor configuration and displacement. This class includes cars such as the BMW M3, Pontiac Firebird, Ford Mustang, Nissan 350Z and Porsche 996.
Sport Touring (ST): The smaller displacement cars compete in this class in which engines typically produce between 170 and 240-horsepower. Popular vehicles found in this group are the Acura RSX, Mazda RX-8, BMW Z3, BMW 330i, Acura Integra Type R and Mini Cooper S.

While the classifications changed the rules remained the same. The cars are relatively unchanged from their road-going versions – modifications are mandated mainly for safety – roll cages, window nets, etc. They also used spec DOT-approved tires produced by Hoosier. Based on performance potential, the cars are placed in the Grand Sport or Sport Touring group.

The 2004 season consists of ten race weekends and starts in January at Daytona International Speedway, which is followed by a second event in Florida at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In April, the series will make a visit to Phoenix International Raceway for the Twin 200s. The Grand Sport and Sport Touring teams will compete in separate races. Then the series travels north of the border to compete at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant. After this event, race weekends will take place Watkins Glen International, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and a second visit to Homestead-Miami Speedway. The final three rounds will be conducted in October and start with Virginia International Raceway. The penultimate weekend is at Alabama’s, Barber Motorsport Park, with the finale taking place at California Speedway.

Round one of the 2004 Grand Am Cup series was held at Daytona International Speedway. Competitors would race around the twelve-turn, 3.56-mile roval in the Daytona 250.

The 2004 Grand Am Cup season starts with the Daytona 250 and Daytona International Speedway. Leading the field of fifty-seven starters is the pole-winning Doncaster Racing Porsche 996 of Kenny Wilden and Devon Powell driving the Powell Motorsport prepared Pontiac Firebird. In the second row is the BGB Motorsports Porsche 996 of Mark Plummer and Anders Hainer driving the Istook / Aines Motorsport Group Audi S4.

In December 2003, it was announced the Terry Borcheller and John Krieg would team up in one TheRaceSite.com Porsches. But that would change and Borcheller shared the ride with Craig Stanton. Stanton qualified the Porsche fifth fastest. During the race, the pair trailed the leaders using a fuel conservation strategy. Their plan worked and while the other teams pitted late in the contest for fuel, Borcheller stayed out and won.

Sharing the No. 29 Bill Fenton Motorsports Acura RSX-S was John Schmitt and Mike Liebl. Schmitt, who was last year’s Sport Touring I champion, performed the qualifying duties and was third fastest in Sport Touring – he would start twenty-fourth overall. In the race, they battled with their teammates, the SpeedSource Mazdas and the Turner BMWs. A superior race strategy allowed them to win by a one-lap margin.

The No. 38 BGB Motorsports Porsche 996 was qualified by Mark Plummer. Plummer was third quickest and would share the driving with Guy Cosmo. Cosmo captured two ST I class wins in 2003 and was hoping to open this season with another victory. The Porsche didn’t lead any laps but kept in contact with the front runners. In the last hour, Cosmo moved into second place but couldn’t catch TheRaceSite.com Porsche.

Robert Julien joined Doncaster Racing for another season of Grand Am Cup competition. His driving partner for the first race of the season was fellow Canadian, Kenny Wilden. Wilden qualified the No. 91 Porsche 996 and won the overall pole. The pair were in contention for much of the race, but they encountered a transmission issue on lap-50. The lost eight-laps while repairs were made and finished nineteenth.

The Grand Sport podium for round one of the 2004 Gran Am Cup series. Standing in the center of the rostrum are the victors, Terry Borcheller and Craig Stanton, who shared TheRaceSite.com Porsche 996. To the left of the winners are the runner-ups from BGB Motorsports, Mark Plummer and Guy Cosmo. Completing the podium are the drivers of the No. 33 Unitech Racing Nissan 350Z, Mike Cronin, Jr. and Stu Hayner.

Another of the many two-car teams at Daytona was Turner Motorsport, which entered a pair of BMW 330i. Sharing the No. 97 330i was Tim Pappas and Steve Pfeffer. At the end of the qualifying session, they were sixth quickest in Sport Touring and would be gridded twenty-seventh overall for the start of the Daytona 250. The duo challenged for the top but at the finish, they were one lap behind the winners in the runner-up position.

Starting on the outside of the front row was the second-fastest qualifier, Devon Powell, in the Powell Motorsport Pontiac Firebird. The team would open the season with the Pontiac but the plans were to campaign a new Cadillac CTS-V. Sharing the Firebird with Powell was, John Heinricy. Heinricy and Powell grabbed first place when the Doncaster Porsche encountered problems but a late stop for gas took them out of contention.

Recording the second-fastest time in the Sport Touring category was Ian James in the Team Lexus No. 2 Lexus IS300. James’ co-driver the weekend would be team principal, Chuck Goldsborough. The drivers could not maintain the place of the class leaders and were seventh in class and twenty-second overall at the checkered flag. Their teammates, Andy Lally and Cort Wagner, didn’t fare any better and finished seventeen in Sport Touring.

Mike Cronin, Jr. and sports car racing veteran, Stu Hayner teamed up to drive the No. 33 Unitech Racing prepared Nissan 350Z. Their practice times in the two sessions were quick enough to place them in the top-ten. Cronin, Jr. drove the Nissan in qualifying and was sixth fastest. During the Daytona 250, they benefitted from the issues the Doncaster and Powell teams were having to grab a third-place finish.

TC Kline had some success last year with the BMW Z4. At the Watkins Glen and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Don Salama and Steve Pfeffer scored victories. At Daytona International Speedway, the BMW was shared by Neal Sapp and Anita Sangi. Sangi qualified the car forty-third overall and twenty-first in class. The more experienced, Sapp drove the final stint and moved up the race order to give the pair a third-place finish.

Bill Fenton Motorsports team entered two Acura RSX-S. The No. 27 Acura was near the top of the timesheets in practice. In qualifying, Bob Beede, the 2003 Grand Am Cup Sport Touring II class champion, ‘kicked it up a notch’ and put the RSX on the Sport Touring pole. Sharing the car with Beede was Eric Curran. The duo encountered issues during the race and failed to finish – completing only twelve laps.

The Grand Am Cup Sport Touring rostrum for round one at Daytona International Raceway. In the center are the winners, John Schmitt and Mark Liebl, who captured first place by a one-lap margin. On the right side of the podium, and standing in for the second-place finishers, Steve Pfeffer and Tim Pappas is Turner Motorsport’s team principal, Will Turner. Completing the rostrum are TC Kline Racing’s Anita Sangi and Neal Sapp.

POS.	CLASS	DRIVERS	CAR	ENTRANT	LAPS
1	GS	Stanton / Borcheller	Porsche 996	The Race Site.com	70
2	GS	Plummer / Cosmo	Porsche 996	BGB Motorsports	70
3	GS	Cronin / Hayner	Nissan 350Z	Unitech Racing	70
4	GS	Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker	Porsche 996	The Race Site.com	70
5	GS	Powell / Heinricy	Pontiac Firebird	Powell Motorsport	70
6	GS	Thornton / Russell	BMW M3	Automatic Racing	70
7	GS	Schuitemaker / Zacharias	Nissan 350Z	Schuitemaker Motorsports	70
8	GS	Jaeger / Argetsinger	Pontiac Firebird	Michael Baughman Racing	69
9	GS	Masessa / Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker	Porsche 996	The Race Site.com	69
10	GS	Escalette / Plumb	Porsche 996	Glenn Yee Motorsports	69
11	GS	Shreiner / Lapcevich	Ford Mustang Cobra	Shreiner Racing	68
12	GS	MacAlpine / Smith / Rehagen	Ford Mustang Cobra	Rehagen Racing	68
13	ST	Schmitt / Liebl	Acura RSX-S	Bill Fenton Motorsports	68
14	GS	Gilbert / Sturm	Porsche 996	North Shore Racing	68
15	ST	Pappas / Pfeffer	BMW 330i	Turner Motorsport	67
16	GS	Wortzman / McCalmont / Speck	BMW M3	Zoom Motorsports	67
17	ST	Sangi / Sapp	BMW Z4	TC Kline Racing	67
18	ST	Turner / Salama	BMW 330i	Turner Motorsport	67
19	GS	Duarta / Bailey	Acura NSX	DAL Motorsports	67
20	ST	Matz / Sofronas / Potter	BMW 328i	DF Motorsports	67
21	ST	Schlesinger / Tuaty	Mazda RX-8	SpeedSource	67
22	ST	James / Goldsborough	Lexus IS300	Team Lexus	67
23	ST	Abello / Theetge / Bell	Mazda RX-8	SpeedSource	67
24	ST	Pawley / Peele	Toyota Supra	J Pauley Motorsports	67
25	ST	Himes / Ellinger	BMW Z3	ICY / SL Motorsports	67
26	ST	Arnold / Connolly	BMW 330ci	Matt Connolly Motorsports	67
27	GS	Krohn / Fox	Porsche 996	G&W Motorsports	66
28	ST	Henderson / Van Cleef	Toyota Supra	Road Runner Racing	66
29	ST	Fanelli / Walker / Wollersheim	Mazda RX-8	SpeedSource	65
30	GS	Picket / Pumpelly	Porsche 996	Race Prep Motorsports	65
31	ST	Sullivan / Sullivan / Hughes	BMW Z3	TSR / Luzee Racing	65
32	ST	Eaton / Coletti	Acura Integra R	Colletti Motorsports	65
33	ST	Gates / Soong	Mazda Protege	Paragon Motorsport	64
34	GS	Stubbs / Camp / Brown	Ford Mustang Cobra	Frederick Motorsports	63
35	ST	Wagner / Lally	Lexus IS300	Team Lexus	63
36	ST	Legg / Allen	Audi A4	LM Racing	63
37	ST	Ponder / Green	Dodge Neon SRT4	The Fat And The Furious	62
38	ST	Moorcones / Piper	Acura Integra R	Craftsman Motorsports	62
39	GS	Wilden / Julien	Porsche 996	Doncaster Racing	62
40	ST	Heffron / Thomson	BMW Z3	Matt Connolly Motorsports	62
41	GS	Hainer / Istook / Rosser	Audi S4	Istook / Aines Motorsport Group	60
42	GS	Weinberg / Knowles	Pontiac Firebird	Powell Motorsport	56
43	ST	Kozarov / Smith	Mini Cooper S	Competition Associates	55
44	GS	Rayhall / Zarcadoolas	Lotus Esprit	Rapier Racing	45
45	ST	Nuzzo / Lewis / Ellis	Mini Cooper S	Nuzzo Motorsports	44
46	ST	Haskell / Tremblay	Mazda RX-8	SpeedSource	43
47	ST	Beede / Curran	Acura RSX-S	Bill Fenton Motorsports	37
48	GS	Assentato / Kohler / Smith	Mustang Saleen	TF Racing	37
49	GS	Yeakle / Ward	Pontiac Firebird	Michael Baughman Racing	34
50	GS	Sofronas / Munson / Galaba	BMW M3	Anchor Racing	31
51	GS	Drissi / Miller	Nissan 350Z	Unitech Racing	29
52	ST	McGillycuddy / Nuzzo / Lewis	Mini Cooper S	Nuzzo Motorsports	16
53	GS	Conger / Martin / Kohler	Mustang Cobra SVT	Rehagen Racing	14
54	ST	Roach / Park	Dodge Neon SRT4	Roach Racing	13
55	ST	Oberto / Greensall / Burrows	Nissan Sentra SE-R	Archangel / LAMZ	12
56	ST	Mason / Hanson	BMW Z4	TC Kline Racing	9
57	ST	Baglier / Luffy	Mazda 6	Baglieracing	5

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