DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 24, 2014) – Recently, team owner Kevin Buckler was asked to tabulate all of the times he has worked at Daytona International Speedway as a driver or a team owner, in either sports car or NASCAR competition, since his first year in those roles in 1996.”It’s scary,” Buckler said. “Not including time there with my friends, between the Roar, the races, the midseason Firecracker races, the PCA Porsche club races, the NASCAR testing we used to do, the Porsche testing we used to do, one NASCAR Truck race, three Sprint Cup Daytona 500s, one Truck practice, three D

aytona 500 practices, I’ve driven through that tunnel with my team in tow 70 times which is wild but we just keep doing it.”

During that time span, Buckler’s team, TRG (The Racer’s Group), now TRG-AMR with the acquisition of Aston Martin’s motorsports operation in North America, has dominated the Rolex 24 At Daytona unlike any other privateer team. The numbers are mind-boggling:

• 
  Four Rolex 24 victories in the GT class (2002, 2003, 2009, 2011)
• The first GT team ever to win overall race honors in Rolex 24 history, in 2003
• Thirteen (13) podium finishes in the last 19 years (four first places, five seconds and four thirds), more than any other team during the span
• Nineteen (19) consecutive Rolex 24 appearances since 1996, more than any other team
• Sixty-four (64) total cars competing over the last 14 years (62 GT, two Daytona Prototype)

“Apparently, we have a lot of No. 1’s in the different categories here at Daytona,” Buckler said. “It’s kinda crazy.”

It’s an incredible record of accomplishment for the team based in Petaluma, Calif. TRG-AMR has grown to become one of the strongest motorsports organizations in any series in North America since Buckler first raced at Daytona in 1996 with veteran Jack Lewis.”I went through picture by picture from when we started in 1996, when I raced with Jack Lewis in his car, on to where we are now. And in every picture, those cars get a little bit nicer, a little prettier and the team grew a little stronger.”

That trend of attractive, impeccably prepared cars will continue Jan. 24-26 during the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Buckler’s team begins a new era in its first full season at the helm of Aston Martin’s sports car racing program in North America in the twice-around-the clock-classic.

This year TRG-AMR will field two cars, the No. 007 and No. 009 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3s, in the GT Daytona class at the Rolex 24 on Saturday, Jan. 25 and Sunday, Jan. 26. The team also will field two GT4 Vantage cars in the two-hour, 30-minute Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race Friday, Jan. 24 at Daytona.

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FAST FACTS

Date: Jan. 22-26

Venue: Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla. (12 turns, 3.56 miles)

Race Duration: Rolex 24 At Daytona – 24 hours; Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge – 2 hours, 30 minutes

Schedule: Rolex 24 At Daytona – Practice, 9:30-10:30 a.m. (ET), 1:15-1:45 p.m. and 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23; GTD qualifying, 3:45-4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23; Practice, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24; Race, 2:10 p.m.-2:10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25-Sunday, Jan. 26. Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge — Practice, 1:30-2:30 p.m. (ET) and 3:45-4:45 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22; Practice, 11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23; Qualifying, 2-2:15 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23; Practice, 9:45-10:15 a.m. Friday, Jan. 24; Race, 1:45-4:15 p.m., Friday, Jan. 24.

TV: Rolex 24 At Daytona – 2-4 p.m. (ET) Saturday, Jan. 25, FOX; 4-9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, FOX Sports 2; 9 p.m.-7 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 25-Sunday, Jan. 26, IMSA.com; 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26, FOX Sports 1. Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge – 6-8 p.m. (ET), Friday, Jan. 24, FOX Sports 2.

Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN), live, flag-to-flag Rolex 24 race coverage

Twitter: @theracersgroup

Facebook: The Racer’s Group

Web: www.theracersgroup.com

Live Timing: IMSA.com, IMSA mobile app (iPhone, available at Apple App Store)