Impressive Lineup For A Great Cause

Extraordinary describes Park Place Racing’s driver lineup for the Jan. 26-27 Rolex 24 At Daytona. The team’s No. 73 Racing4Research Porsche GT3 will be helmed by a pair of former Rolex 24 winners, Patrick Long and Spencer Pumpelly. Pumpelly won the GT class in 2006 and 20011 while Long’s GT victory came in 2009.. Long and Pumpelly will be joined by Park Place owner Patrick Lindsey, Daniel Graeff and Jason Hart for the twice-around-the-clock endurance classic.

The team, which competed as Horton Autosport in 2012, will be making its first Rolex 24 start. Lindsey finished 16th in GT points with a trio of top-10 finishes. Horton Autosport ranked 13th in the team standings.

While the prestigious driver cadre gives Park Place a solid shot at a Rolex 24 victory, the team will perform a broader – and perhaps more important – function. The Children’s Tumor Foundation (CTF) Racing4Research (www.Racing4Research.org) program utilizes competitive, professional auto racing as a vehicle to increase awareness of neurofibromatosis (NF) and raise funds for research. The genetic disorder NF, which can lead to blindness, bone abnormalities, cancer and disabling pain, affects one in every 3,000 children, more than many more well-known maladies such as cystic fibrosis, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

A highlight of each race event is the on-site presence and support of a large group of courageous youngsters and their families which have been nicknamed “NF Heroes” for their tireless efforts fighting the disorder.

Racing4Research raised nearly $1 million in donations in 2012 with Graeff’s Rolex 24 effort, with the No. 4 Magnus Racing Porsche GT3 and co-drivers Ryan Eversley, Justin Bell and Ron Yarab, accounting for $600,000.

“To have this sort of driver lineup is amazing,” said Graeff, a founding R4R driver who has been with the CTF program from its inception. “Patrick Long’s name speaks for itself; he is one of the greats. But also Patrick Lindsey, founder of this team, absolutely blew my mind with how good he is, as is Jason Hart.

All of us knit together really well, and when you add in Spencer Pumpelly, it is a pretty bullet-proof lineup.”

Graeff formerly managed the music publishing company of Miles Copeland and has worked with stars including Sting, Cher and Keith Urban. He produced the soundtrack for Leaving Las Vegas and contributed to the films Reality Bites and the Sabrina remake. In 1997, he co-founded Lucini Italia Co., a premium gourmet Italian food company. Over the years he’s raced everything from motocross to stock cars, recently competing in the NASCAR K&N Pro West Series in 2012.

Fonte: http://www.grand-am.com