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Sunday, February 3, 2002 Twins have a Field dayBy SEAN KERNAN | News-Journal Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH — Jon Field and his twin brother Joe like being long shots. The longer the odds, the better. Nearly 30 years ago the twins decided to go hammer nails instead of going to college. The results of hard work by the brothers are staggering as they own a construction company in Ohio and 25 Banana Joe's restaurants around the country. Now the brothers are trying to head up an upset bid in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Officially, only Jon is a driver on the No. 37 Intersport Racing Judd Lola that took the overall lead late in the 10th hour of the twice-around-the-clock endurance race Saturday night. But Joe, a driver with the No. 30 SportsRacer Prototype, is a co-owner of the two-car team. "It feels good out there," said Jon Field, who is sharing driving duties on the No. 37 with Michael Durand and Duncan Dayton. "It's always nice to be the darkhorse. Nobody's watching." But Jon Field knows trouble is just around the corner in such a long endurance run. "I don't get too excited until the sun comes up," he said. "At that point, you start evaluating what you need to do. I mean, somebody can knock you off or something can break and before you know it you lose 10 or 15 laps." The Intersport Racing team was enjoying the good life with the No. 37 entry running free of trouble. Routine pit stops and driver changes were the order of the day and early night. But things weren't so good for the No. 30 entry, which had substantial woes and had to spend time in the garage area. "It's competitive (between the No. 37 and No. 30), and they're certainly getting a good lead on us, but we're certainly not gonna wish anything bad on them," Joe Field said with a smile. The Intersport Racing team knows how to win. The No. 37 Judd Lola won twice in the Grand-Am Series last season, taking the overall honor at Phoenix International Raceway and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with Jon Field and Oliver Gavin behind the wheel. Jon Field's biggest worry early Saturday night was the 74-car field. "The traffic is horrendous," Jon Field said after getting a report that another car had banged into the No. 37 Judd Lola. "The drivers at night are just not paying attention. One bad move and you're in trouble. Everybody has to focus on getting clean laps." Racing for 24 hours is difficult; running up front for that length of time is even tougher. "There's nothing bigger than an endurance race," Jon Field said. "That's what it's all about. As a team, everybody wins this race, not the drivers. The driver's job is not to do anything stupid." HICI Special Report — Twins: Double Trouble, or Twice as Nice? |
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