Fifty Plus Racing Prototype Qualifies for Rolex 24

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Jan. 23 — Jim Pace said he ended up "about where we thought we'd be" with the Fifty Plus Racing "Endures for a Cure" Riley BMW when he placed 14th in class during Rolex 24 qualifying Thursday at Daytona International Speedway.

He was quick to point out that he and his three co-drivers — Byron DeFoor, David Hinton and Dorsey Schroeder — are thankful for the tremendous job that Doran Racing did to get their car back on the track after a spectacular accident in testing here just 12 days ago.

The first accomplishment was to repair the car at Doran Racing's headquarters in Lebanon, Ohio and be back at Daytona when the first official Rolex 24 practice session got the green flag Thursday morning. The second goal was to post an official qualifying time Thursday afternoon, which Pace did with a lap in 1:44.423 for an average speed of 122.732 miles per hour around the 3.56-mile road course. He'll start 29th overall when the green flag drops at 2:10 p.m. Saturday.

Those two goals are now accomplished, but there are two more.

The team's third goal is to be running at the finish of the Rolex 24 on Sunday afternoon, which is a daunting challenge for all 53 cars entered in the race.

The fourth goal — and the most important — is to raise as much funds as possible to fight Alzheimer's disease through Fifty Plus Racing's Web site at FiftyPlusRacing.com or on its Facebook page.

Pace and his teammates are taking it one step at a time.

"I'm so pleased with the job Doran Racing did to get the car repaired and back here for the race weekend," Pace said. "We're making a few adjustments and we'll continue to do that all weekend. We have a lot of experience behind the wheel, so we really hope we'll be able to finish the race."

Pace said he had no problems during his qualifying laps.

"Everyone was polite," he said with a smile.

The Rolex 24 will be covered live in its entirety through a combination of segments on FOX, FOX Sports 2, FOX Sports 1 and IMSA.com. The latter will also have live timing and scoring.

The telecasts start with coverage on FOX from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. FOX Sports 2 takes over from 4 p.m .to 8 p.m. Then FOX Sports 1 handles things from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. The brutal nighttime action will be on IMSA.com from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. FOX Sports 1 resumes the coverage from 7 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

For more information on Doran Racing, a legendary endurance sports car team that has overall victories in the Rolex 24 and several championships to its credit, see DoranRacing.com.

For more information about the series, see imsa.com.
For more information on Doran Racing, see DoranRacing.com.
The team also has a Facebook page.