Synergy

As he enjoys watching the team he once played two seasons of National Football League for work their way towards a perfect season, Synergy Racing pilot Steve Johnson knows that he will have to count on that same kind of perfect teamwork if he wants to make it to the winner circle in this weekend’s Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Johnson, of Bristol, VA,  is making his fourth career start in the legendary 24-hour Rolex season-opener, which will be carried live on Fox Network starting at 1:00 PM ET this Saturday.

“We have to be perfect for 24 straight hours, just like the Pats have had to be to get to this point in the season,” said Johnson. “Everything has to go exactly right every lap for 24 hours, and there’s no break to study tape on the other guys!”

While Johnson knows that star players catch headlines and make waves, no organization can put a perfect effort together without teamwork. Like Tom Brady and his impressive roster of teammates, stars in their own right, Johnson will also see his competitive chances boosted by the depth of the roster on the No. 81 EMC Mechanical entry.

He will be sharing driving duties with two world-renown Porsche 911 stars with the Dutch driving duo of Patrick Huisman and former Formula 1 and Champ Car driver Robert Doornbos, as well as Porsche works driver and 2007 Le Mans 24 Hour GT2 winner Richard Lietz.

“We have four drivers, six guys on the pit crew, twice that number at the shop and at the track to support it, and everyone is a part of the effort it takes to get a good result in this race,” said Johnson. “This race is a lot like the NFL season—nothing really matters until the end. You can be fast in practice, you can qualify well-- you can even lead the first 12 hours of the race…but if you have a problem-with the car, with traffic, with anything going wrong, it just doesn’t matter because you won’t be there at the end. What you have to focus on is being there when the sun comes up, and being ready to race from there.”

The race, which slots neatly between last weekend’s NFL conference playoffs and the Super Bowl weekend on February 3rd, marks the opening event on the 14-race 2008 Rolex Sports Car Series calendar.

The opening ninety minutes of the 46th Rolex 24 At Daytona will get underway at 1:00 PM ET with live coverage from the FOX Network. SPEEDTV will air an additional 16 hours of live coverage leading up to the checkered flag.

About Synergy Racing
Based at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, Synergy Racing has been focused on preparing Porsches for competition since 1996.
With three team championships, four driver titles, fifteen class victories and countless podium appearances, Synergy Racing is one of the Rolex Sports Car Series leading teams.