Eric Curran, driving the No....
Eric Curran, driving the No. 30 Whelen Corvette, dominated the weekend event. Curran is closely followed by teammate George Whelen and Dave Spitzer on the infield portion of the Daytona Speedway.
The North American Road Racing Association (NARRA) finished off its eight-race championship season at Daytona International Speedway on October 23. NARRA was founded in 1993 and offers participants five categories of racing at each of its events. The top two classes are the US Time Trials and the US GT Championship. Both are filled with the top sports cars from around the world, including Corvette, Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, Lamborghini, Audi, and Viper.
Two Corvette teams dominated the weekend events. Marsh Racing entered its Whelen-sponsored, LS3-powered Grand Am Corvettes in the US GT Championship. MTI Racing brought two development and four customer Corvettes to the Daytona event. When the dust settled, Eric Curran had won the US GT class, closely followed by teammate George Whelen in a second Whelen Corvette. The two had a spirited race with the Third Place GT1 Viper. The team competed against a strong field of race-prepared Vipers and Porsches, but Corvette power came out on top.
Curran out brakes Jim Stout's...
Curran out brakes Jim Stout's Viper to take the lead in the US GT Championship race.
Reese Cox and customer Mike Howard, meanwhile, posted class victories in the US Time Trial class. Cox won TT-2 driving an '03 Z06 with a time of 1:59.737, which was 2.928 seconds quicker than the Second Place Viper. Howard dominated the TT-1 class in his '11 MTI Racing-prepared Z06. Howard has only been racing for seven months, and this was his first trip to the high banks of Daytona. His streetable Z06 won the event with a time of 1:56.809, which was 4.135 second quicker than the Second Place Lamborghini.
Team owner Sonny Whelen poses...
Team owner Sonny Whelen poses with Marsh Racing owner Teddy Marsh, who prepares the ultra-fast Whelen Corvettes.
Reese Cox practiced with his...
Reese Cox practiced with his newly upgraded US GT Championship Corvette. He turned a 1:51 lap during practice but did not race this car in the main event, as it was still being developed.
Mike Howard leads Cox into...
Mike Howard leads Cox into Daytona's "bus stop" corner. Howard's Z06 features coilover suspension, upgraded anti-roll bars, Brembo Brakes, aero additions, and a head/cam package that bumps output to 573 rwhp. Cox is driving an '03 Z06 with similar braking and suspension upgrades, along with a stock, 405hp LS6.
Cox (center) and Howard display...
Cox (center) and Howard display their class-winning trophies on the podium, along with their pit crew.