Check out the pictures and press releases at www.MagnusRacing.com

Utah resident Potter, who took his first professional victory in last year's GRAND-AM KONI Sports Car Challenge, and had a highest finish of fourth in the Rolex Sports Car series, will enter his second full season of Rolex competition.

Californian Stanton, a champion in the Rolex Sports Car Series and KONI Challenge,  is widely known as a Porsche specialist and has driven with Potter in the Rolex Series in a GT class Porsche since 2008. Together, the two finished fifth this year at Watkins Glen and Miller Motorsports Park.  

"There will be a couple of things about this program that will be different from most teams in GRAND-AM," said Stanton. "John has put together the right equipment and staff for us to be fast out of the box and be one of the leading teams in GRAND-AM. One of the great things about John is that, as competitive as we all are and as much as we want to win races for us and for Porsche, he always makes sure that the team is having a great time. I'm sure we will be doing things a little bit differently than everyone else and I can't wait for Daytona."  

While Magnus Racing is committed to achieving results on the track, it is equally committed to keeping life exciting and fun off of it. Potter has raised plenty of eyebrows for his unique campaigns, t-shirts, and hero cards - including his "Utah's McDreamy" shirts that were a huge hit at the 2008 Miller Motorsports Park event - or the sponsorship of his Porsche by "Craig Stanton's ‘Touch of Grey'" during the 2009 event at Miller.

"Suffice to say that the fans of Magnus Racing and of the Rolex Sports car Series can expect more of the same in 2010," said Stanton.  

Formed in 2006, Magnus Racing was formed by Potter to develop race cars and compete in a variety of racing series, from the club level through professional endurance racing. The Rolex Sports Car Series represents the highest level of competition yet for Potter's team.  

"It's a big step up to run our own program in the Rolex Sports Car Series," said Potter. "But it is the right move for me and I couldn't be more excited. After driving with Craig for the past season and a half he was the natural choice as my teammate. We work very well together and I am excited to see what the new season will hold for us. We also have a lot of fun stuff planned for the fans of Magnus Racing - having our own program means we can really go nuts this year!"  

The team is currently preparing for the Dec. 8-9 test at Daytona International Speedway. The team will unveil its driver lineup for the Rolex 24 At Daytona ahead of the Roar Before the Rolex 24, scheduled for January 8-10.  

More information about Magnus Racing can be found at www.magnusracing.com. Any organization interested in learning more about how to be involved with one of the most unique and visible teams in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series can e-mail info@magnusracing.com. All press inquires can be directed to press@magnusracing.com.

With more news to follow in the coming months regarding further changes to the team's current program, they've announced that Steve Jenkins of Glenview, Ill. will join 2005 Rolex GT Series Champion Craig Stanton, driving a Porsche in what is expected to be one of the most competitive season in KONI Challenge Grand Sport (GS) history.

"This is very exciting news for us," said BGB Motorsports team manager John Tecce. "Steve and I have gotten to be friends in and out of the paddock over the last few seasons and we've all followed his driving and the development of his race craft.  Steve also understands the business of racing, as he and Mark [Boden] created Fall-Line Motorsports' KONI Challenge program from scratch, turning it into a GRAND-AM series fixture.  His insights will be an asset to the program and I think that he and Craig will make a very strong driver pairing. With what's in store for the class in 2010, we're going to need it!"

Ever since he started competing in 2006, Jenkins' KONI Challenge experience has always been behind the wheel of a BMW M3. However, Jenkins took it upon himself to run a season of GT2 competition at the National level with the SCCA, driving a Porsche 996 GT3 Cup car.  He said he enjoyed driving the Porsche and knew that in racing, it's always better to be as versatile as possible. The next logical step, he said, was to try his hand at driving a Porsche at the professional level in the KONI Sports Car Challenge.

"I'm super pumped up to drive with Craig and BGB," Jenkins said. "I really appreciate the opportunity that John Moore and John Tecce have given me here. I've admired Craig's professionalism and fitness regiment from afar for the last few years.  To have the opportunity to drive with him, and learn from him is just awesome. John Tecce and the BGB team have always been my buddies in the paddock, and I have no reservations about fitting in and going fast with them right off the bat. It's surely going to be odd at first to race against my former team [Fall-Line Motorsports], but were still friends, so hopefully it will be fun."

BGB Motorsports is an ambitious, professional motorsports business.  The team's facility is located less than 15 miles from Daytona International Speedway and the headquarters for GRAND-AM Road Racing. The team operates as a customer-oriented business, running cars with GRAND-AM, Sports Car Club of America and Porsche Club of America sanctioning bodies.

For more information, photos, and videos, visit http://www.bgbmotorsports.com.

For years, the schedule just never worked out for Craig Stanton.

Time after time, when the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was staged, Stanton was somewhere else, driving in one sports car series or another, contractually obligated to race someplace in the world other than Southern California in April.

"I've always been (on the East Coast) or in Europe," he said.

But for the second year in a row, the Belmont Shore resident is home and thrilled to have the chance to drive his Porsche 997 GT3 in the SPEED World Challenge GT race.

"The stars aligned to where I run this weekend," he said. "I'm able to come here and race in my hometown and I'm so excited."

Stanton is a motorsports junkie, something he inherited from his father, an auto-shop teacher and hot rodder from the San Fernando Valley.

"He never left anything stock," Stanton said.

His father taught shop at Hoover High School in Glendale and was continually tinkering with machinery, trying to make it work better, go faster, last longer. That trait was passed from father to son.

"It's in my DNA," Stanton said. "I can't leave anything alone. I have to make it better."

At any one time, Stanton can be found racing in the American Le Mans, Rolex Sportscar or Koni Challenge series. He's also involved in NASCAR and off-road programs and is a professional coach for those who want to learn to drive and race performance cars.

This weekend's race will be Stanton's second start in Long Beach. Last year, he drove in the ALMS series and finished eighth in his class. This week, he'll drive for Aasco Motorsports and car owner Mark Webber. It will be his first start in the SPEED GT series but not his first time driving for Aasco. They have teamed up before in the Rolex series.

The green flag will drop for the SPEED World Challenge at 4:15 p.m. Sunday, following the featured IRL race.

"I love the idea of 15 or 16 passionate people going in one direction," said Stanton. "It's a team sport."

Stanton, 50, is a Southern California native. He was born in Hollywood and grew up in Glendale. He lived in Seal Beach for 16 years before moving to Long Beach five years ago. And Long Beach has become the base of his operations. Much of his support system - doctor, chiropractor, nutritionist - is based right here.

Stanton began his racing career in motocross before moving to cars in 1986. His first professional race came two years later and he eventually went into open-wheel racing, competing in Formula Mazda in 1989 and Formula 2000 in 1990.

From there, Stanton moved to sportscars, where he has won Rolex and Koni Challenge series championships and Sports Renault regional championships. He's also an accomplished endurance racer with numerous starts at the 24 Hours of Daytona, Petit Le Mans and 12 Hours of Sebring.

Stanton attributes much of his success and longevity to an intense physical training regimen. Temperatures inside a race car can rise as high as 120 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit and a driver's heart rate can reach 120 to 150 beats per minute, all while maneuvering between concrete barriers and racing side-by-side at over 100 mph. Racers can also experience a three-to-five G-force "spike" while cornering and a one-G change while accelerating and decelerating.

"For me to stay in racing all these years, I have to be in super, over-the-top shape," Stanton said, who stands 5-feet-11 and weighs between 165 and 170 pounds.

Staying in top shape is especially important in endurance racing, where drivers can spend three to four hours in the car at one time. Even the slightest lapse in focus and concentration due to fatigue can be disastrous.

"The first things to go are the eyesight and the focus," he explained.

Stanton has a "sand and stairs" workout in which he runs through the deep sand from Belmont Plaza Pool to the Shoreline Village area and back with trips up and down each set of stairs along the bluffs that run parallel to Ocean Boulevard.

"It is a (butt) kicker," he laughed.

Another regular workout is a mountain bike ride from Newport Beach to Laguna with plenty of hill training along the way. That's a four-hour odyssey he does two or three times a week. Stanton also swims and has a rock climbing wall and a BMX track in his backyard that are also part of his regular workout routine. He estimates he trains between 20 and 40 hours a week. It also helps that his wife, Joy, is a physical trainer and a champion rower with the Long Beach Rowing Association.

"I can't stop," he said. "I'm flat out all the time. Whether I'm running on the beach ... or on a mountain bike ride or racing or whatever, I just can't stop."

Stanton is thrilled he can ride his bicycle to the track this weekend and be part of auto racing's ultimate street party.

"First and foremost, there's so much (racing) history (in Long Beach)," Stanton said. "The world's best drivers have been here, from Formula One to Indy Cars to sportscars. And the track is so much fun. It goes through some really good elements (of the city).

"It's the biggest party you've ever seen."

ARTICLE BY:

David Felton - Press Telegram - Long Beach

david.felton@presstelegram.com