Jeff Nowicki Teams With Michael Baughman Racing

Veteran Corvette Specialist Will Compete In 50th Anniversary Of The Rolex 24 At Daytona

Driver Jeff Nowicki announced today he'll be joining Michael Baughman Racing to race this year’s GRAND AM Rolex Series' 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 At Daytona. The team will field the #46 Katech powered Corvette C6 in the highly competitive GT division. Action gets underway with a 10:00am practices session Thursday, January 26 with GT qualifying scheduled for 4:15pm the same day. The 50th Rolex 24 at Daytona will take the green flag at 3:30pm Saturday, January 28.

This will be TeamMBR's sixth Rolex 24 at Daytona. Managed by Michael Baughman who brings 30 years of motorsports experience, both as an owner and driver. He has competed in GRAND AM since the Series' inception.  

Joining Nowicki and Baughman behind the wheel of will be Ray Mason Jr., Armand Fuaml and Ivo Breukers. Crew Chief for this year's effort will be Buddy Fey.

“I’m excited to be a part of Team MBR for the 50^th running of the Daytona 24 Hour race,”  said Nowicki.  "I've got a lot of confidence in the group Michael  put together and think we've got the talent, knowledge and maturity to launch a formidable attack at the podium."

It's a huge project to put a race program together for an event like the Rolex 24," Jeff noted. "You don't do it without support and partners. I'm fortunate in that Mobil 1, the leading synthetic oil producer in the world, has continued to support my efforts for the past 20 years. They’ve been an active partner in my automotive business and at the track. I can't thank them enough for that support and for helping make this happen."

"In addition to Mobil 1," added Nowicki, 'we've also got the support of SKF Racing's wheel bearing division which means we'll be using the same bearings as the production Corvette ZR1. They're the right bearing for the round-the-clock challenge. We've also enlisted the support of Design Engineering Inc. a producer of thermal materials that will help control various temps around the powertrain and other heat sensitive areas during the 24 hours of intense racing."

"Lastly," noted Nowicki, "we'll be recording all the action utilizing a new seat mounted Cruise Cam bullet camera system produced especially for the C5 and C6 Corvette."

The Rolex 24 at Daytona will be broadcast live on SPEED from 2:30pm to 11:00pm on Saturday and will resume from 9:00am Sunday morning through to the checkered flag.

Jeff Nowicki won his first of three consecutive SCCA autocross class championships at age 18 in a race prepared Camaro. 

In 1990, Nowicki stepped up to road racing, making an impressive debut winning the SSGT Regional Championship two years in a row and set new track records. He later made his professional racing debut in the International Motor Sport Association's (IMSA) Firestone Firehawk Series as a co- driver with the Billy Hagen/Gene Felton Team at Watkins Glen. 

Nowicki kept driving Corvettes, Camaros and Firebirds for Hagen and Morrison in Firehawk, IMSA and Sports Car Club of America's (SCCA) World Challenge events. He placed fourth in his first-ever race for Morrison at Road America and, in 1992, Nowicki dominated the SCCA  IT class and was asked to become a part of the Morrison Motorsports Corvette effort at the final 24 Hour event in the World Challenge series. In 1993, he won the SCCA IT Championship in a Corvette. 

Additional racing highlights include:

• Achieving top-10 finishes in limited SCCA World Challenge schedule in 1994, with sponsorship from Mobil 1.

• Drove for Morrison Motorsports in the 90’s including the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring.

• Finished third at the Mosport 24 Hours race in 1996 driving for Pontiac.

• Achieved a podium finish with co-driver Andy Pilgrim in 1999 at the Watkins Glen FIA GT race, in a Corvette. 

• Raced a one-off Specter Werkes Corvette for GM Performance Parts in the 1999 24 Hours of Daytona and placed ninth in a 30-car field in the GT3.

• Competed in the 2000-2004 Grand Am Rolex series.

• Competed in the 2006 SCCA World Challenge TC class with PDMC Motorsports winning two race performance awards.

• Competed in selected 2010 Grand Am Continental Challenge Series with PDMC Motorsports in a new, fifth-generation Camaro.

When Nowicki isn’t on the track, he’s running his automotive design and consulting business, Nowicki Autosport/Design LLC.  Nowicki has overseen the design and development of many exclusive, high-performance and race-prepped Corvettes – including the limited-production, serialized Corvette GTR – as well as lines of exterior and performance enhancements. The reach of his design work and prototype building extends to private customers, race teams and original manufacturer.

ExxonMobil Lubricants & Specialties (L&S) is a leading marketer of finished lubricants, asphalts, and specialty products, as well as one of the world’s largest suppliers of base stocks. www.mobil1racing.com

SKF was founded in 1907 and grew at a rapid rate to become a global company. As early as 1920, the company was well established in Europe, North and Latin America, Asia and Africa. Today, SKF is represented in more than 130 countries. The company has more than 100 manufacturing sites and also sales companies supported by about 15,000 distributor locations. SKF also has a widely used e-business marketplace and an efficient global distribution system. www.skf.com

Design Engineering, Inc. (DEI), founded in 1995 by the late Dale Markley and based in Avon Lake, Ohio, is the leading aftermarket supplier of thermal tuning, heat, and sound control products.  Additionally, DEI manufactures Ny-Trex nitrous systems and components that are sold nationwide to the motorsports, automotive, motorcycle, powersports and marine enthusiast markets. DEI engineered products offer the most effective means to improve an engine’s cooling efficiency to enhance performance.  In 2009, Design Engineering entered the turbocharging market by partnering with SPA Turbo of Brazil to become the official North America supplier of SPA turbos and components. 

The CruiseCam (CCMC.PK) lines of products are the world's first seat video and imaging systems. The law enforcement industry was the first to use the CruiseCam system to replace dash or window mount systems. A camera and recording system was integrated directly into the seat to increase safety and provide a better viewing vantage point. CruiseCam also provides a family of car tripod-like products that safely mount in a variety of vehicles. 

TeamMBR is a full service race team with more than 30 years of combined experience in professional, semi-professional, and club-level racing.  TeamMBR benefits from leadership that has competed in the most professional and competitive forms of sports car racing in North America since its inception.  Located in the Baltimore / Washington suburb of Clear Spring, Maryland, TeamMBR specializes in turn-key sponsorship and consumer activation programs and motorsport centered programs such as our Market-To-Motorsports©, Arrive-And-Drive© and Service-In-Seconds© Programs. For more information, please visit TeamMBR.com.