Spirit of Daytona Racing team owner Troy Flis was ecstatic after a competitive showing during the ROAR before the 24, despite the outfit only having received their Cadillac DPi-V.R just weeks before the test.
The trio of Tristan Vautier, Matt McMurry and Eddie Cheever III were able to take the #90 machine to the sharp end of the Prototype class on all three days of the ROAR, with Vautier setting the second fastest time in the fifteen-minute Qualifying session that determined the pit and garage location for the Rolex 24 at Daytona later in the month.
Flis was full of praise for Dallara, ECR and Cadillac for the outing, while he also thanked the other Cadillac teams for helping out in getting the car ready in time for the last weekends event at the Daytona International Speedway.
“It’s very exciting to come out here with a three-week-old car and have everything go to plan,” said Flis. “The team did a great job on the build of the car and this weekend has been great.
“To come out and not have any issues and to turn as many laps as we did, I have to give a lot of credit to Dallara, ECR and Cadillac for giving us such a great car.
“It was also great to have so much help from the other Cadillac teams, who helped out in every way they could to make sure we got this done as quickly as we could.”
Although Flis knows the ROAR is purely a test session, he believes the Spirit of Daytona Racing line-up of Vautier, McMurry and Cheever will be able to compete with the frontrunners during the Rolex 24 at the end of the month, coupled with the great car they’ve received from Cadillac.
“We’re excited for the race – we have a great car to compete with and a great team,” said Flis. “We’re excited about our driver lineup for this year: they’re all young and aggressive and they’re all looking at the final goal.
“This is just a practice weekend but it’s great for us to know that we have the pace to run with the top cars.”