Spencer Pumpelly Rolex 24 Pre-Race Report

ATLANTA, Ga. (Jan. 20, 2015) – Spencer Pumpelly has a busy 2015 race season ahead as he takes on full-time drives in both the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge. The new season brings with it new teams for Pumpelly, who will compete in the full TUDOR Championship with Park Place Motorsports and in the Continental Series with Rennsport One. Both series kick off their season this week at Daytona International Raceway.

Pumpelly is back behind the wheel of a Porsche once again in the TUDOR Championship. He will co-drive the No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT America with Patrick Lindsey for a run at the 2015 GTD Championship. Park Place Motorsports is a full-service racing and performance center in Dallas, Texas, offering performance upgrades, race prep and at-track support for both street and track Porsches.“It feels really good to be back in a Porsche with Park Place,” Pumpelly said. “It’s very familiar and even though the car’s changed since I drove it last, the basics are pretty much the same; the rear engine, the driving position, the way the car handles, brakes, shifts, it’s all very Porsche like. I feel very comfortable in it."Pumpelly will balance the TUDOR schedule with a full-time seat in the Continental Tire SportsCar Series ST class. He will co-drive the No. 17 RS1 Porsche Cayman with Luis Rodriguez, Jr. for Rennsport One. A new team for 2015, Rennsport One (RS1) is a team of Porsche racing specialists from Pompano Beach, Florida, who cater to Porsche enthusiasts who want more out of their street or track car. The Cayman has become their specialty platform, having completed over a dozen race builds for clients all over the country, including other IMSA teams."I think the Caymen should be pretty competitive,” Pumpelly said. “It seemed to be a good car to have last year and it’s mid-engine, rear-drive, which suits my driving style and we’ve got a good team supporting it. We should be competitive off the bat. It’s going to be a challenge as always in ST. The field is very competitive and not separated by much. It’s a young team, but I like how they approach the race weekend and I’m looking forward to working with them.”The CTSCC season begins, Friday, January 23, at 1:45 pm ET with the BMW Performance 200 at Daytona International Speedway, which will be carried live on IMSA.com. The TUDOR season commences the following day with the Rolex 24, a grueling race Pumpelly has entered 16 times and walked away with two victories.  The Rolex 24 goes green at 2:10 pm ET. The first two hours will be broadcast live on FOX, with FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2 and IMSA.com continuing coverage through the checkered flag on Sunday.“It’s going to be hectic driving two cars, but it’s the same thing I’ve been doing for the last ten years more or less, so it’s nothing new,” Pumpelly said. “It just involves being on top of schedules and planning ahead and making sure everyone knows when you can and can’t be available. The best part is I get a race in before the 24, so my season gets a little warm-up.”Live timing and scoring for all TUDOR and CTSCC session is available on IMSA.com and make sure to follow Pumpelly’s blog on Sportscar365.com throughout the season.