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DAYTONA BEACH — As CEO of Ford Motor Company and victim of the racing bug, Jim Farley has had some quality opportunities to scratch his competitive itch over the years.
But Thursday at Daytona was a whole new experience, and it had him gathering himself and doing a bit of stretching after exiting the tight cockpit.
“This thing’s fast,” Farley said of the old Riley & Scott Mk III he’s jockeying in this week’s Historic Sportscar Racing festivities, which are part of the Rolex 24 weekend at Daytona.
The open-cockpit prototype, formerly of Jim Matthews Racing, finished second overall in the 2002 Rolex 24, carrying Robby Gordon, Scott Sharp and Guy Smith. Twenty-four years ago, the car qualified fourth with a fastest lap of one minute, 42.538 seconds around Daytona.
In Thursday’s 30-minute practice session, Farley’s fastest lap was 1:48.197, understandably off the long-ago 1:42 wheeled by a professional, but second fastest of Thursday's session and plenty fast for Farley.
“Oh yeah … 3½ G’s, that’s a little different,” Farley said of the hard braking followed by high speed through portions of the 3.56-mile Rolex layout.
The car tops out above 190 on the fastest parts of the Speedway, which is the fastest Farley has gone in any of his various racing adventures.
“I’m not used to my neck muscle wearing out on acceleration,” said Farley, who raced at Daytona three years ago in IMSA's VP Challenge series.
Farley was getting the highest quality of attention back in the garage, where the original car builder, Bill Riley (Riley Technologies, formerly Riley & Scott), was waiting for a debriefing ahead of Friday qualifying and Saturday morning’s 30-minute race.
“I want to win,” Farley said. “I want to do Bill proud. But I also have a good time with all my buddies here.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Ford CEO Jim Farley gets fast HSR ride for Daytona Rolex 24 week
Continue reading...
But Thursday at Daytona was a whole new experience, and it had him gathering himself and doing a bit of stretching after exiting the tight cockpit.
“This thing’s fast,” Farley said of the old Riley & Scott Mk III he’s jockeying in this week’s Historic Sportscar Racing festivities, which are part of the Rolex 24 weekend at Daytona.
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The open-cockpit prototype, formerly of Jim Matthews Racing, finished second overall in the 2002 Rolex 24, carrying Robby Gordon, Scott Sharp and Guy Smith. Twenty-four years ago, the car qualified fourth with a fastest lap of one minute, 42.538 seconds around Daytona.
In Thursday’s 30-minute practice session, Farley’s fastest lap was 1:48.197, understandably off the long-ago 1:42 wheeled by a professional, but second fastest of Thursday's session and plenty fast for Farley.
“Oh yeah … 3½ G’s, that’s a little different,” Farley said of the hard braking followed by high speed through portions of the 3.56-mile Rolex layout.
The car tops out above 190 on the fastest parts of the Speedway, which is the fastest Farley has gone in any of his various racing adventures.
You must be registered for see images attach
“I’m not used to my neck muscle wearing out on acceleration,” said Farley, who raced at Daytona three years ago in IMSA's VP Challenge series.
Farley was getting the highest quality of attention back in the garage, where the original car builder, Bill Riley (Riley Technologies, formerly Riley & Scott), was waiting for a debriefing ahead of Friday qualifying and Saturday morning’s 30-minute race.
“I want to win,” Farley said. “I want to do Bill proud. But I also have a good time with all my buddies here.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Ford CEO Jim Farley gets fast HSR ride for Daytona Rolex 24 week
Continue reading...
